Was Supertrain ahead of schedule?

Mark Stencel, quoted here previously from CQ Weekly, writes an excellent blog, Assignment: Future, dealing with future trends. You must read his entire entry concerning HSR and this blog. I am humbled and complimented to be so kindly treated by such an excellent source and highly qualified commentator.

We have had quite a bit of fun with the super-flop of NBC TV so many years ago, Super Train. Mark has links to the first episode and a proposal that it has become a parody of our national transportation policy discussion.

In the opening scene, a blustery, gray-bearded executive — played by character actor Keenan Wynn — explains that he has the backing of the federal Transportation Department to quickly build a new “atom-powered, steam-turbine” train “capable of crossing this country in 36 hours.”

The executive’s cigar-chomping board of directors is skeptical, if not hostile. “I think you are letting your psychotic fascination with railroads lead you into a suicidal gamble with the future of this company,” one board member says.

Funny enough, this opening exchange pretty well sums up most of the public policy arguments about high-speed rail in this country, both before and since Supertrain’s short, nine-episode run on network TV.

Stencel mixes in a quote from the “About” section of this blog and confers as fine a compliment as I could have ever asked.

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Filed under: Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail

High-Speed Rail Projects

How could we use high speed rail projects to improve our economy? What routes should we construct?

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Filed under: Uncategorized

Financial study of High Speed Rail stocks (and what that means to the rest of us)

This is not exactly light reading. Charles Morand has written an expansive and challenging report on AltEnergyStocks. It’s full of charts, maps, and informative detail necessary for constructing a viable argument.

Don’t bet on the USA being the next hotspot of HSR development. Keep your eyes on China for that.

The good news is, after one dose ot “sticker shock” after another, is that the incremental approach of raising speeds to the 90-110 mph range is so much more affordable and, it seems to me politically feasible.

I know a lot of you know you way around this kind of challenging material, so I invite your reactions and commentary.

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Politics, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail

Iowa sees rail as part of its new green economy

Shame on anyone who thinks the Heartland isn’t a suitable place for passenger rail. Iowa has utilized its wind and biofuel resources to make it a green leader, and the state seems on track to recognize rail’s importance in that effort. The Des Moines Register calls it “high-speed rail,” but apparently the line would only travel to Chicago at a max of around 80mph, or a travel time of 5 hours. Nothing revolutionary, but that’s competitive with driving, and true (or even incremental) HSR doesn’t happen overnight. From Des Moines’s KCCI:

President Barack Obama pitched his green energy plan in Iowa on Wednesday and draw raves for his proposal to build a high-speed rail network that with a line connecting Des Moines to Chicago.

“We could be on a train to Chicago in the next three years,” said Andrew Snow of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, a group pushing the high-speed rail plan. “It’s going to bring people to downtown Des Moines. It also offers the opportunity to make the quality of life better here.”

Obama said mass transit is green transit.

“My budget is also making unprecedented investments in mass transit, high-speed rail and in our highway system to reduce the congestion that wastes money and time and energy,” Obama said.

The project is expected to cost about $30 million to connect the rail from Des Moines to the Quad Cities. Illinois has already started construction on the rest of the leg.

Apparently most of that cost would be covered by the federal stimulus (thankfully, it seems, not the HSR money). The Iowa Legislature only needs to pony up $3 million. For a decent passenger rail line? That’s a bargain, and it’s expected to pass.

Filed under: Amtrak, Regional USA Passenger Rail