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You want High Speed? Go back to 1935.
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drephpe's analysis is probably the best I've ever seen on this topic,but a couple of thoughts: First, even if the airlines paid for the aiport, controllers, etc., the capital outlay for going fast on the surface (i.e. tracks) will be higher than that of going through the air (2 miles of concrete and free air vs. hundreds of miles of relatively fragile track at over $1m/mile plus). Second, rail carriers are at their best when they run consistent, reliable service. Customers hate not being able to plan (don't you love it when the phone guy shows up early or late?). As for passenger trains in this country? The analogy, to me, are cruise ships. Nice to ride, but not really transportation in the modern sense (other than high density commuter districts). Or do people take a ship to Europe to ride excursion trains there? <br /> <br />Also, the difference, in terms of maintenance, between 80mph and 120mph is staggering, as the equations are not linear, first in terms of the energy required to run the equipment (squares as speed doubles) and, secondly, the infrastructure required to control said energy. Again, I'll refer you to dr's analysis. <br /> <br />Finally, the constraint on a railroad is the fact that it is pipeline. The slowest train(s) on a busy subdivision dictates the overall speed of that line, in one of two ways. Either everything moves at the same speed, which is consistent and easy on dispatchers, crew, etc. Or trains have to go into the hole, make meets, etc., etc., which results in the same average speed - on train covering the sub in 2-3 hours, while the low-priority train takes forever. Trying to overlay a high-speed network on the existing infrastructure is going to be a tough sell. And buying right-of-way in today's environment runs into problems with the NIMBY crowd or suddenly discovering the most valuable real-estate on the planet ("You want to buy a 200 foot wide strip of my land? Hmmm....."). <br /> <br />As for value of cargo - don't ever tell a utility that their train of coal isn't high value. Don't think in terms of 115-130 cars of coal. Think of one giant car, ala John Knieling's thoughts in the '70's. Also, when it comes to camcorders, TV's, etc., etc., etc., don't think boxcars (although they sometimes go that way) - think containers, as someone else on this site alluded. <br /> <br />Finally, just to brag - 210 knots in a Lancair is my record for a vehicle under my control.
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