Pennsylvania...out of site out of mind nationally?

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by Pine to Vine

So, I'm curious how a "state" could be more vocal and generate more fame for itself? What would you suggest?

I think the reputation of the state in the world's eyes will be tied to it's primary city.

France's second urban area, Lyon, became well known when it was connected to Paris within 2 hours. Osaka and Tokyo used to have very different cultures, but 50 years they were connected by high speed rail, and now hundreds of millions breeze back and forth. You can come up with many similar examples.

The current 75 - 100 minutes that it takes on train to go from Philadelphia to NYC is too long. Technology is fairly routine to cut that trip down to 45 minutes. In comparison you can ride the A train in NYC for 31 miles without a transfer which takes an hour.

Tying the cities intimately together will create a huge boost for Philadelphia. The intercity ride could be shorter than many commutes.

[pman]

I don't see much value in trying to become a bedroom community. The city needs to focus it's energy on job creation. The state would be better served cutting travel time to pittsburgh to two hours. Current travel time to ny could be modestly improved for a lot less. Amtrak briefly ran a non stop in 68 minutes or so...it is already feasible to run service to north philly in about an hour.

[bluecarebear]

Pennsylvania votes blue. Therefore, we are irrelevant to the media. The swing states to the West hold far more clout than us.

[Sammy215267]

I'll be honest....the fact that PA...doesn't really get alot of attention doesn't bother me. I Will say the major cities of states is what drives it. My mom friend who is from baltimore said when some of them thought of PA they thought of "Dutch Country" and that was it and when she moved to Philly it was a shock to her "People was so rude, and nasty" now this lady isn't a suburban person at all lol. But anyone can easily say when someone thinks of Philly its just Philly ...same as New York City...no one thinks NY State. But overall people know Pennsylvania. It might be overlooked but its known.

[2nd trick op]

Originally Posted by PacoMartin

I think the reputation of the state in the world's eyes will be tied to it's primary city.

The current 75 - 100 minutes that it takes on train to go from Philadelphia to NYC is too long. Technology is fairly routine to cut that trip down to 45 minutes. In comparison you can ride the A train in NYC for 31 miles without a transfer which takes an hour.

Tying the cities intimately together will create a huge boost for Philadelphia. The intercity ride could be shorter than many commutes.

Sorry, but that ain't gonna happen; the technology might be there, but the politics make it impossible to implement.

The much-ballyhooed French TGV system, like the Japanese shinkansen which preceded it (and has now been in service for half a century) is a success because, with the exceptions of approaches to the major stations in the anchor cities, it was built "from scratch" in open countryside. The American Northeast Corridor was developed by upgrading the Main line of the former Pennsylvania Railroad. Land for new routes would be very expensive and (all together now) Not in My Back Yard !!!!

The Acela trains -- built about ten years ago, and not without "growing pains" -- have a top sped of 150 MPH, but that's only feasible on a couple of short stretches north of New Haven. the problem is the age and vulnerability if the catenary (electric wiring).

Going south from New York, the tunnels and drawbridges limit speeds to 60-80 MPH until the Newark Station is passed. From there, it's 110 MPH through Elizabeth, Rahway and Metuchen. Only at Milepost 27, about a mile south of New Brunswick, does the urban congestion thin out enough to allow 135 MPH running. That lasts only as far as a few miles north of Trenton. And from there, urbanization issues mandate less-than-top speeds the remainder of the way into Philly.

With the exception of the potential of the Acela, there have been no changes in speeds since I spent a summer working on the NEC -- back in 1995.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by 2nd trick op

Land for new routes would be very expensive and (all together now) Not in My Back Yard !!!!

I don't disagree, but I do find it odd that the USA with its lower population density and maybe 1/10 of the time of recorded history compared to China/Japan (maybe 1/5 of Europe) seems to have more precious "back yards". Yes, cultural and natural resources do need to be protected, but if we compare our outcomes to the rest of the world something is out of whack in our society.