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One possibility: because when those projects are awarded in U.S. to the usual suspects, the projects start with exorbitant costs and decade-long timelines and t

by kjksf 8y ago

One possibility: because when those projects are awarded in U.S. to the usual suspects, the projects start with exorbitant costs and decade-long timelines and then the price goes up and timeline slips by years. See for example California High-Speed Rail: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/californias-77-billion-high-speed-rail-project-is-in-trouble.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/californias-77-billion-high-... Or "The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth" (in New York): https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-... Apparently we do need to give it to someone who can control the cost and deliver things within our lifetime.

tigershark 8y ago
3.5B$/mile is absolutely insane. London crossrail was built perfectly on time and supposedly only with a small increase of the budget (a couple hundred millions). And it costs around 15B£ for more than 100km and something like 50 stations.
- isostatic 8y ago
  That's somewhat unfair comparison - most of the length of track already existed above ground and didn't need a lot of work There's 10 new stations and about 40km of tunnel (20km each way) That said the tunneling cost alone came out about £30m per km, so about $65m per mile.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- tomp 8y ago
  Crossrail isn't built yet, and it's definitely not on time (e.g. [1]) (but for some reason I keep people saying this!). [1] https://1londonblog.uk/2018/01/04/bond-streets-crossrail-station-off-track/ https://1londonblog.uk/2018/01/04/bond-streets-crossrail-sta...
  - tigershark 8y ago
    It’s on time, they postponed it by one year to save 1B£. And the part that is opening this year is built, they are just undergoing testing and finishing the stations and the lines that will open next year. Everything seems on track for the December opening. Edit: link that proves that in 2010 they decided to delay it by 1 year to save 1B£ https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crossrail-opening-is-delayed-by-a-year-as-engineers-told-to-find-savings-to-16bn-project-6524132.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crossrail-opening-is-delayed...

by kjksf 8y ago

tigershark 8y ago

3.5B$/mile is absolutely insane. London crossrail was built perfectly on time and supposedly only with a small increase of the budget (a couple hundred millions). And it costs around 15B£ for more than 100km and something like 50 stations.

isostatic 8y ago
That's somewhat unfair comparison - most of the length of track already existed above ground and didn't need a lot of work There's 10 new stations and about 40km of tunnel (20km each way) That said the tunneling cost alone came out about £30m per km, so about $65m per mile.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tomp 8y ago
Crossrail isn't built yet, and it's definitely not on time (e.g. [1]) (but for some reason I keep people saying this!). [1] https://1londonblog.uk/2018/01/04/bond-streets-crossrail-station-off-track/ https://1londonblog.uk/2018/01/04/bond-streets-crossrail-sta...
- tigershark 8y ago
  It’s on time, they postponed it by one year to save 1B£. And the part that is opening this year is built, they are just undergoing testing and finishing the stations and the lines that will open next year. Everything seems on track for the December opening. Edit: link that proves that in 2010 they decided to delay it by 1 year to save 1B£ https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crossrail-opening-is-delayed-by-a-year-as-engineers-told-to-find-savings-to-16bn-project-6524132.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crossrail-opening-is-delayed...