Why dont they make High speed railroad service? (New York, Buffalo: casinos, prices)

[GiantRutgersfan]

Hear me out on this one.

They ought to make high speed bullet trains linking the following citys:

New York or Hoboken

Albany

Rochester

Syracuse

Buffalo

Binghamton

Hartford

Boston

Trenton

Atlantic City

Scranton

Allentown

Philadelphia




It would revitalize the entire region. Make it truly interconnected.

I personally think that it would be amazing to be able to simply get on a train and be able to get from NYC to Atlantic City in an hour by train.

They make trains that can go 140 MPH easily. It could take under an hour from NYC to Philly.

Plus loads of jobs would be made to create this rail system

[009]

1)Where's the $$$?

2)Where's the demand?

3)There already is a NYC to Atlantic City train route, or I should mention that it's going to be revived again, but it's not going to be high speed. It used to be run by Amtrak and now it's going to be operated by NJ Transit. A majority of the cash going into that rehashed route will come from the casinos.

4)Most tracks are owned by freight train companies. Very few are publicly owned. So if you propose high speed rail on freight tracks, don't think so. New tracks? $$$ Forget about using existing track, it's either new or nothing.

Just look at the so called high speed service run by Amtrak, the Acela. It averages around 90 mph, instead of the 120+ mph as advertised. It does reach speeds around there, but only for a short section of it's route. So much for that. It just a "futuristic", aerodynamic European/Asian looking train that runs on an American pace and plagued with mechanical problems. What a waste. Stick to planes or the highway.

[GiantRutgersfan]

They could make trains that are good is my point. a train that goes 150 miles per hour between AC and NYC would bring loads of $ to AC.

The benefit to NYC would be increased tourism $. And increased access to other cities.

The cities in upstate NY and PA would benefit most because it would make it feasible for people to work in NYC. And vice versa

[garmin239]

Weren't they going to do something like this a few years ago?

[ocnymonty]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

They could make trains that are good is my point. a train that goes 150 miles per hour between AC and NYC would bring loads of $ to AC.

The benefit to NYC would be increased tourism $. And increased access to other cities.

The cities in upstate NY and PA would benefit most because it would make it feasible for people to work in NYC. And vice versa

I understand in 'concept' it seems like a great idea. The largest problem is lack of demand. However with gas and energy prices rising we may be moving closer to that direction.

You can never compare rail systems that exist in Europe and Japan, because they are largely subsididzed and fuel sells at a premium. Here in the US, our rail system has failed in large part due to a lack of ridership. Still even with gas prices over $4.50 a gallon in many parts of New York, keep in mind a rail commuter ticket from Poughkeepsie NY to Albany runs $35 round trip. A one way fare from Poughkeepsie to Albany runs $40. Using trains for tourism and for commuting long distances is just cost prohibative.

NYC already has seen it's greatest period of tourisim in the last 7 years... and most people visiting NYC are Europeans, who cash in their Euro's for cheap dollars. Stand in Times Square these days... you're not likely to see people from Iowa, more Germany, France, Spain... .