High-speed rail San Diego to San Francisco and Sacramento

[donalduckmoore]

I prefer train to flight not because it is safer but because when an accident hits, more than 90% of the passengers will be rescued alive in a train, but for plane, more than 99% of the passengers will die.

[orangeapple]

I read about the plans for the California High Speed Rail recently in the local paper and I thought it sounded really cool, except that it's going to take 15 YEARS to build.

I live in southwest Riverside county, and the idea of it only taking 45 minutes to get to LA sounds awesome. For commuters, this is a dream, as the metrolink doesn't go through my area. Basically, it cuts travel time in half, plus if you're not driving, then you can use that time for other things (ie. napping, reading, eating, etc). It would only take 3.5 hours to SF, as opposed to 6.5 hours to drive. That makes a weekend trip there so much more realistic.

Here's the official site:

California High-Speed Rail

[DarkWolf]

Any updates on this? It seems kinda of Dead? I really want this project to go forward.

[Oerdin]

I love the idea but the proposed route is idiotic. I mean it winds and curves all over the place and that will limit the speed of the train; what we really need are straight lines so the trains can actually get up to their theoretical max speed of 250mph but that would mean digging tunnels and building bridges which would be more expensive so instead we get trains which can go 250mph but a course which limits their top speed to 100mph in most sections because it is so windy. It's retarded. Why pay for Ferrari performance unless you actually have a place where you can get the most out of those trains?

[destroycreate]

Anybody who is against this idea has obviously never been on a high speed bullet train. I've taken high speed trains in both Asia and Europe, and let me tell you, it's far more comfortable than sitting on a stuffy airplane with all the rules about not being able to get up when the seatbelt sign is on, not to mention airport/security delays, actually getting to the airport, being wedged between 2 obese people and your knees are jammed against the seats in front of you, dealing with weather issues, turbulence etc. There's nothing better than just hopping on a train in the city center and buzzing on to the next.

Transport time between LA and SF will take 2.5 hours in all. Are you people trying to argue that flying from LAX - including the traffic to get there, having to be at the airport 1.5 - 2 hours before, and then getting to SFO (that is if we're not counting potential delays) and waiting at the baggage claim, taking the BART to the city (or renting a car) will be more time efficient!? PLEAAAASE. Once agian, the NIMBYS in this state try to inhibit any sort of modern progress that tons of other countries have.

Plus, people are forgetting that the HSR will be linking many of California's midsized cities, greatly improving our infrastructure. How does one get to Bakersfield, Inland Empire, or say, Modesto, fast? There's no large airports there, and it's very expensive to fly to these smaller airports. I have family in Bakersfield and San Diego, and it's always a ***** to be able to see eachother. The 5 is clogged all the way. This is not just about SF to LA, this is many people in California that are going to be linked much more efficiently.

LOL @ people fearing seismic activity on a train - what will you do when driving on a highway overpass, bridge, laying at the beach (tsnumani), or working in your office highrise!?

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

I love the idea but the proposed route is idiotic. I mean it winds and curves all over the place and that will limit the speed of the train; what we really need are straight lines so the trains can actually get up to their theoretical max speed of 250mph but that would mean digging tunnels and building bridges which would be more expensive so instead we get trains which can go 250mph but a course which limits their top speed to 100mph in most sections because it is so windy. It's retarded. Why pay for Ferrari performance unless you actually have a place where you can get the most out of those trains?

Do you think that is the CHSR's fault? The fault lies within all of the idiotic, anti-development, pro-SUV suburban fanatics who don't want HSR running through their counties or posh cities (ie., OC or Palo Alto). If people allowed "straight lines" to be built, the HSR would've been completed years ago. Secondly, ever look at the topography of California? Does it look like "straight lines" can even be built!? With mountain passes, bays, jagged peaks and endless hills and valleys, this state is hardly Florida material.

[DarkWolf]

The Trains will tilt on curves , so losing speed to them is not an issue or slowing down , with tilting trains you can take a curve @ 190mph.

Heres TGV's on Curves they tilt.


YouTube - TGV birthday

Amtrak Acela Express @ 110mph on a Curve & Amtrak Regional @ 90mph , see how it tilts.


YouTube - Acela Express 2170 meets Amtrak Regional 179

[sh0t]

Somebody proposes a high speed rail line through california once every 3 years it seems. Always a pipe dream.

I fly from San Diego LA or San Fran often. Suits me just fine. Train might be a nice, but I can't see it being economical. Train infrastructure is very expensive, and I don't want any tax subsidization.

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by sh0t

Somebody proposes a high speed rail line through california once every 3 years it seems. Always a pipe dream.

I fly from San Diego LA or San Fran often. Suits me just fine. Train might be a nice, but I can't see it being economical. Train infrastructure is very expensive, and I don't want any tax subsidization.

I'm not sure if you were aware but...the train HSR going to be built, it was approved by voters and the state of California. All that is missing right now is funds for certain areas, and the actual planning of the routes. In a little over a decade, the train will be built, and yes, at the expense of taxpayers - which is fine with me. It's about time we get past this autocentric American mentality we have.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Do you think that is the CHSR's fault? The fault lies within all of the idiotic, anti-development, pro-SUV suburban fanatics who don't want HSR running through their counties or posh cities (ie., OC or Palo Alto). If people allowed "straight lines" to be built, the HSR would've been completed years ago. Secondly, ever look at the topography of California? Does it look like "straight lines" can even be built!? With mountain passes, bays, jagged peaks and endless hills and valleys, this state is hardly Florida material.

Japan's geography is just as rugged, if not more so, as California's but they've managed to get straight lines via tunneling and bridges where necessary. MY experience is that it isn't necessarily the NIMBYs, though they are bad enough, and instead it is the politicians who are demanding stations in every single tiny little town and who want the train to constantly stop every 5 minutes. With a straight line track and the introduction of express trains along with commuter trains the 2.5 hour LA-SF trip could be cut down to about one hour. That's what we need to do and that's what the Japanese and French do yet we're copying AmTrak's failed model where every train is a commuter train which stops at every little town instead of having fast express trains going from major population center to major population center with commuter trains going from major population center to little towns.