On the evening news Channel 13 in Sacramento this evening showed Japan's new Mag-Lev train capable of 300 mph that it is hoped will become the second generation high speed service in the Asian nation.
The new train on the test track has already achieved its design speed of 300 mph and this from a country that has been operating high speed rail for forty years.
Makes Acela that achieves 150 mph for a very brief period pale in comparison.
Al - in - Stockton
Well, does it? A 300 MPH levitated transport device is at some level another type of airplane, and there is ample airline service between major cities in the NEC and elsewhere. Does the mag-lev offer train-style amenities of wider seats, leg room, "room to get up and stretch your legs and maybe get something from the snack car", or are the economics of it such that it will offer airline-style seating?
Admittedly, the mag-lev is electrically operated and doesn't have the problem of sky-high jet fuel. But how much energy does it take to push something along at ground level at 300 MPH? Part of the reason airplanes operate at high altitudes is that air resistance is much lower up there, and the energy consumption of mag-lev may be comparable to that of a jet. How much noise does this thing make at 300 MPH, essentially an airplane whizzing by at ground level?
How much does it cost to build and operate the guideway? It may make sense in the ultra-high population density of the coastal zones of Japan, but perhaps the balance between the 150 MPH Acela and the competing air shuttle makes sense for the population and travel demand of the NEC.
If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?
Now that the Union Pacific has effectively closed the door on the proposed California High Speed Rail system by saying it can't operate anywhere near its tracks, it is time to look at a Mag-Lev system for California that is built above existing highways whose right of way we already own.
This was one of the proposals that was originally submitted build a Mag Lev system elevated above I-5 between Redding and Sacramento then follow 99 south to Bakersfield then back to I-5 over the Grapevine and into Los Angeles and onto Sacramento. A elevated connector would connect San Francisco and the east bay communites with the main route in the Central Valley. This proposal further suggested that the cars could be convertible to haul trucks at night eliminating the need for expansion of the highways. I like this proposal best of all.
In November California taxpayers are going to be asked to pass a 9.1 billion bond to build the 220 mph high speed rail system from Sacramento to San Diego and the Bay area both San Francisco and the east bay to connect with the system that will travel through central valley.
One proposal put forth for this train calls for an eleven mile long tunnel, while yet another calls for three tunnels one four miles long another seven miles long and a third five miles long. All are through earthquake fault areas. That alone makes me kind of nervous.
Al - in- Stockton
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