Quote:
Originally Posted by aquablue
No, it is not similar to Europe because they have improved their slower lines while putting in HSR lines at the same time.
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Look at Germany, where ICE is a unified brand of high-speed service but it operates on a patchwork of a few short dedicated high-speed segments and a lot of upgraded legacy lines.
Legacy lines are a trickier problem in the US because the vast majority are owned by freight railroads, but the Northeast Corridor is not. Read Alon Levy for some suggestions on how to dramatically improve travel times on the NEC at a fraction of the cost of a new, greenfield HSL.
Only red and yellow are greenfield lines; the blue is upgraded legacy track (125-145 mph, like NEC) and the grey is just well-maintained legacy track.
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