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Comment by incision | Hacker News Reader

>'$10B seems exhorbitant for a 40 mile stretch of track + trains etc.'

Perhaps, but it's right on par with the cost of the recent Metro extension which cost $6.8B for an 11.6 mile extension running on existing tech.

Successfully building an entirely new Maglev line for 'only' $10B would be a steal relatively speaking, but I don't see that happening.

More likely, I'd expect the planners want Government buy-in because they recognize how susceptible the Government is to chasing sunk costs and covering all the difference when the project predictably balloons to 5x what was proposed.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Line_(Washington_Metro)

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The Silver Line is pretty expensive for what it is, but I think you're overstating it. If I understand the Wikipedia page correctly, the $6.8 billion figure is for the full 23 mile extension, not just the 11.6 miles built so far. That cost also includes constructing all of the new stations. The urban nature of the line also means a substantial elevated section and a tunnel, both of which will increase costs quite a bit compared to an inter-city line.

Given that the Silver Line is proving extremely useful by finally hooking up Tysons Corner, a major city center, to the DC metro system, and given the general uselessness of shaving a few minutes off the existing Baltimore-DC routes, I'd hardly call $10 billion for a maglev line a "steal".

>"The Silver Line is pretty expensive for what it is, but I think you're overstating it. If I understand the Wikipedia page correctly, the $6.8 billion figure is for the full 23 mile extension, not just the 11.6 miles built so far."

You're right, I did mistate the length.

In general though, I think you're misunderstanding my thrust here. You're talking about value, I don't think this project is a good value at all, quite the opposite [1].

I'm just thinking about engineering and construction...

The Silver Line is a demonstration that building 23 miles of 45 mph commuter rail line costs at least $6.8B despite the benefit the benefit of 40 years, 100+ miles and 90 stations worth of experience doing the same.

Given that, actually building a first of it's kind 40 mile 300 mph rail line through the same sort of aerial and tunnel requiring [2] suburban counties around DC for 'only' $10B seems completely implausible.

1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8492525

2: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-maglev-train-i...

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