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The current rolling stock is going to be phased out by 2021-2022. Hopefully the new ones they bring out will be able to reach a higher top speed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
The Acela Express goes from Washington DC to Boston. It is closest thing to high-speed rail currently in the U.S., but it still takes 2 hours 45 minutes to go from DC to NYC (about 220 miles).
It is faster and cheaper to fly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave New World
The Acela Express is a good train service and in a high density population route such as the US East Coast faster and more frequent train services do work.
Subway Signal Upgrade needs to be NYC's priority, as the system is in need of investment and much needed refurbishment.
In terms of longer distance travel, the plane is going to be the main mode of public transport in a country as large as the US, as the population density is just not there to justify high speed rail in many parts of the country.
Comparing apples to apples the northeast corridor as well as some portions of the Southwest ie California between Tijuana and Los Ángeles as well as SF Bay Area. Do have densities that can somewhat compare with European and Asian Corridors. We are not talking about why US doesn’t have high speed rail that cuts across Kansas and the great plains nor expecting a cross country bullet HSR like train network. Nor are we comparing the rural states with Europe or Asian’s highway, air, and rail infrastructure.
A bullet train style HSR between Portland Seattle Vancouver, on north east corrifor or just between Tijuana/San Diego and LA would be profitable in no time. Doesn’t even have to go into Mexico proper if it does want to just have a cross border express clearance facility for passengers like the Tijuana airport and people would be breaking down the doors to ride it as it would be much faster than waiting in that big line to cross the border.
Last edited by citizensadvocate; 04-05-2018 at 07:57 AM..
The US is vast and sparse, Korea and Japan are both incredibly dense countries. The comparison is pretty silly. The same goes for all other countries that have it.
China is vast, but its population size is far larger and the inhabitants are highly concentrated in the eastern part of the country. It's simply unreasonable to expect the US to build these railways. The probability of these projects being a waste of money is much much higher.
Australia and Canada are much more comparable. When a country is huge and sparse, high-speed rail is simply redundant.
Add to it the fact that 900 out of every 1000 Americans has a car, there is less need than there is in a place like China- where only 100 out of every 1000 has a car- for things like bullet trains.
Can someone overlay those maps with a population density map?
+1. The US rail system hits all the high points. Anyone who has actually ridden (or driven) between those Western cities knows there's a whole lot of nothin' between them.
Actually I find the European map quite depressing, with its total lack of wide open spaces.
The US is vast and sparse, Korea and Japan are both incredibly dense countries. The comparison is pretty silly. The same goes for all other countries that have it.
China is vast, but its population size is far larger and the inhabitants are highly concentrated in the eastern part of the country. It's simply unreasonable to expect the US to build these railways. The probability of these projects being a waste of money is much much higher.
Australia and Canada are much more comparable. When a country is huge and sparse, high-speed rail is simply redundant.
Well, the U.S. COULD build them. It's expensive, but the U.S. is more about building military bases abroad, and infrastructure in countries that it bombs.
It just isn't interested in domestic issues. It would just have to divert it's money away from its primary goals to do that. But, this generation of Americans is fairly strongly against any kind of investment that goes into America - whether it's public education, or anything else...Americans are just against it. They do seem to be for wars though.
Add to it the fact that 900 out of every 1000 Americans has a car, there is less need than there is in a place like China- where only 100 out of every 1000 has a car- for things like bullet trains.
Japan has a quite high automobile ownership though.
The US is falling behind in many respects. The highway system is falling into disrepair. If you do a major road trip you realize how bad it is. High-Speed Rail would be nice but not likely to happen on a national scale. Instead, we need dedicated and improved passenger rail corridors and an expanded network with better schedules. The passenger rail system in the US is designed to fail. The difference in passenger rail service between the US and Europe is stunning. China is building a seven-nation rail system in Africa that will connect Ethiopia and Kenya across Africa to the DRC. The US is living in the past.
Building high speed rail with China could also be revitalizing Rust Belt manufacturing. China could offer financing, investment for manufacturing in Midwest package deal of “sign here, it will happen.” Not to mention, this is infrastructure for future.
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