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As someone else pointed out earlier, American's love their cars way too much. For this reason, I don't see high speed rail taking over the automible during our lifetime. Rails are cool, but don't offer the privacy, control and freedom of an automobile.
I doubt this type of rail would come to fruition in many years (if ever) however regional rail is gaining prominence here in the southeast and probably in other areas as well. I conceive over time perhaps these rails might even merge. Could we be linked like Europe, I doubt it but it is good to see rail going forward on some level.
Should the United States ever implement a coast to coast HSR, what should be the two terminus cities and what cities should it connect to in between?
Maybe some day, but almost certainly not in our lifetimes. We just don't have the population density to justify it coast-to-coast. Certain corridors, sure, particularly along the east coast where both the roadway and aviation infrastructure are stretched to the limit. But from the Mississippi to the Pacific, there are huge expanses of nothing and nobody, and it doesn't make sense to build redundant infrastructure to serve those areas. The cities peppered throughout that nothingness are adequately served by highway and air travel for now.
If the private market decided it, it would never happen because it does not seem even remotely feasible. If it's necessary AND infeasible, then the public sector needs to make that decision.
As someone else pointed out earlier, American's love their cars way too much. For this reason, I don't see high speed rail taking over the automible during our lifetime. Rails are cool, but don't offer the privacy, control and freedom of an automobile.
That doesn't apply to the Northeast , Transit / Rail ridership accounts for half the modal share. And the car culture is dying fast in this region , throw in a gas spike of 5$ a gallon and ppl will start flocking to it.
Should the United States ever implement a coast to coast HSR, what should be the two terminus cities and what cities should it connect to in between?
I wouldn't look for it anytime soon, if someone can show enough potential riders it may be approved but it seem like nothing in the planning stages, only talking and that can take years.
That doesn't apply to the Northeast , Transit / Rail ridership accounts for half the modal share. And the car culture is dying fast in this region , throw in a gas spike of 5$ a gallon and ppl will start flocking to it.
Most of New England lacks commuter rail. Sure, you can rely on commuter rails if you live in the metro NYC or Boston area. But, in Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Manchester and Springfield? No freekin' way. The car is the only option. And Hartford is a major location for corporations and jobs.
Most of New England lacks commuter rail. Sure, you can rely on commuter rails if you live in the metro NYC or Boston area. But, in Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Manchester and Springfield? No freekin' way. The car is the only option. And Hartford is a major location for corporations and jobs.
Its being restored back....and most New Englanders live in Urban areas.....which makes restoring a service like this worth the $$$. By the end of the decade all those cities you listed should have 2 more lines and a connecting service....
Assuming HSR gets around 200mph, corridors of about 500 miles are ideal for it, not cross-country journeys.
Two up-and-coming technologies in the next ehh 50ish years which will change commuting patterns and could complement high speed rail:
1.) Computer-driven cars. Speed limits would increase to maybe 100/120 mph, and if a massive zipcar-like sharing program became successful, the # of cars needed would fall drastically, as would the need for parking lots, house garages, etc.
2.) Perfected vertical take off and landing for planes, aka planes that take off like helicopters but can achieve the regular speeds they do now. Why fly from O'Hare to JFK when you can fly from the top of a skycraper in the Loop straight to a skycraper in Midtown Manhattan?
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