Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalKid
Is this being planned for true high speed rail?
Also, why does it jog up to hit the Greenville airport but then not run through Greenville itself? As a fast growing city with a surprisingly dense/active urban core, it seems like a miss to not have a station near downtown.
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They have punted on the question of speed or propulsion for now (it will be steel wheel on steel rail at least, not maglev or hyperloop) and they have indicated that both 125mph diesel operation or 220mph electric operation are possibilities. There is a Tier 2 study that will look at this question. Plenty of factors to consider - is it a standalone corridor, or do you want trains to extend south of Atlanta/north of Charlotte on existing freight lines? Is there funding available to build an electric traction system? Etc etc.
Probably they are trying to avoid a situation like that in California, where a guaranteed end-to-end travel time was written into law by Prop 1A (2h38m from LA to SF, IIRC). In order to satisfy this requirement, CHSRA has to literally move heaven and earth to create arrow-straight alignments even through urban parts of Fresno and Bakersfield and through mountainous areas.
This is one factor in the astronomical costs of CAHSR - design standards written into law that cannot be relaxed in the most difficult areas.