Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I was hoping to start a good discussion with this thread. I have done a lot more searching and found out there are a lot of hsr projects set to be completed in the 2010 area. The maglev project on the east coast sounds like a really good system. They are still planning, but they hope to begin construction in 2005-2006. In the midwest and great lakes regions they are going to upgrade existing track to allow 110mph train speeds. This won't be true hsr, but it will greatly increase the average speed. They will need to do something to get to the 200mph average speed. At 200mph, railroads easily compete with airlines over great distances. The east coast maglev will do just that, probably getting rid of almost all flights between the connected cities. They do need to figure out a standard for high speed trains. At some point, all of these systems will meet. With passengers, it is much easier to have walk to the other train at a terminal, unlike freight which requires a lot of labor to switch from narrow to standard guage track. It will still be inconvenient for people to switch between the rails and maglev trains instead of riding one train all the way to their destination. I am a big fan of all hsr projects. I will definitely ride passenger trains when they become available. Right now, the trips that I want take too long, but they are still equal or less in price compared to airlines. Check out www.amtrak.com/about/government-hsr-index.html This site has a whole bunch of info on all of the proposed and current plans. I don't like the jet train, but I am sure they will come up with something better. If they don't want to electrify entire networks of track they will have to. As soon as the hsr projects are completed I think there will be a large shift to rail. I hate flying. I hate having to be at the airport an hour and a half ahead of time, all of the baggage checks, and security checks (I always get pulled to the side and scanned). I hate the pressure change when flying. Once I get to my destination, I can't hear good for several days. And I hate the cost. Right now, Amtrak is about the same price as airlines on a few long distance trips. The train takes 2 days vs. 8 hours in a plane. I don't have time to take the train, but I would love to ride on the rails and see all of the scenery along the way. buellman
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag