Wonder what the odds are on who will have a operating train first?
Brightline or CA HSR?
Seeing as how the CAHSR is under construction, and Brightline West has not turned over a spadeful of dirt or lined up finance, my guess is that CA will have a train operating in at least the Central Valley first.
rdamonWonder what the odds are on who will have a operating train first? Brightline or CA HSR?
More importantly I wonder what Amtrak will tell Congress when Brightline has 2-3 successful high speed corridors up and running built at a small fraction of the cost spent on Amtrak since 1971 and Amtrak is still struggling to make one corridor self sustaining. Whats the explanation going to be then to get more funding?
CMStPnP rdamon Wonder what the odds are on who will have a operating train first? Brightline or CA HSR? More importantly I wonder what Amtrak will tell Congress when Brightline has 2-3 successful high speed corridors up and running built at a small fraction of the cost spent on Amtrak since 1971 and Amtrak is still struggling to make one corridor self sustaining. Whats the explanation going to be then to get more funding?
rdamon Wonder what the odds are on who will have a operating train first? Brightline or CA HSR?
To minimize Brightline. Machiavelli 101
CMStPnPMore importantly I wonder what Amtrak will tell Congress when Brightline has 2-3 successful high speed corridors up and running built at a small fraction of the cost spent on Amtrak since 1971 and Amtrak is still struggling to make one corridor self sustaining. Whats the explanation going to be then to get more funding?
*If*. Who knows if all those lines will ever happen.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
I'm happy to see the new train being engineered and constructed by invested money not controlled by the state government. That being said, I don't know how much of the money for this will come from government grants.
I won't bet on the first train running since the high speed rail system has such a head start. I would bet on which will be finished first, though. Since Brightline will be building through such sparse territory and following the Interstate, it won't involve the tunnels and land acquisition issues that the HSR system must overcome, and I will bet that it will be finished years before the HSR system is complete.
One issue I wonder about is Brightline's plan to use emissions-free electricity before 2045.
York1 John
York1One issue I wonder about is Brightline's plan to use emissions-free electricity before 2045.
OvermodHasn't CARB now come out with a proposed zero-emissions deadline of 2030 for passenger and 2035 for freight?
Do those requirements apply to interurbans?
zugmann Overmod Hasn't CARB now come out with a proposed zero-emissions deadline of 2030 for passenger and 2035 for freight? Do those requirements apply to interurbans?
Overmod Hasn't CARB now come out with a proposed zero-emissions deadline of 2030 for passenger and 2035 for freight?
If the trainsets are electric isn't that zero-E? I think Brightline was talking about their source of the power, a subject usually glossed over.
I just read an article saying Brightline aims to be operating by 2028. In time for the Olympics. If that were to occur that would be like Japan in 1964 With the Bullet Train.
Wes Edens, chairmen of Brightline, and Mike Reinigner CEO, are ready to endure the slings and arrows and start building Brightline West later this year. The 218 mile line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas is estimated to cost about $12 billion, of which they have previously lined up $4.2 billion in bonds and are trying to get a FRA grant of $3.75 billion. They have spent about $600 million in planning etc for the the route.
50 million people travel from LA to Las Vegas, with 85% traveling by car. Going in the median of I-15 will allow the train to go 186 mph in one stretch, but most of time will be slower due to the vagaries of the interstate. They hope to take about 3 million cars off the interstate, and of course, make a lot of money at their various station real estate complexes. They also see several other 200 - 300 mile city pairs that look interesting for the future.
The last time I drove I-15 in the summer, my van overheated, and there were a car or two that caught on fire at the high elevation near the Nevada border.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/04/25/the-greenest-bullet-train-in-the-world-wes-edens-wants-to-kickstart-us-high-speed-rail-with-a-vegas-la-line/?sh=51e2f800630b
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/05/25/the-us-is-preparing-to-put-billions-into-high-speed-rail/?sh=424f05e65e3b
I'd like to see the allignment between Rancho Cucamonga and Victorville. Whether it follows the UP/BNSF allignment or the freeway, and about acquisition of property for that segment.
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