Is an underground subway more appropriate for Woodward than an aboveground rail.

**Detroitnerd** · October-01-10, 09:48 AM

Several subway lines in New York are underground in the densely developed areas and run on elevated track through others. Very expensive to put the whole thing underground. Boston, Philly and Chicago also have systems that are surface or elevated and go underground as they enter the center city.

**Trumpeteer** · October-01-10, 10:44 AM

Just for "grins" from Answers.com

What is a subway?

In: Inventions, Trains [Edit categories]

An underground series of tunnels with trains running through them. They are used as a form of mass transit allowing pedestrians to get across big cities generally quicker than by car.

**Trumpeteer** · October-01-10, 10:48 AM

With respect to comingling above ground rail transportation with cars, trucks, etc. Zurich has a rail trolley system that runs down the center of streets just like the old pictures of Woodward show from the early 1900's. also, while not widespread, how about the San Fransisco Cablecar system? Seems to work well with little/no problem.

**Hermod** · October-01-10, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by Trumpeteer

With respect to comingling above ground rail transportation with cars, trucks, etc. Zurich has a rail trolley system that runs down the center of streets just like the old pictures of Woodward show from the early 1900's. also, while not widespread, how about the San Fransisco Cablecar system? Seems to work well with little/no problem.

The Zurich trolley doesn't move with much speed. Neither do the cable cars.

**professorscott** · October-01-10, 05:16 PM

Light rail is typically $40 to $50 million per mile; to construct a subway nowadays runs about $2 billion per mile. That's why nobody is talking about it. You could run light rail to Flint for what it would cost to run a couple miles of subway downtown.

I love subways, don't get me wrong, but money is extremely finite around here. Detroit is going through the wringer just to come up with a couple hundred million to buile a single light rail line almost entirely inside the city [[it goes through Highland Park as well); what do you think the odds are that anybody would be willing to fund something 40 to 50 times as expensive? My guess would be, zero.

**ghettopalmetto** · October-01-10, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by professorscott

Light rail is typically $40 to $50 million per mile; to construct a subway nowadays runs about $2 billion per mile. That's why nobody is talking about it. You could run light rail to Flint for what it would cost to run a couple miles of subway downtown.

Of course, it all depends on your soil conditions. The SAS and 7 Extension in New York are only that expensive because they have to blast through bedrock for every cubic inch the subways will occupy. Other soils are a bit easier to excavate, and can use different methods. The cost would still be a good $250 million / mile, though.

**iheartthed** · October-01-10, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Trumpeteer

Just for "grins" from Answers.com

What is a subway?

In: Inventions, Trains [Edit categories]

An underground series of tunnels with trains running through them. They are used as a form of mass transit allowing pedestrians to get across big cities generally quicker than by car.

In London "subway" refers to underground walkways.