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Is THIS a Viable Solution to the Current Amtrak Funding Crisis?
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[quote]QUOTE: <i>Originally posted by futuremodal</i> <br /><br />Donclark is on the right path. HSR would fill a time niche between highway and airline. Current standard 79 mph max rail operations do not beat highway travel door to door, freight or passenger. The only thing he's missing, and the most important variable for success with HSR is that it MUST be focussed on freight, first and foremost, then and only then can you add a passenger element. Freight makes money, ergo would attract the necessary private investment capital (although you would still need a significant government financial invovement, not necessarily using tax dollars but utilizing instead tax exemptions and credits). HSR freight would take market share from truckers mostly and also some airfreight, and these time sensitive freight components have higher profit margins. <br /> <br />Once you've establish HSR freight lines, it would be no problem to introduce passenger operations, even running as "mixed" consists. A HSR passenger operation over the medium distance corridors would make the most sense, since such could directly compete with medium haul airlines, but even long distance HSR passenger operations could probaby attract enough travelers to approach private sector profitability. <br />[/quote] <br /> <br />Hmmm. Sounds great... <br /> <br />EXCEPT, <br /> <br />Amtrak, when it ran express, had trouble keeping the cars on the rails at 79 mph... <br /> <br />Second, there are good reasons that neither the Japanese nor Europeans run a significant amount of HSR freight. Freight is heavier and much more dense than passengers. Trains must have heavier construction, track structures must be of both heavier construction and correctly engineered for freight including little or no super elevation that is often used on passenger lines especially HSR lines. Lets not forget that merely mixing freight and passenger trains on the same tracks is likely to create dispatching headaches similar to those felt now. For example, suppose freight speeds can be increased to 100 mph. That's great until you introduce 130 mph passenger trains on the same tracks. You quickly revert to the same problems felt when freight are at 50 to 60 mph and passenger at 79 mph. <br /> <br />Without a magic wand, it just isn't gonna work. <br /> <br />LC
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