High Speed Rail

[Chef Jim]

Let's extend the analogy. Of the peak hour traffic on I-5 or I-10, how much is for interstate travel?

 

I understand that. But for a rail system from LA-SF how much of that is intrastate?

[stuckincincy]

Here's what a hi-speed rail is up against:

 

- you can't run it on the same lines as 30 mph freight trains.

 

- the ridership. How many people on a daily basis will be showing up to travel between Buffalo, Albany, and NYC?

 

- you will have to build dedicated lines. That's right-of-way purchase of huge amounts of land, and the huge cost of construction. The current lines in bad land - mountains, poor, wet soil, are already there. Not much possibility for building outside of that, except at stellar cost.

 

-the European and Japanese hi-speed rails. Their nations were torn to pieces after WWII. They build dedicated lines. Without crossings. Their HS lines have overpasses and underpasses - no passenger car driver is out there reading a map and creeping across the tracks. No local truck driver pondering where to deliver to.

 

- if they won't get you there before your personal vehicle can, why bother? Take a train and arrive at your destination. What then? Wait for your luggage to be unloaded, then take a costly taxi? Rent a car? Without a vehicle of your own - where are the local buses?

 

This is a political feel-good thing timed for the running up to "Earth Day". They should leave the Earth Day festivities to the schools, who are busy terrifying children with tales of savage apocalypse.

[/dev/null]

Here's what a hi-speed rail is up against:

 

Another problem is going to be local politics.

 

Which neighborhood/suburb is going to give up land if a new line has to be built?

 

Where will the terminals be built? This one's happening now in Hampton Roads. Build it in Norfolk? Or Virginia Beach? Newport News wants in on the cash too, but that would mean an extra bridge across the chesapeake bay - which wouldn't be cheap

[Bishop Hedd]

Here's what a hi-speed rail is up against:- you can't run it on the same lines as 30 mph freight trains. - the ridership. How many people on a daily basis will be showing up to travel between Buffalo, Albany, and NYC?- you will have to build dedicated lines. That's right-of-way purchase of huge amounts of land, and the huge cost of construction. The current lines in bad land - mountains, poor, wet soil, are already there. Not much possibility for building outside of that, except at stellar cost.-the European and Japanese hi-speed rails. Their nations were torn to pieces after WWII. They build dedicated lines. Without crossings. Their HS lines have overpasses and underpasses - no passenger car driver is out there reading a map and creeping across the tracks. No local truck driver pondering where to deliver to.- if they won't get you there before your personal vehicle can, why bother? Take a train and arrive at your destination. What then? Wait for your luggage to be unloaded, then take a costly taxi? Rent a car? Without a vehicle of your own - where are the local buses?This is a political feel-good thing timed for the running up to "Earth Day". They should leave the Earth Day festivities to the schools, who are busy terrifying children with tales of savage apocalypse.

An article in yesterdays Buffalo News answers all your points. The 90 corridor is already shovel ready.

[finknottle]

There's no baggage check on any train that runs from DC/Baltimore/Wilmington//NYC/Boston. You just show your ticket and get on the train with your bags. That's it.

 

What do you think the policy response will be the first time it occurs to somebody to board with a bomb in their luggage, stow it, get off in Wilmington, and blow up Penn Station?

 

TSA. How will that effect the cost-and-convenience comparison between air and rail?

 

I say this as a proponent of regional rail. Nevertheless, we can't delude ourselves that it will remain as convenient as it has been.

[Bishop Hedd]

What do you think the policy response will be the first time it occurs to somebody to board with a bomb in their luggage, stow it, get off in Wilmington, and blow up Penn Station?

 

TSA. How will that effect the cost-and-convenience comparison between air and rail?

 

I say this as a proponent of regional rail. Nevertheless, we can't delude ourselves that it will remain as convenient as it has been.

What has prevented someone from blowing up Penn Station before?

[Bishop Hedd]

Couple local pieces recently concerning High Speed Rail.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/642389.html

 

http://artvoice.com/issues/v8n16/catching_that_train

 

 

I've taken Amtrak once a year from Buffalo to Penn Station since '04 and yes, DC Tom is right (never thought I'd say that here before), the train is pretty vacant for the most part until you get between Syracuse and Albany when it starts to fill in. That would change of course if the trains were much faster and didn't have to share the right of way with CSX. 2004 was the first year I ever took the Amtrak anywhere and it was pretty slow thanks to the sharing of tracks with freight trains, but since I detest flying, airlines, airline personnel, TSA personnel, the inconvenience of airports, airports themselves...etc etc for more reasons then can be explained here my daughter and I have taken Amtrak every summer since then.

 

 

I think this is an idea that was a long time coming after the Bush administration tried killing passenger rail in this country.