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WES Fails at More Than Just the Railcars
Read an article online "Company Behind TriMet WES Railcars Fails". So far it has the best summary statements/quotes I've seen in all the papers.
Passadore said the key problem with the rail project was that federal regulators mandated the type of car that could be used and required it be built in the United States. Only Colorado Railcar's self-propelled car fit the requirement.
But federal transit authorities told The Oregonian that the project wouldn't have been funded in the first place if normal regulations had been followed.
Paul Griffo, senior public affairs officer at the Federal Transit Administration, said the commuter project didn't have the efficiency to qualify for federal funding. Congressional legislation forced the agency to proceed anyway, he said.
As usual, once the truth comes out all the fingers point to incompetance and political meddling. This, is almost ALWAYS the case, of course the sad thing is all the attention is focused around Colorado Railcar. It failed, wanna fix issues between public companies like TriMet and private companies like Colorado Railcar in the future? Then don't go chasing through the courts after TriMet and Colorado Railcar, that's the idiots step, find out how to change the way Government allows itself control over these aspects of our lives.
As quoted, "key problem with the rail project was that federal regulators mandated the type of car that could be used" which is a HUGE issue. If buying something, buy whatever is the BEST. It doesn't make any freaking difference where they get it. They bought the streetcar (TriMet/Portland Streetcar) and those vehicles where NOT the best in market nor where they even built in the US. Meanwhile New Orleans built better streetcars for about 2/5 the price IN THE US!
Another quote, "federal transit authorities told The Oregonian that the project wouldn't have been funded in the first place if normal regulations had been followed." This is another case of some politicans (most likely Earl Bemaunaur and the lackies in Oregon) pushing for something that they want regardless of the feasibility, cost the public, what it will in the end be good for, and with a complete and utter disregard for current laws on the books. Earl & crew are notorious at this point now that I've watched what their actions are versus their political diatribe. People say business men are all crooks, but business men are sweet angels compared to policitians, especially ones that shove a project into play like this in complete disregard for laws or regulations that other crooked and dishonest politicians put into place. I guess in the end though, one can't blame em' for the following the same path that has been tread.
"the commuter project didn't have the efficiency to qualify for federal funding" that really sums up a LOT. So here we are, Portland, being touted a new clean method of transportation and blagh d blagh d blagh. But is it? It doesn't even meet the already horrendously LOW efficiency demands for a commuter project!
The big ending quote, "Congressional legislation forced the agency to proceed anyway" from Paul at the FTA. This is insane. I already do not support most of the regulations and other arbitrary laws and rules, most are reasons we DO NOT have more transit service or high speed rail or private agencies and companies running transit anymore (just dig into the history past the stupid GM conspiracy bull, you'll find the numbers and history of what happened). Instead it all comes out of our tax paying pocket (the most depreciated dollar one can spend, is public money, it's no surprise we get so little for that dollar). So we have all the suffocating regulations for transit, we have all these incompetent politicians that don't even know the core fundamentals of history (I've heard Earl speak about "history") yet they go breaking their own rules to build these systems that they have no idea about or how they're done. James J. Hill knew how railroads work, so did Kummant (recent CEO of Amtrak), and so does J. Gould (Early Union Railroad investor, builder, and destroyer), Matt Rose (BNSF), James R. Young (UP), and William Barstow Strong (ATSF). Why don't we let these people build these things and free the market up to the competent people who can do it instead of politicians manhandling their personal decisions through and rough shod over other politicians who really have no clue? We need a real change, and it isn't more Government running these shows.
Mind you, I'm just calling it like it is, I'm not a Republican (not even by a stretch of the imagination) and nor am a Democrat. I prefer NOT to have any correlation with crooks of either ilk. But regardless we need a change in which these two recent catastrophies of political parties have wrecked upon us even larger than in all history, from our wrecked (again) financial system based on the Federal Reserve Fiat Dollar to our completely imbalanced, poorly funded, and faltering infrastructure system. The WES system is just one piece of thousands throughout the country that is supposed to be a step forward, but when looking at the partial failure it already is, it shows blatantly why we can NOT afford to continue projects managed under companies that operate completely under Government Authority. There must be other ways, and they must be found if we're to recover, and then truly survive the next collapse (there will be one, the Federal Reserve garauntees us a big one every once in a while regardless).
