You know you're not ready for HSR if:
It takes near a month to bring full service back after a derailment
your current passenger lines aren't up to par on speed
barely any of the network has electric wire
there are more grade crossings than bridges/underpasses
freight trains delay your long AND short distance trains all the time.
(feel free to add in other reasons)
Congress decides what you can or cannot do
Congress decides how much you can spend and on what you can spend it
Congress decides whether or not you can run dinning and sleeping cars
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High Speed Rail is a much abused term.
No one outside of the United States considers 90 mph or 110 mph to be high speed rail.
The current budget hysteria which is gripping the Federal Government makes it unlikely that the US will invest in anything new that isn't requested by the military.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Henry is right about Congress...
AMTK has NEVER been designed for or considered HSR in this country or anywhere else in the world.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Mr. Railman You know you're not ready for HSR if: It takes near a month to bring full service back after a derailment If you don't own the tracks, your at the mercy of the Freight Railroad! your current passenger lines aren't up to par on speed The tracks are built and banked for slower speed freights. barely any of the network has electric wire In the Northeast Corridor you have wire, more than half is 75 years old or older! there are more grade crossings than bridges/underpasses Boston to Washington is the only area that have eliminated nearly all Grade Crossings (only 5 left) freight trains delay your long AND short distance trains all the time. If you ran a Freight Railroad, wouldn't you give your customers preference? (feel free to add in other reasons) High Speed Rail is 200KPH or faster (aprox. 155MPH), Amtrak's 20 Acelas will do that, they have been tested to 168MPH. It's more than just finishing the Catenary upgrades and replaceing defective ties, you have the conflict of working around local Commuter Rail in five cities of the Corridor. All it needs is money! If you can't get the money to finish the Northeast Corridor where can any other line get off the drawing board?
If you don't own the tracks, your at the mercy of the Freight Railroad!
The tracks are built and banked for slower speed freights.
In the Northeast Corridor you have wire, more than half is 75 years old or older!
Boston to Washington is the only area that have eliminated nearly all Grade Crossings (only 5 left)
If you ran a Freight Railroad, wouldn't you give your customers preference?
High Speed Rail is 200KPH or faster (aprox. 155MPH), Amtrak's 20 Acelas will do that, they have been tested to 168MPH. It's more than just finishing the Catenary upgrades and replaceing defective ties, you have the conflict of working around local Commuter Rail in five cities of the Corridor. All it needs is money! If you can't get the money to finish the Northeast Corridor where can any other line get off the drawing board?
Don U. TCA 73-5735
henry6 Congress decides what you can or cannot do Congress decides how much you can spend and on what you can spend it Congress decides whether or not you can run dinning and sleeping cars
As long as the people's representatives are asked to pony up roughly a dollar for every two dollars Amtrak collects in revenues so that it can pay its bills, the Congress should have a voice in how the people's money is spent.
There was a day when the Congress, through its regulatory agencies, told the airlines where they could fly, how much they could charge, what services were appropriate, etc. And to a lesser extent they did the same thing for the intercity bus companies. Then they got smart. They got out of the airline and bus regulatory business. And most people benefited from their doing so. Hopefully, they will do the same thing with respect to intercity passenger rail, although I don't expect to see it. Is it possible?
In Australia, where I lived for five years, a significant segment of passenger rail was out sourced by the federal government to the highest bidder. The government subsidizes the service. It also helps set service standards. But the carrier is free to determine the overall level and quality of service. Works pretty well. Moreover, providing passenger train service in Australia is not a monopoly. Different vendors have a piece of the action where the services have been privatized. Included in the mix are the Queensland and New South Wales governments.
Is Australia going to build a high speed passenger rail system similar to what they have in parts of Europe, Japan or China? Nope. Don't need it. And neither do we, or at least we don't need a system that emulates what the Europeans, Chinese or Japanese have. We need a system that meets our needs. Not bragging rights.
If Congress wants to run a railroad they should run a railroad; if Congress wants to play politics, they should get rid of the railroad or shut up.
And now they are trying to get control so they can micromanage the Federal Reserve by political whim. Won't that be great?
Perhaps we don't need a true HSR system, but we certainly should have something far better than the outdated service we have now. And it isn't for bragging rights, as our right wing Texan claims. The reason that so many nations have good, fast passenger services is because it is good for society, same as interstate highways and airports capable of handling jets.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
schlimm Perhaps we don't need a true HSR system, but we certainly should have something far better than the outdated service we have now. And it isn't for bragging rights, as our right wing Texan claims. The reason that so many nations have good, fast passenger services is because it is good for society, same as interstate highways and airports capable of handling jets.
BINGO! Give that man a cigar; buy that man a beer! Oh, there are many good market pairs and routes that could support real HSR and should. However, we use the letters HSR to build dreams, create images and stir excitement, and solicit political turmoil never defining what HSR is.
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