The high-speed rail system that USA should strive to have (interstate, Congress)

[LeoNYC]

I took this train on my latest trip to Spain earlier this year. They opened this miracle of modern technology in early 2008.

http://www.renfe.es/video.html]Renfe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid-...peed_rail_line

You board a very comfortable train Madrid and 2 hours 38 minutes (and 386 miles) later you're in the wonder city of Barcelona. It reaches the speed of 186 miles/hr and maintains the speed over 170 miles/hour most of the time.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by LeoNYC

I took this train on my latest trip to Spain earlier this year. They opened this miracle of modern technology in early 2008.

You board a very comfortable train Madrid and 2 hours 38 minutes (and 386 miles) later you're in the wonder city of Barcelona. It reaches the speed of 186 miles/hr and maintains the speed over 170 miles/hour most of the time.

And how big is Spain? About the size of Texas, maybe?

[USNRET04]

Those trains are nice, don't expect them here anytime soon.

It is possible to have trains reach 150MPH for short distances, across some areas of the country though. Their average speed will be much lower.

The reason is the cost to build or improve the tracks to support real hi-speed trains are way out of our budget for now.

[Mike from back east]

Nice, ain't it.

We got what we got because General Motors, Standard Oil and others have owned our Congress for generations. Now we're in a jam. Should oil prices go back up and stay up, watch people in this country suddenly rediscover the worth of railroads.

[Cyber Queen]

This is a nice idea but will never work here. First the country is just to big, second most people work far from train stations or bus stops so they have to drive and third Americans love their cars and the freedom it gives them.

[Bostonian123]

Are the economic benefits and productivity increases from building a high speed rail system enough to offset the cost to build and maintain the infrastruture? I have not seen one study that attempts to answer this question.

If the answer is yes, then we should build it.

If the answer is no, then it will become another government money sink.

[DC at the Ridge]

Originally Posted by neil0311

And how big is Spain? About the size of Texas, maybe?

Actually, if you added Portugal and Greece to Spain, then it would be slightly larger than Texas. Otherwise Spain is just slightly more than two-thirds the size of Texas.

[Prytania]

Existing rail will support higher speeds than what Amtrack runs now and that was what was in the stimulus package.

Maglev is the future but very costly...the LA to Vegas run is the only line to be pending.

And rail is the future...for our national security and as an alternative to maintaining extensive interstate highways.

[WalterK]

Seems the only benefit to a high speed rail would be travel for leisure, maybe some business. In this regard planes are mostly used now, so I couldn't see a high speed rail competing with planes. I mean 170 MPH from Chicago to LA or 400 MPH?

[Prytania]

Most Europeans take rail to get around the continent when planes are too expensive.

I would prefer to take a relaxing train trip versus being herded like cattle and molested by TSA to get anywhere (and pay $400 for the privilege)