Texas should start an initiative to get high-speed rail (Paris: subsidized, tax)

[munna21977]

You suggest closing down DART of dallas or METROrail of Houston also and using fantasy cars??? How about using fantasy cars instead of school bus by ISDs?

Originally Posted by Texas Liberal

Yeah I know all about peak oil, and not to harsh or anything, but it is old news. The U.S. is blessed with huge reserves of oil, coal and natural gas, there is no reason to believe that we won't continue to use them as fuel sources into the foreseeable future.

That said, I am all for wind and solar. Texas is blessed with those resources in addition to petroleum. I would like to see more development along these lines, and I think we will.

Look, I know that the official meme is that HSR was killed in Texas because Southwest Airlines was afraid of competition. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The truth is that HSR would never be able to compete with any airline in Texas and was killed because it was a bad idea. It was a bad idea then, and it will be an even worse idea in the future.

[DarkWolf]

I can't see the average American giving up driving to an Auto car , nor can i see a European or Japanese doing that , people love driving themselves and thats the one thing a computer can't replace.

[SVTRay]

Originally Posted by Texas Liberal

I don't really think this is a good idea. HSR is near obsolete already. High speed trains can only compete with cars and planes in a few very specific niche markets. The train from Dallas to Houston might do ok but the rest would almost certainly just be money pits.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Texas Liberal

In addition to that, we are on the verge of a transportation revolution that will make HSR even more obsolete than it is now. I am talking about autonomous cars. They will be able to improve the speed and safety of automobile transportation to a great degree. A conservative estimate is that they will double the speed at which cars can travel safely now. If that happens, it will destroy any niche for fast trains that is still left.
.

There is around 40,000 automobile death in the US each year which 2/3 is alcohol related. So you could theoretically improve automobile safety by simply installing breathalyzers in every car. Their a lot cheaper than some computerized car

Anyhow, I don't see either Autonomous cars or HSR catching on.

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by Texas Liberal

Yeah I know all about peak oil, and not to harsh or anything, but it is old news. The U.S. is blessed with huge reserves of oil . . .

Really? Just exactly where would those be, and how much?

And if so, why do we import 10 million barrels a day (more than double the nearest large importer -- China)?

Are we just cleverly saving ours, or what?

. . . . coal and natural gas, there is no reason to believe that we won't continue to use them as fuel sources into the foreseeable future.

And just how do Coal and Natural Gas = Gasoline Fuel for your robocars?

That said, I am all for wind and solar. Texas is blessed with those resources in addition to petroleum. I would like to see more development along these lines, and I think we will.

Texas does not even have 1/3 of the Oil production it once had.

And as far as the Wind and Solar when it comes to Transportation -- we have to dump the Internal Combustion Engines to get the use from them . . . .

Look, I know that the official meme is that HSR was killed in Texas because Southwest Airlines was afraid of competition. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The truth is that HSR would never be able to compete with any airline in Texas and was killed because it was a bad idea. It was a bad idea then, and it will be an even worse idea in the future.

No. They were direct payments by SWA to get the Texas Legislature to vote down even getting Federal Money in for HSR. These people are intentionally acting against the long-term interest of the people of Texas.

btw, where do you think the fuel for the Airlines is going to be coming from?

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by munna21977

You suggest closing down DART of dallas or METROrail of Houston also and using fantasy cars??? How about using fantasy cars instead of school bus by ISDs?

No, I didn't suggest closing down DART or METROrail. I am just saying that as technology progresses there be even less need for HSR than there is now. And there is not much need now.

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I can't see the average American giving up driving to an Auto car , nor can i see a European or Japanese doing that , people love driving themselves and thats the one thing a computer can't replace.

I don't know. You may be right. But most of the driving that Americans do is not the fun variety. Most of it is just commuting. I think Americans will be happy to let computer handle that type of boring driving.

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

Agreed.



There is around 40,000 automobile death in the US each year which 2/3 is alcohol related. So you could theoretically improve automobile safety by simply installing breathalyzers in every car. Their a lot cheaper than some computerized car

Anyhow, I don't see either Autonomous cars or HSR catching on.

Self driving cars have many other benefits in addition to driving for drunks. Did you watch the video I linked to earlier? It shows how these cars will improve the lives of the legally blind.

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by Philip T

Really? Just exactly where would those be, and how much?

And if so, why do we import 10 million barrels a day (more than double the nearest large importer -- China)?

Are we just cleverly saving ours, or what?



And just how do Coal and Natural Gas = Gasoline Fuel for your robocars?




Texas does not even have 1/3 of the Oil production it once had.

And as far as the Wind and Solar when it comes to Transportation -- we have to dump the Internal Combustion Engines to get the use from them . . . .





No. They were direct payments by SWA to get the Texas Legislature to vote down even getting Federal Money in for HSR. These people are intentionally acting against the long-term interest of the people of Texas.

btw, where do you think the fuel for the Airlines is going to be coming from?

You may be a little behind here. The U.S. is now a net energy exporter. But it is a red herring anyway because self driving cars can be fueled by any source that HSR can. I don't know if planes can be electric or not, probably not yet since batteries are pretty heavy, but they can run on a number of different fuels as well.

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by Texas Liberal

You may be a little behind here. The U.S. is now a net energy exporter.

So show me THAT math.

But it is a red herring anyway because self driving cars can be fueled by any source that HSR can.

Agreed. Which is why I was asking why you are even going down the Oil path?

Downside for all cars compared to HSR is that there is no way that 100's of individual-motor-driven running on tires-on-roads cars can use less energy than a single equivalent passenger train running on steel rails.

Let alone the train having a practical speed of double or triple the individual cars, robo-or-otherwise.

You are fighting physics on this. Air friction + rolling friction + the mass of all those mostly empty cars. Sorry, just math.

I don't know if planes can be electric or not, probably not yet since batteries are pretty heavy, but they can run on a number of different fuels as well.

No, liquid fuels will likely rule the air.

The projected future for DoD aviation is a combined path of Bio-Fuels and Syn-Fuels.

However the future fuel expense will likely ground most CONUS Airlines.

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by Philip T

So show me THAT math.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that last year, for the first time since the EIA started tracking these energy imports and exports in 1993, annual U.S. crude exports of petroleum products exceeded imports.

Another Great Oil Chart–Inventories Surge! But Don’t Look for Lower Gasoline Prices | Uncommon Wisdom Daily Blog

Originally Posted by Philip T

Agreed. Which is why I was asking why you are even going down the Oil path?

I was just guessing that cars of the future would still use gasoline. But I am not married to oil, if we want to power them some other way I am good with that too.

Originally Posted by Philip T

Downside for all cars compared to HSR is that there is no way that 100's of individual-motor-driven running on tires-on-roads cars can use less energy than a single equivalent passenger train running on steel rails.

Actually there is, since cars have less mass than trains and run at slower speeds. Trains really only beat cars for fuel efficiency if they are full all the time, Most of the time they aren't.

Originally Posted by Philip T

Let alone the train having a practical speed of double or triple the individual cars, robo-or-otherwise.

America's fastest train currently only averages 80 MPH; trains do not have practical speeds double or triple that of cars.

Originally Posted by Philip T

You are fighting physics on this. Air friction + rolling friction + the mass of all those mostly empty cars. Sorry, just math.

Same applies to HSR. Cars do have an advantage here you are not considering. Individual users must buy the fuel for cars, robo or not, so they have an incentive to use it wisely. HSR will run and use fuel whether they completely full or completely empty.

Originally Posted by Philip T

No, liquid fuels will likely rule the air.

The projected future for DoD aviation is a combined path of Bio-Fuels and Syn-Fuels.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Philip T

However the future fuel expense will likely ground most CONUS Airlines.

I doubt that.