December 3, 2013 • 2:40 pm 0
Usual disclaimers apply. The USA will never construct a single mile of European style high speed rail. This is a well considered and intelligent article. It’s still just pissin’ in the wind, but follow the link anyway.
Filed under: Amtrak, International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Politics, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail
May 31, 2013 • 9:00 am 0
This is a very interesting story and much worth your time. Of course, it matters not a dime’s worth what experts, common sense, experience, and respect for human dignity may teach us, regular people have zero say in the nation’s transportation policy so not one mile of true European-style high speed rail will ever be built in the United States. The only people who have a seat at the table are the special interest groups representing commercial highway users, the auto industry and airlines. It is still a good read. You can see it all on the link below.
New high-speed rail lines are credited with sparking a real estate and housing boom, among other economic benefits, in smaller cities in China. Now experts are debating whether rail modernization can have the same effects in the U.S.
A study by researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles and China’s Tsinghua University found that by connecting “second tier” cities to global hubs, more people move to the smaller cities where housing costs are lower, creating a real-estate boom, among other unplanned benefits.In 2007 China built new, 185-miles-per-hour bullet train lines to connect Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to nearby cities, some of the construction coinciding with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Based on the real estate appreciation recorded between 2006 and 2010, the researchers estimated that when “market potential,” defined as access to goods, services and labor, is boosted 10 percent by a new bullet train line, housing prices rise 4.5 percent.
Researchers say high-speed rail could fuel U.S. real-estate, economic booms.
Filed under: International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail
April 23, 2013 • 11:25 am 0
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the trucking and highway interests, do you think the Federal Railroad Administration wants high speed rail to operate in the USA? Case closed. Read a great post here.
FRA Not Cooperating on Acela-2 | Systemic Failure.
Filed under: Amtrak, International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, United States High Speed Rail
April 8, 2013 • 2:32 pm 0
There is an interesting Little Rock angle in this very interesting story. Did you know the Wright Amendment expires in October of 2014? Changes coming for Southwest and cities it serves in neighboring states.
One of the partners in this private enterprise project is Central Railway of Japan. Of course, the usual opponents of good transportation can be expected to rise up against it, but one should watch anyway. Here is the link.
Place of high-speed rail stations debated | Your Commute | News from Fort Worth, Dallas,….
Filed under: International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail
January 2, 2013 • 10:13 pm 5
Despite Bloomberg’s deliberately misleading headline, this is a much needed shift in transportation policy. Of course, truckers and airlines will never allow lighter and faster trains.
Amtrak will recommend new U.S. rail- safety regulations to allow it to replace its Acela trains in the Northeast U.S. with lighter, faster equipment, Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boardman said.
U.S. crashworthiness standards force Amtrak to use trains that have locomotives on both ends and are slower and heavier than bullet trains used in Europe and Asia, Boardman said in an interview. Those standards reflect that U.S. passenger trains often share tracks with freight railroads rather than operating on their own lines.
Existing standards apply to trains traveling as much as 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour). Writing new rules that relax railcar structural-strength requirements for faster trains “would allow for less use of fuel, quicker acceleration, a different performance profile,” Boardman, 64, said. “What we’re really looking for is a performance specification here.”
Amtrak Seeks Safety Changes to Allow U.S. Bullet Trains- Bloomberg.
Filed under: Amtrak, International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail, United States High Speed Rail
November 27, 2012 • 11:18 am 2
Hmmmmm … is there an American train on the list? Just for the record, I stand by my (unfortunate) prediction that there will never be one mile of European-style (150+ mph) constructed in this country.
The 10 Fastest Trains In The World – Business Insider.
Filed under: Amtrak, International High Speed Rail, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, United States High Speed Rail
Logan Nash
patlynch
Trains For America 
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