Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Who knows what to think? It could turn out that China builds all the componets needed and we get stuck laying just the rail.Or worse who is going to run the trains the private sector or the gvt?if it is the gvt we are in trouble,AMTRAK has lost money every year of it's existence reaching into the billions.We all know that AMTRAK can not compete with the airlines price wise,will the new fast trains be able to compete?
I'm hoping that most of the components are built in the US, engineered in the US, Germany, Japan, and France, and the Chinese will lay the rail, just as they did once before. I'm assuming we don't have to pay the Chinese US minimum wage. Just give them a work visa and the best of them can settle here as immigrants (not as sojourners).
This'll allow us to update our infrastructure. The unions will howl, but if can't build our infrastructure at a reasonable price, we won't build it at all and there'll be even fewer jobs available to Americans.
The Neon Lights are Pretty, Downtown, Downtown....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
Yes, makes sense. No checking in, no security checks etc., that saves a lot of time, especially if the station is located downtown. But I assume it will be expensive at the beginning, the US would have to build much of the infrastructure from scratch.
Everyone says this works IF it is downtown to downtown. Anyone look at the people in the airport lately? They are not going downtown to downtown. Nor will many of them ever.
Would Americans use such trains even if they existed?
I'd much rather hop a high speed train than an airplane. I don't fly a lot because of the emissions AND the cost.
In any case, if a high speed train was from Little Rock to Dallas or Little Rock to Memphis or Kansas City, best believe I'd be hopping that train quite a bit if it made financial sense.
Everyone says this works IF it is downtown to downtown. Anyone look at the people in the airport lately? They are not going downtown to downtown. Nor will many of them ever.
OK, but if the stations are somewhere outside the cities, just like most airports, people have to go by car to wherever they want to got. With your sprawling cities over there much of the saved time might be lost again in traffic. I guess the only reason airports are outside the cities is safety and maybe space. Stations however can even be build under the city, unlike airports obviously
I am a civil engineer and I am a Chinese American.
It is very interesting to read the posts here. Several key point to share:
1. Basically, HSR includes two components: Hardware and Construction
2. US is lagging behind the world in both
3. For hardware, it will be selected from Japan/Germany/France
4. For civil design/construction, it will a US based firm or some sort of Joint-Venture by US/China, etc.
5. Similar to other industries, a Company from China, if they won the project, will hire most workers here in US and pay US wages.
BTW,
1. The globlization is suppose to benefit everybody (according to the forerunner - Adam Smith)
2. A portion or the majority of the government's stimulus package money are borrowed from China.
This video shows how busy the Northeast corridor got last thanksgiving , set new Amtrak usage records. Currently the MTA , NJT ,MBTA , MARC , VE , and Septa are all replacing there fleets with mostly oversea built trains. NJT has new trains that can reach 130mph , and MARC & MBTA are thinking about buying the same equipment. The MTA & Septa new trains can hit 120mph. Slowly but surely the Northeast will build or restore about 5000 miles of Track and electrify another 600 miles. Most trains are made in South Korea or German although the Double Decker's are made in New England or Canada. Its a shame the rest of the country is falling behind us.
Railfanning at Kingston RI the day before Thanksgiving (150mph)
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,779,480 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyTexan
High speed rail is not good for frequent stops. You'd need something like NY-FL non-stop to really get the bang for your buck.
Plus new rails would need to be layed and land bought for the right of way.
We have the technology to make the stops less than even 5 minutes. If NY-Miami had 8 stops in major cities of 5 min each, that is only 40 minutes. You can either line people up, pre check or scan boarding passes and have 300 of them into the train in less than a few minutes. With level platforms, they do not climb stairs into the cars- just walk on. Then the baggage would be pre loaded into huge wheeled carts and just shoved into the lower bays. Traffic and bags exiting the train would simply leave the other side.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,779,480 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
Maybe Amtrak or whoever would operate the lines could sell advance tickets which entitle the buyers to unlimited rides on the HS trains during the first year of operation. Let's say $100 per ticket. If 10m people bought such a ticket, Amtrak could invest a billion in the HS infrastructure.
Would be a good deal for people under 30. People my age will not live to see it to completion. Even if they started building a line today, it probably will not be ready for operation for 20 years or more.
We have the technology to make the stops less than even 5 minutes. If NY-Miami had 8 stops in major cities of 5 min each, that is only 40 minutes. You can either line people up, pre check or scan boarding passes and have 300 of them into the train in less than a few minutes. With level platforms, they do not climb stairs into the cars- just walk on. Then the baggage would be pre loaded into huge wheeled carts and just shoved into the lower bays. Traffic and bags exiting the train would simply leave the other side.
Actually we don't..China and Europe do. That's one of the reason's China is bidding on this. They have something to show.
One would have to analyze, who goes such long distances in the first place. Is it business travelers (for them HS trains become less attractive the longer the route), tourists (for them HS trains are not good because of the baggage).
When I still lived in Germany I went on those HS trains, and I did not like them at all. Maybe they changed the interior, but 5 years ago the comfort was little, very narrow seats with little space for the legs, I doubt obese Americans would be happy using such trains There was also little space for baggage, bikes etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Neon Lights are Pretty, Downtown, Downtown....
