johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I have just read an article about Amtrak introducing high speed trains in the Northeast Corridor, apparently Amtrak are spending $2.45 billion on 28 High Speed Trains starting in 2021.
$2 billion will be spent on new trains and the rest will be used to improve stations and tracks, the trains will be built by Alstom who make TGV trains in France which run at 200mph.
In the US however these trains will only be allowed to run at 160mph which means the overall trip time will not improve due to track conditions which only allow for speeds under 100 mph and in some sections the maximum speed will be only 25mph.
As a result, trip time will remain the same!
But the trains will have power points, USB points, Wifi, adjustable reading lights and improved food service (WOW)
So what the point of spending all this money on new trains which do not reduce the trip time at all, although the trains will have power and Wifi (commonly available in most European for many years)
I suggest that any US members who are visiting Europe soon try a real high speed train ride and enjoy the experience until US have their own one day.
The best countries to do this are France(TGV), Germany(ICE), Italy (FR), UK (Virgin and GWR) and Spain (Alvia)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Some countries use their resources and technology for their citizens. Other countries make a display of serving the public, but their efforts go to politicians and their partners - Big Business. Guess which category we fall into. We have the people, the money, and the resources, yet we are falling behind most industrialized nations. We spend more on military than the next seven countries combined, yet thousands go homeless, have insufficient food, and little if any medical care.

As for the trains, we have one "high speed" train in the NW corridor, but it's not as fast or as efficient as trains from other countries. Politicians are very good at fighting progress, and a stupid electorate keeps voting them in and approving their actions.

You got my day off to a lousy start.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

[quote=jerryc41]Some countries use their resources and technology for their citizens. Other countries make a display of serving the public, but their efforts go to politicians and their partners - Big Business. Guess which category we fall into. We have the people, the money, and the resources, yet we are falling behind most industrialized nations. We spend more on military than the next seven countries combined, yet thousands go homeless, have insufficient food, and little if any medical care.

As for the trains, we have one "high speed" train in the NW corridor, but it's not as fast or as efficient as trains from other countries. Politicians are very good at fighting progress, and a stupid electorate keeps voting them in and approving their actions.

You got my day off to a lousy start. [/quote

Sorry Jerry, I didn't have that intention, I am sure your day will quickly improve. have a good Christmas.
Cheers, John.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

One of the MAJOR bottlenecks is the area through Philly. They have an AMTRAC wreck in that area (it seems) once a year or so. So Far they've all been blamed on Engineer failing to slow down to 25mph though Philadelphia. There are some huge bottlenecks in the area from the Philadelphia airport to Trenton NJ. Then the train can (theoretically) get back up to speed for the last few miles into NYC. Coming out of NYC going into Connecticut it gets sloppy again from Bridgeport up through New Haven. I don't know what its like from Delaware down to Washington DC but that seems the only area that AMTRAC could make any time on the Northeastern Corridor. But it all sounds good in the press. "See, we're spending millions of your dollars and keeping our tickets overpriced so that we appear to be improving our lousy service".

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

In most parts of the country passenger trains are required to share the tracks with freight - which not only slows things down, but the heavy freight trains make the tracks more likely to settle or move sideways a little - not a big deal for a slow heavy freight but deadly for a lighter high-speed train. To really have high-speed rail we will need dedicated tracks. What's happening with the high-speed rail between LA and Las Vegas?

Ctrclckws

Only a small stretch of rail in Rhode Island is owned by Amtrak. This stretch is the only place where the Acela trains can go full speed. The net time benefits of the Acela over the the slower Northeast Corridor train is about 20 minutes between New York and Boston.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

There are many people who dislike the services that Amtrak provides today. They will have to sell the efficiency of this high speed train in one demographics after another. Right now, Amtrak depends on government subsidies to survive, and there is so much mismanagement of money.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, it's better already.

Add Loc: S.W.Florida

Consider the cost of real estate in the North East when thinking about new straighter tracks. That and the fuss of NIMBY's.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

When a government wants to control your thermostat it is time for a new government and not to keep re-electing those cretins back in. Some peoples idea of progress is suppression. As long as they are in control and can benefit from the double standard they are happy as a lark. Throw in a token idea and paint it to look good and everyone will be happy. Just do not them realize the reality of the situation.

jsmangis Loc: Peoria, IL

I agree with you. I lived in Japan for most of 1987, and spent a considerable amount of time traveling on their rail system. The Shinkansen (bullet train) was amazing then, but the privately owned trains were superior to most of our American rail system at the time. Since we paid for the rebuilding of their infrastructure after we defeated them in the war, perhaps they should pay us back and rebuild ours now!

machia Loc: NJ

Trump . There's your answer . Maybe . He's built things under budget and on schedule . Let's see if the reality of Washington DC makes his promises evaporate . We shall see . I hope not .

malawibob Loc: South Carolina

Someone needs to talk to Elon. Hyperloop would solve them all at a fraction of the cost.

machia Loc: NJ

👍👍👍👍👍👍

JerryOSF Loc: Bristol, VA

If is is such a good idea then private industry will build it. Government loves to spend money on things voted on as poor ideas. The votes are the dollars the public pays to use the facilities/services. Good ideas make money, poor ones don't.