New fast trains, Europe watches USA May 29, 2009
Posted by patlynch in International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, United States High Speed Rail.trackback
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Secretary of Transportation is on the road in Europe looking over the far advanced transportation equipment providers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood traveled through Europe this week, riding France’s 200 mile-per-hour bullet train, and meeting officials from several companies eager for U.S. orders.
On Friday, he is expected to visit Spanish construction, civil engineering and train-building companies.
“We think that the U.S. is a market that is going to explode,” said Nora Friend, a vice president for the U.S. unit of Patentes Talgo SA, a Spanish train builder that is in talks with several U.S. states.
This article is full of information concerning the various European companies with an interest in American rail improvement. You may think this is good news, but for neo-cins and highway/airline shills, it is a gift from heave.
The solution would be to construct new equipment in the United States. There will be some facilities in MIchigan available soon.
patlynch
Logan Nash
Well at least a positive article in the WSJ about HSR..pre Nov4th they let every naysayer..ie Reason Foundation/Varnarich post long rambles calling CAHSR a huge waste..as if they only have the answers
There is already an existing, very large train industry in Upstate NY, which could be retooled for HSR. And the industrial space there might even be cheaper than Michigan or Ohio.
We make locomotives in Erie, PA.
[...] New fast trains, Europe watches USA The Wall Street Journal reports that the Secretary of Transportation is on the road in Europe looking over the far [...] [...]
The factories in Upstate NY are foreign, so they don’t count. (Likewise the car factories in Yonkers, NY and Philadelphia). Neither does Talgo’s existing facility in Montana, apparently.
GE locomotives built in Erie are not currently designed for anything over 110 mph.
Former auto factories are not good candidates for building rail cars – they aren’t big enough and lack the overhead cranes. (A railroad car is bigger than an auto).
GE Erie better get on the ball.
It sure would be nice to have more Talgo Trains. I really dig the ones up here in the north west.
cept’ not sure what the silly FRA is going to do about them being illegal to operate? Start issuing permissions to ignore the law/regulations they’ve created?
This sounds like the wind turbine business. Europe is ahead of the game and has advanced technology and manufacturing in place. The US market, despite huge potential, lags behind. Foreign manufacturers won’t set up plants in the US until there is a stable gov’t policy to support it for the long term. Vestas, the biggest European wind turbine maker, canceled plans to open a US factory 3 times until there was finally favorable long term policy.
We need to get these HSR lines going soon. If that means buying imported trains, fine. Politicians will get to cut ribbons, talk about creating jobs and feel good about themselves AFTER they provide stable, long term commitment to rail, HSR and smart transit. This is how it has played out in the wind business.