Comments on: Obama Announces $8 Billion For High Speed Trains http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/ What is the future of fuel? What's new? What's next? Since 2007, Gas 2 has covered a rapidly changing world coming to terms with its oil addiction. Sat, 26 May 2012 14:59:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Nick http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-13692 Nick Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:20:39 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-13692 mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT's building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well. The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR's get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system. The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren't all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected. mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT’s building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well.

The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR’s get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system.

The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren’t all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected.

]]> By: Nick http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37481 Nick Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37481 mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT's building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well. The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR's get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system. The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren't all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected. mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT’s building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well.

The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR’s get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system.

The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren’t all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected.

]]> By: Nick http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37482 Nick Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:20:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37482 mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT's building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well. The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR's get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system. The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren't all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected. mosebklyn: Ridership on the NE corridor, and especially the Acela is the highest on any part of the Amtrak system. The limiting factor is the capacity of the tracks (especially through Manhattan, but NJT’s building a new tunnel for their trains, so a few slots should open up from the west, and the LIRR is building their tunnel to Grand Central, meaning a few slots should open up to the east as well.

The biggest problem for high-speed rail in the US are insane buff strength requirements from the FRA, which means that trains have to be much, much heavier (more expensive to run, slower acceleration, etc) than in any of the European or Asian countries that have great HSR (who use advanced signalling to avoid crashes instead of requiring that a train be able to survive a crash intact). The Florida and California HSR’s get around this by completely separating their tracks from the rest of the railroad system.

The US is bigger than Europe, but east of the Mississippi, the population densities aren’t all that dissimilar. Noone is talking about building a national HSR system, that would be insane in a country like the US, but rather regional systems, many of which, especially in the east, will be interconnected.

]]> By: mosesnbklyn http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-13691 mosesnbklyn Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:57:04 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-13691 One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, "goodbye!" Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan - geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know - I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future). One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, “goodbye!” Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan – geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know – I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future).

]]> By: mosesnbklyn http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37478 mosesnbklyn Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37478 One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, "goodbye!" Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan - geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know - I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future). One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, “goodbye!” Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan – geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know – I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future).

]]> By: mosesnbklyn http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37479 mosesnbklyn Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37479 One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, "goodbye!" Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan - geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know - I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future). One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, “goodbye!” Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan – geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know – I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future).

]]> By: mosesnbklyn http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37480 mosesnbklyn Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37480 One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, "goodbye!" Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan - geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know - I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future). One little problem: if we actually waste any more money of multiple HSR projects the airline industry will very simply say, “goodbye!” Now, I agree if your first response is good riddance, but seriously, the northeast ACELA should be a good example of what NOT to do. ridership is low, many complained, low-speed limitations. America happens to be much bigger than EU, Taiwan, and Japan – geographically this makes HSR too expensive. We need to focus on the most congested traffic corridors. If we build a line in the midwest it damn better go from Chicago to New Orleans (north to south) etc. It would be much easier to retrofit airplanes to run on hydrogen from Nukes than build HSR. I know – I like the concept of HSR too, but its only economically feasible in the most congested routes (present and possibly future).

]]> By: Martin K. http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-13690 Martin K. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:56:02 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-13690 What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don't know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we'll be bailing them out in a few years time. What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don’t know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we’ll be bailing them out in a few years time.

]]> By: Martin K. http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37475 Martin K. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:56:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37475 What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don't know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we'll be bailing them out in a few years time. What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don’t know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we’ll be bailing them out in a few years time.

]]> By: Martin K. http://gas2.org/2010/01/29/obama-announces-8-billion-for-high-speed-trains/#comment-37476 Martin K. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:56:00 +0000 http://gas2.org/?p=4587#comment-37476 What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don't know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we'll be bailing them out in a few years time. What are the chances everyone and their grandma will want to ride these trains? Seriously, I don’t know. Does anybody? If we sink $8 billion into all of the infrastructure, equipment, and labor but nobody wants to ride the trains we’ll be bailing them out in a few years time.

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