HSR News
Double-Deckers for Double Capacity
Lora Kolodny writes,
"Bi-level rail cars not typical in the US today, would accommodate more passengers, and hopefully alleviate congested roads and some resulting air pollution."
Kolodny also notes that wireless on trains could mean new business for wireless companies.
Debating Technology: High-Speed Rail or Maglev?
Thomas Lane says it may be time to reconsider maglev in the U.K.:
"...maglev holds many advantages over conventional trains - indeed, so many that it's hard to believe it hasn't emerged as a serious contender for high-speed, long-distance transport before now. A British company called Ultraspeed has been patiently making the case for it for a decade or so, and it has been joined by Transrapid, the German company that built the Shanghai system, architect Ryder, which has produced concept designs for maglev stations, and Faithful + Gould, which has worked out what the bill would be.
An "Interstate Highway System for Trains"
Some of Amtrak's overhead wires and signal systems actually date back to the Great Depression, and while Tate reports there is some progress in patching up the system here and there, he says that "while upgrades will help, the existing rail network simply isn't suitable for the kind of high-speed passenger trains found in Europe, Japan and China."
Feds Announce New Standards for High-Speed Rail
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood says on his blog that the uniform standards could revolutionize and streamline the business of manufacturing and building high-speed rail:
"You see, a uniform standard means that any manufacturer can compete to build this infrastructure; it's a level playing field. And the open competition this standard fosters should help keep costs down for railroads and travelers.
The Health Benefits of High-Speed Rail
This video update brought to you by Global 5 Communications.
Chicagoans Say 110mph Isn't "High-Speed"
According to John Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune, Sen. Sandoval "sponsored legislation this year creating a commission working to establish world-class bullet trains, and he helped push the administration of Gov. Pat Quinn to seek more than $8 million in federal seed money toward that goal."
Hilkevitch writes that part of the problem is resistance from Amtrak:
"Officials at Amtrak, which has minimal expertise in operating high-speed rail, don't see a problem topping out at only 110 mph."
Train Builds Its Own Track
New Report Touts Benefits of HSR for Southern California
The press release also says that high-speed rail would "prevent the emission of nearly half a billion pounds of CO2 annually by 2035."
Some States Feeling Hemmed in By Funding Requirements
Josh Mitchell reports, " Pennsylvania has put off plans for various rail projects, including construction of a line that would provide 100-mph service between Scranton and Hoboken, N.J., because the state is facing an immediate shortfall of $472 million in its transportation budget.
Virginia, which proposed high-speed service between Washington and the Richmond area, is for now largely limiting its efforts to improving a bridge and doing preliminary environmental studies."
77 Requests for New HSR Funding
Also in this episode, Chicago Mayor Daley's proposal for a privately-funded HSR connecting O'Hare to downtown.
CA HSR Authority Completes EIR, Defends Ridership Numbers
Bonnie Eslinger quotes from the EIR:
"In its response to the "many comments" expressing concern about the ridership forecasts, the authority's revised environmental impact report bluntly states those figures are neither flawed nor inaccurate."
The Board of Directors for the Authority is due to review the new EIR at the beginning of September.
"A Multitude of Obstacles"
Ghosh calls the quest to build a high-speed rail system in the U.S. "noble" and "ambitious", but argues that there are a number of issues that aren't yet sorted out:
"...who will bear the costs of operating a sophisticated rail system? The financially beleaguered state and local authorities?
Will the rail system be run by the government (like the oft-criticized Amtrak complex), or by private entities? And what will happen to Amtrak?"
Request Denied to Reroute California HSR
According to the San Francisco Business Times, Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny said "he intends to deny the cities' request."
"In arguing the 2009 ruling should be reconsidered, the cities said bullet train planners’ ridership projections are “obviously and fatally flawed” and planners should be ordered to consider new studies of an East Bay route before it finalizes environmental studies along the Peninsula."
Students Propose 37-Minute Trip Between New York and Philadelphia
The Penn plan would have trains traveling at 155mph at least, while Amtrak's would only shave 4 minutes off of the current trip with only slightly faster speeds. The students claim that the economic benefits of the faster high-speed rail would outweigh the costs by $70 billion.
From the article: "'Amtrak's new plan leaves you with a really good early-20th-century rail system,' said Robert Yaro, one of two Penn professors who taught the students in the School of Design's department of city and regional planning."
A Private HSR to O'Hare Airport?
According to Daley, interest in investing in the project has come from China, Japan and the Middle East. The mayor has formed a 17-person panel of bigwigs to attract investment and move the project forward.
Fran Silverman writes in the Chicago Sun-Times:
"The mayor's mandate to Lester Crown and others is that no city money be used to build the separate tracks along the Kennedy Expressway that would be needed to duplicate the sort of high-speed rail service that’s already wildly popular in Japan.
The Great Funding Debate
Selcraig's article begins with a beautiful description of Spain's high-speed rail system, which blossomed despite terrorist bombings on Spanish trains:
"As we stride single file onto the eel-like, German-made Siemens S-103 train, which seats 402 and will take us to Barcelona in 2 hours and 38 minutes, it’s hard not to be impressed."
Japanese Scoff at American "Timeliness"
"Even by that standard," wonders the blog, "the company’s flagship Acela Express running the Boston-New York-Washington route had an on-time record of only 78.5% over the last 12 months, according to Amtrak's website."
As the blogger points out, the Japanese measure timeliness in seconds, not minutes.
A Station on the Peninsula? Perhaps in Palo Alto
A representative of HNTB, the firm engineering the Peninsula segment of the line, made a presentation to the community about the possibility back in July. The Palo Alto City Council is due to make a decision in September. Much of the debate centers on a 3,000 car parking garage that would be a requirement of the station and would have to be a public-private partnership.
First HSR Terminal in America Breaks Ground: VIDEO
Farmers Wary of Tracks Through Their Fields
Earlier this year, reports Wes Sander, "Kings County supervisors passed a resolution opposing any track alignment that strays from existing transportation corridors." But meanwhile the city of Hanford has asked that the tracks avoid going through the city.
As Larry Spikes, administrative officer for Kings County, says in the Capitol Press article, "(The authority) wants to be responsive, but I guess we've left them with not-very-good options."
