Texas high speed developments

Something about Texas politics makes me suspicious. It could be that these guys are all on the level, maybe not. You can expect a bloodbath of legislative favor swapping as this oves forward. It is ironic because, from the pure transportation marketing standpoing, Houston and Dallas are natural close pairs for real HSR service up to European standards. Then, will Southwest go along with it?

I think they should let Southwest run it.

Anyway, the Conroe paper filed this report.

Support for a high-speed train connecting the state’s major metropolitan areas is swiftly gaining momentum in Montgomery County.
County Judge Alan B. Sadler recently joined a consortium of like-minded leaders who want to see the dream of bringing the nation’s first magnetic levitation “maglev” rail to Texas. The Texas High Speed Rail & Transportation Corp., a nonprofit group that aims to study magnetic levitation rail as a new form of public transportation, has grown in membership in recent months from several public officials to more than 60.
Although it hasn’t received formal legislative support, lawmakers from around the state and nation are lining up, including U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, both Republicans from Texas, and U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands.
The rail would get passengers from Houston to Dallas in 50 minutes and cost about $100 per trip, Sadler said.
“It would change the way we live in Montgomery County,” he said. “Anytime you can get to downtown Houston in 20 minutes, it will change the demographics.”
Sadler said if the project becomes a reality, the first stop on the railway between Houston and Dallas would be Conroe, bolstering the area’s economic clout.

Filed under: United States High Speed Rail

California counts the cost, and it’s not so bad

The Los Angeles Daily News is following transportation and we know how things are out on the west coast. HSR makes economic sense. Tell your friends.

LANCASTER – California is the 12th largest source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet, and 41 percent of the state’s emissions come from the transportation sector.

The state also has three of the five most congested urban areas, and the congestion costs the state $20 billion annually in fuel and lost time.

One solution, according to an official with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, is to build a system that would connect the state’s major metropolitan areas and get people out of their cars and onto mass transit.

“The solution is high-speed trains,” said Carrie Pourvahidi, a deputy director with the authority, who spoke recently at an Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce luncheon.

Constructing a $40 billion, 700-mile high-speed rail line would help alleviate freeway gridlock and whisk passengers at speeds of up to 220 mph from Los Angeles to San Francisco in about 000 miles of freeway, 90 new airport gates and five more runways – the equivalent of building two more airports – to meet future transportation needs would cost $82 billion, Pourvahidi said.

Filed under: United States High Speed Rail

French have a new type of overnight train?

Here is an extensive report from the London Times. There is an interesting note in this one. HSR trains must operate at reduced speeds during night hours because of noise reduction.

So, where in North America would this concept work?

From The Times

December 17, 2007

All aboard the overnight party train for the French Riviera

 

 

Adam Sage in Paris

Overnight party trains with DJs, music and talent competitions are being planned by French railways in an attempt to breath new life into a declining service.

The initiative comes after the state-run Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF) signalled the end of an era with the closure of its traditional sleeping cars to the French Riviera.

As older generations abandon the private compartments of the sedate wagon-lits, so the SNCF hopes to draw the 18-30s on to locomotives equipped with urban attractions.

These include an allnight bar and loud rock and pop music for anyone who wants to dance, according to SNCF. Carriages next to the bar will be turned into lounges with soft lighting, and passengers will be encouraged to switch seats to strike up conversations.

Filed under: International High Speed Rail