re: Light Rail Dowtown NOLA to MSY Pros and Cons

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The railroad right of way still exists next to Airline....running it to Union Station is a winner, can it be built electrified, elevated, and using existing rights of way

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Butch, it's gone in many places, now. You'd have to rebuild it, rebuild track, and the nightmare at crossings like Power Boulevard, and Clearview Parkway would be horrendous. Even if it's just a tram/streetcar, that would be enough to screw up a great deal. Plus, if the idea is to move visitors from hotels to downtown, there aren't any but two or three old hangers-on on Airline, the rest are up by the interstate interchanges.

Con: You'd get murdered on it

Pro: You wouldn't live in New Orleans anymore

I'd ballpark it at costing close to $150mm

FDOT has done this in Orlando recently (spur isn't connected yet to airport but that is the end plan) and the ticket sales aren't the reason they do this.

The money is in leasing out telecom and fiber optic conduits buried throughout the ROW.

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Who wants to take a tram from Kenner through the west bank to get downtown?


Wankers? People from Westwego, Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, and Algiers?

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The Rail wouldn't rely just on tourist has customers.

The Crescent City Connection was the fifth most traveled toll bridge in the United States (#8 overall), with annual traffic exceeding 63 million vehicles.

Approximately 180,000 daily cross the bridge, if only 5% use the rail instead, that 9,000 customers a day.

This would be a great way for locals to go from downtown to minimum wage jobs on Vets without having to fool with bus transfers etc. Groups of locals could ride together for a day of fun at Lakeside mall.

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Inevitably someone is going to argue that the price of a ticket will never fund this. They will say it needs 10000 passengers a day to be viable without government subsidies and that the interstate system is the answer. They are morons that dont realize that the government subsidizes the interstate system they are championing.

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Most people don't realize that without govt. subsidies, passenger rail service would cease to exist. This is the reason why BTR - NOLA passenger rail service will never happen !