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This is a huge step forward though. It seems dramatic progress in new service and improved existing service nationwide could come from this. Excellent news! Made my Saturday! |
Time to change the map on high speed rail?
06/29/2010 By Thomas D. Elias http://extras.mnginteractive.com/liv...ticle_logo.gif Read More: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_154062...nclick_check=1 Quote:
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A good addition to the discussion. This article addresses the two issues that will kill HSR if not dealt with: cost and local opposition.
The idea to avoid the Peninsula makes a lot of sense: it isn't wanted and isn't needed (Caltrain already has a very good rail service). The idea of coming into East Bay (say, Hayward, which has rail and BART connections) also makes a lot of sense. Not only is East Bay much more populated than SF, but it is well suited for connections to SJ, SF and the Pleasanton-Walnut Creek-Concord corridor, which is large and growing rapidly. Personally, I would cut out the Central Valley for the first go-round and see how it fills in before building there. But this approach is also interesting. |
We've been over this before a hundred times. The East Bay route is not easier (you think they'd really be ok with it coming through their backyard if it were actually being discussed?) and the idea that a route not reaching SF or LA wins a STATEWIDE proposition is laughable. Political feasibility is not a important factor in determining the scope of a project like this, it's THE important factor. Must be a slow day at the Merc.
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Here's Robert Cruickshank's discussion of this from the CA HSR Blog.
Why High Speed Rail Should Remain At High Speed http://www.cahsrblog.com/2010/06/why...at-high-speed/ |
High-speed rail ridership estimate doubted
July 2, 2010 Michael Cabanatuan Read More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BA051E8DR3.DTL Quote:
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Atherton resident Meg Whitman not too keen on bullet train (Sacramento Bee)
Another reason not to vote for eMeg.
Atherton resident Meg Whitman not too keen on bullet train Jul. 9, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 3A Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/09/287...ident-meg.html Five cities on the San Francisco Peninsula have called for suspending planning for the state's high-speed train project until environmental and economic issues are resolved. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's proposed route runs from San Francisco to San Jose down the peninsula, where affluent communities have become a hotbed of opposition. Menlo Park Mayor Richard Cline, chairman of the Peninsula Cities Consortium, has complained that the authority is rushing to complete a route plan and draft environmental impact report so that construction can start by September 2012 in order to qualify the state for $2.25 billion in federal funds. The consortium's demand follows a report by the University of California's Institute of Transportation Studies that's highly critical of the authority's projections of ridership on the bullet train, which would link Northern and Southern California. Besides Menlo Park, the consortium includes Palo Alto, Burlingame, Belmont and Atherton. And what is Atherton resident Meg Whitman's take on the project? "Meg believes the state cannot afford the costs associated with high-speed rail due to our current fiscal crisis," said the Republican gubernatorial candidate's spokeswoman Sarah Pompei in an e-mailed statement. – Dan Walters and Micaela Massimino |
If we use her logic, wouldn't that mean that this project would NEVER get built?
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There's a reason she and Dick Cheney are as thick as thieves.
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High-speed train would create equivalent of 50,000 one-year construction jobs -LV Sun
High-speed train would create equivalent of 50,000 one-year construction jobs
Most permanent jobs would be based in Victorville, Calif. http://photos.lasvegassun.com/media/...b3328710e01e7b A model of a proposed Las Vegas station is displayed during a news conference for the DesertXpress high-speed rail project Thursday, March 25, 2010. By Richard N. Velotta Friday, July 23, 2010 When the DesertXpress high-speed train is built, there would be up to 700 permanent jobs at an operations and maintenance facility — in Victorville, Calif. Tom Stone, president of DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, told representatives of the Associated General Contractors at a lunch Thursday that building the privately funded, $4 billion traditional high-speed rail system would create 50,000 person-year construction jobs over the four-year design and construction period expected to begin late this year. Translated, 50,000 person-year jobs is the equivalent of 50,000 people working for a full year. The statistic illustrates the vast number and diverse types of jobs — planners, architects, draftsmen, engineers, construction workers, electricians and other specialists — that will be created over the course of the project. But the bulk of the permanent operations jobs would be in Victorville, the southern terminus of 185-mile double-track system. Stone said the decision to build the primary maintenance facility, which would include an operations control center, a train-washing facility, repair shop, parts storage, track storage, meeting rooms and administrative offices, was based on the availability of a 200 acre-plus, narrow piece of land in California.... http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010...ent-50000-con/ |
can someone tell me the top speed and average cruising speed of the proposals?
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According to the DesertXpress website, the top speed is 150 mph.
http://www.desertxpress.com/technology.php |
^And the CAHSR project (not discussed in the article above, but in the rest of the thread) is a 220mph top speed project. I don't know what the average speed will be.
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Top speeds usually mean what it's capable of travelling, they rarely get up to top speed. When you take in gradients, turns and urban areas, tunnels and so on, which all reduce speed even with advanced engineering.
That's why I was asking what average speeds will be. |
^Understood. 220mph is the planned operational top speed of the CAHSR system, which it will cruise at in the Central Valley. Once it enters the mountainous areas around the Bay Area and LA area, speeds will be lower. I have no idea what top speed capability will be, because the trains haven't been chosen yet, but with a 220mph operational top speed advertised, I would assume that the trains will be capable of much, much higher in closed environments.
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Well this is almost entirely running through desert, so I don't see how they would have too many variables that would drive the average speed down. I'm quite surprised because of this they aren't shooting for CAHSR's goal of 220 mph for the DesertXpress program. Seems like the faster, the better. Am I wrong?
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I really want this project to become a reality. It may not be very beneficial in the next few years, but believe this project will be great success in the future,
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