Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
Not necessarily. German ICE tech (which Siemens is proposing for their American Pioneer trainsets) can handle pretty big grades up to 4.5%. There are a few sections of I-15 that exceed this, I think at Cajon Pass and Mountain Pass.
In those locations the rail line will need to exit the median to follow a different alignment and profile, or they may widen the freeway or do retaining walls. But most of I-15 is sub-4.5% so they can follow the same profile.
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My understanding is that Brightline West will stay in the median of I-15 along the entire route, except in Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga and where it has to deviate to accommodate one of the intermediate stations. By doing this Brightline West saves money even though speeds will have to slow on the sections of I-15 with sharp uphill grades or tight turns. So Brightline West is not designed to as high a standard of high speed rail as CAHSR is in the Central Valley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXF_g_aq8vc