Wendell Cox reports on a little problem that occurred in St. Louis recently that ought (but probably won’t) give the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority pause:

Buses Replace Light Rail in St. Louis
A large ice storm hit the St. Louis area last night and power is out to nearly one-half of the area. The areaís light rail line, Metrolink, has suspended service for much of its alignment and is providing substitute bus service.
Meanwhile, there appears to be no instance of light rail providing replacement for buses anywhere in the metropolitan area — for that matter probably never in history, anywhere. Another demonstration of the flexibility of urban rail.

The enormous cost relative to usage and inflexibility of most rail systems reminds me of something that Peter Gordon observed awhile back about the political forces that support these boondoggles. Some are disingenous promoters seeking to profit from the rail lines, some pose as high-minded environmentalists and many are simply ignorant of the inefficiency and inflexibility of such systems. As Professor Gordon wryly points out:

“It adds up to a winning coalition.”

By the way, Anne Linehan over at blogHouston.net continues to follow another cost of the Houston light rail system that Metro doesn’t much like talking about.