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"A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said. Railway officials say they want to reach speeds over 500 kph (312 mph)."
How fast do our fastest trains go now and would something like this work in the US? That is, would there be the demand for it and how much would it probably cost per passenger? I know there has been talk of high speed rail in political circles in the US but how fast were they talking? Would a train traveling at that speed have any effect (nausea, headache, etc) on the passengers? What are the pros and cons of this?
It might work at a route like LA to Las Vegas with no stops in between. Las Vegas is a tourist destination. High speed trains don't work very well if there are a lot of stops between Point A and point B. What good is 300 MPH if you have to stop every 30-50 miles or so to pick up or diembark passengers? With this premise, the NE corridor wouldn't be feasable as there are too many cities close together.
The drive to develop high-speed rail technology rivals China's space program in terms of national pride and importance.
Even if the US could develop a 300 mph train, there is no motivation to do so. It is not important to our national psyche. Therefore, very little money and effort will be put into a program compared to, say, the interstate program or NASA.
It might work at a route like LA to Las Vegas with no stops in between. Las Vegas is a tourist destination. High speed trains don't work very well if there are a lot of stops between Point A and point B. What good is 300 MPH if you have to stop every 30-50 miles or so to pick up or diembark passengers? With this premise, the NE corridor wouldn't be feasable as there are too many cities close together.
NE Corridor would work if the stops were Boston --- New York --- Philadelphia --- Baltimore ---- Washington DC
If you wanted to go to the other stations then you would use the Acela or the Regional.
I took a high speed train from Paris Airport (Roissy) to Valence which is south of Lyon. Total distance was about 350 miles and it took 2.5 hours. It was a great ride. Very smooth and very comfortable with maybe 3 or 4 stops in all (no nausea or headaches!). The alternative was to catch a flight to Lyon, pick up a car and drive around 70 miles. The train beat that alternative in every way which is probably the reason it was pretty full.
The Acela 2's will go 250mph , the current Acelas are limited to 150 , but can go up to 160mph. The Chinese may say there develop 300mph , but its unlikely they can run at that speed , the tracks and wheels would need to be replaced every 2 weeks for the where n tear....
We can't even agree on that small high speed line between Vegas and some CA city.
We spend more time debating, arguing, blaming, fingerpointing and then filing documents, doing impact studies, pacifying activists, filing more documents and then run out of money and shelf the project.
The Acela 2's will go 250mph , the current Acelas are limited to 150 , but can go up to 160mph. The Chinese may say there develop 300mph , but its unlikely they can run at that speed , the tracks and wheels would need to be replaced every 2 weeks for the where n tear....
And there is a difference between top speed and average speed.
And there is a difference between top speed and average speed.
The Average varies , south of Newark its 120mph , in CT and NYC its 90mph due to track work and upgrading , and RI / MASS its 140-50mph.
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