Good Time to Consider Making A High Speed Electric Train System

Yes, much faster than ground transportation and no pesky right-of-way required.

Those flights use the Airbus plane, but what happens when it says 737 Max next year? Would you ride on one?

And those are estimate,.... which usually turn into twice to 3 times as Much in reality.

I take it you haven't done any research in what it will cost and how long it will take to restore and upgrade the entire interstate highway system including all the bridges?

The numbers you site are a bargain and quite a bit faster and less disruptive than attempting to replace and widen all the interstates and secondary highways and roads in our major cities.

Uitmately we will have to do both, it's just the longer you wait the more it costs.

Take a lesson from California. We tried to build a high speed rail from the Bay area to LA. So, what's the status. SF to Merced is most likely dead. Bakersfield to LA - ditto. The HSR line will run between Merced and Bakersfield??? Yes, two huge hubs with high populations, right? WRONG! Here's the latest that I heard: https://sf.streetsblog.org/2019/10/21/high-speed-rail-reporter-cant-read-a-map/

Why not put a rail between the two lanes of freeway?

1. If there's an accident, a vehicle can crash into the train or block the rails. It happened on the Gold Line more often than you would think. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-gold-line-freeway-truck-crashes-20190407-story.html

2. If the train crashes and jumps to the road, it would kill a lot of drivers and block one of the two main north-south routes in the state.

3. The train can't run full speed on turns, so it'll have to slow down as it follows the freeway. If a separate line is made that takes into consideration the curves and train speed, then the HSR can maximize speed - they claim 220 mph!

So, 30 years x $40B = $1.2T. With the normal government errors in estimation, we're probably looking at $12-40T.

Well,... looky here

some people are just too bullheaded to learn.

theres more posts that goes back to 2010...

I sat on a transportation committee a few years ago. It was for the Northern Corridor of Los Angeles. Every mayor, councilman, Metro and Caltrans rep, etc - all of us thought the HSR wouldn't be completed. We talked about how to get it from Lancaster to Burbank. Not possible, because of the population. The HSR people couldn't even figure out the best way to get it from Lancaster to Santa Clarita. The mayor of Santa Clarita didn't want it running though their town (a 220 mph train running through the east part of the town).

We did pass Measure M - 1/2 cent sales tax increase. $860 M per year for transportation projects. This is on top of Measure R (2009 - 2039 1/2 cent sale tax increase). So, we've added a 1 cent (1 cent for every dollar or 1%) sales tax increase for Los Angeles County. This is to pay for transportation projects that are suppose to be paid by the state and federal funds. Somehow, we taxpayers got stuck with the bill again.

We're getting crushed by our taxes in not only the state, but our cities as well - FYI, my neighbors and I now pay 10.25% sales tax.

That federal grant money was a huge hook, Wisconsin realized it and turned it down back in 2010. Excuse it would turn into a bottomless pit, and the money was move and California pick it up.

I’m not surprised by the blind that grabbed the grant with no feasible action plan to implement it.

Good old CA! It started in 1996 with Pete Wilson - he's the first to create the High Speed Rail Commission. Arnold took the Fed's money and Moonbeam (Jerry Brown) signed the first contracts. Newsome finally killed it last year!

An absolute waste of money and time!

Though I shouldn't blame the politicians, because ultimately, we the constituents voted it in. 2008 we approved Prop 1A - right about the time when our country was falling apart, we voted to spend Billions on a HSR system.

I think things may be changing in California,... hopefully.

I do hope so.

Many of my friends and clients are leaving the state. Some say for good - they're sick and tires of us, the middle class, paying for everything.

I don't think Newsom is the answer.

When I moved here in 1987, people had hope. Gas was about the same as in Chicago back then - I just paid $3.59 a gallon for 87 octane yesterday. People had a dream to own their own business. Many of my friends did so, but in today's world, none of them want to. And the ones that do constantly complain about the high cost of labor, rent and taxes.

I know that a credit union that's renting a 2,000 to 3,000 sq foot retail shop (not in a mall) for $30,000/month. They have 16 branches that they pay rent. The rent is less at the other branches, but still, that's a lot of money for rent. And tellers, the bottom of the totem pole now make $16/hr!

When they move money,... like federal grant money from Wisconsin and moving it to California, I think they call it reprogramming.

That's an interesting term. Sounds like software, not moving money.

Many years ago, I worked for the DOD. We moved money from project to project - I don't remember what we called it, but I don't think it was called reprogramming back then. Though that was in the late 80's to early 90's.

The first time I heard it, I was thinking the term probably originated from political lawyer speak,...

I heard it recently again when AOC was grilling Thomas Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement about the border and illegal aliens family separation.

What did miss AOC say? That he was reprogramming ICE funds to Benghazi? Ooops, sorry Hillary.

It was disappointing,... AOC was saying that’s it’s not illegal to enter the US. And the Homan said it was and listed the statue.

After putting her in her place with facts, she then accused Homan for giving recommendations on family separations, Homan responded by say she giving many recommendations. And that under the previous administration had separated more family’s and nothing was said.

and added the Congress (With Republicans holding a majority) appropriated more money to the previous administration but this Congress (with Democrat holding a majority) , cut funds with the this administration, that’s when Homan stated that they did what they always done when this happens that they reprogrammed funds to make up the difference.

AOC was just a disappointment.

What's good for AOC is good for the country - That's her belief.

Tax the wealthy!!!

Allow all illegals to stay here and invite more and more to come.

Hire the unhirable and give them Government jobs!!!

Charge us higher taxes to pay for everyone's medical.

I've heard her on the internet and I understand that she's young and is lacking wisdom, but come on. Does she listen to what she says. Is this some sort of Millennial thing, where mommy and daddy (us) pay for everything, while Junior (they) sits at home smoking pot and playing video games. Spend, spend, spend - give away the farm and have mommy and daddy pay for it.

My fear is that more and more AOC's are coming and the Millennials will vote them in. But we do live in a democracy and if the majority wants it that way, then maybe I should move out of the state.

High speed? It wasn't even going to hit 100mph. The plan was to run it on existing rails. Nope. And try and build a train that could tilt so it wouldnt fall off the rails at 70mph. The whole thing was a complete joke.

I feel sorry for the Talgo company.

Why,... Wisconsin turned down government funds for high speed rail because it was unsustainable. we still had people say,.. build it and they will come...

Anyways California snapped it up and.... well, they do what they do best...

and now electric...

you start out your rant by saying "I don't want to sound political" and then do nothing but sound political... I guess when you preface what you say with that disclaimer, it then negates all that you said?

At the time it was political, and these considerations stand in the way of "engineering" projects (unless you're Walmart, just joking). However, I apologize. There's also the "Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde effect" when you mean one thing, then, days later, realize it could sound like something else. The link to the California article mentions the Republican opposition to their state's rail plans. There are no mountains to bore through here in Wisconsin, and the distance was a very short but practical run, IMO. Still, I hear ya.

Would of been great back in the mid 1860's....now most people would rather be tied to the rails then ride them....haha

https://railroad.lindahall.org/essays/cultural-impacts.html

OK, here's your cross country trip by rail....

https://dereklow.co/across-the-usa-by-train-for-just-213/

Bonus video....time lapse storm clouds

I agree.

Sure, there are some bad sections - the worst we hit was the I90 from Portage Indiana to Chicago. Bug killing potholes that swallow Beetles (VW) or Spiders (Alfa)!

I thought our freeway system was in very good condition and the traffic was minimal.

If you want to see traffic, try heading to work on the 210 from the I15. It's 40 miles to Pasadena at an average speed of 25.7 mph. https://laist.com/2019/04/05/the_slowest_freeway_in_la_is_not_all_of_them_heres_a_real_answer.php

And on the way home, there's traffic on the freeway from 2:30 to 9:00.

Forget rail, let's go with road towns, courtesy of Robert Heinlein.

"The Roads Must Roll" <-- click

I recently traveled from Chicago to California and back to Branson Missouri and on to Chicago all via interstate system a total of over 5000 miles and was impressed with how wonderful the upkeep of the roads were. Except for a very few bumps the interstate system is in great shape.

oilcan13

I agree. We are seriously missing out on high speed rail.

Please elaborate,... Who is we?, and what are we missing out of?

What might work in densely populated Europe or Japan does not make necessarily cents in the U.S. (with large taxpayer subsidies by the way). This is classic one-size-does-not-fit-all situation.

You might find this interesting:

https://www.railway-technology.com/features/eu-high-speed-rail-network-dilemma/

Even in Europe, high speed rail isn't necessarily the best answer for all transportation needs.

The Washington D.C. to Boston (think Acela) corridor is about the only place this might be workable.

Try googling “breitspurbahn” and see what you come up with, Mildred.

The US is full of small usable airports. A good short-hop system with electric aircraft would boost business all around and would be a great way for smaller towns to renew their livelihood. HS Trains are great where there is high density like in the Boston -NY-DC corridor. Cross-country HS rail doesn't make sense in the USA.

Simple Reality:

It is +/- 250 miles between Houston (3rd Largest city in USA) and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (3rd largest integrated metropolitan area in USA). The 24/7/365 daily rate of travel between the two cities numbers in the 100,000's. The ground between them is essentially flat, rural, non-seismic and only 1 semi-major river to cross. Gut simple for a E-train Yes? Oh NO you would be Saturn 5 / Apollo to the moon wrong if you think so. It has taken 20 years of just about any issue or challenge you can think of since 1st proposed to reach the now stage of Environmental Impact studies and build/operate partnership(s) formation. Current proposed/promoted "Golden Spike" moment is sometime 2025; most folks here will be shocked shatless if it happens before 2030.

Perspective: I-45 between the two has been built on continually 24/7/365/65 and has NEVER had a single day of completion. Truth: sometime back in the 1980's a local Houston radio station had a call-in with the question "When was I-45 completed?". The trick answer was "never" and if they ran the contest again tomorrow the answer would still be "never". Apply this truth to your E-train equation.

I think high speed rail might make sense for trips such as the string of cities Washington DC to New York, Chicago to Milwaukee, Los Angeles to San Diego, or possibly Portland to Seattle. For anything longer than that, I think Solar Eagle is correct in identifying air travel.

The relative complexity of air travel has made it not so advantageous for trips of the length I just described. But if check- in time for train travel starts to get longer, then medium to long distance train travel will loose the only advantage is has over air travel. And thus, it will not succeed..

The other thing is schedule. People like to travel on their schedule as much as possible. Airlines realize this for popular routes and offer several departure times. Except for commuter runs, trains do not, and probably cannot, provide this option.

The majority of your contention is correct. The problem is the oil companies. They and their allies in the climate denial industry are determined to keep strangle hold on the only backwards car culture on the planet. Everyone else has already figure out what you have said.