Recent content by George Harris

I am going to say the following and then shut up on this subject: I am aware of the 110 mph which is primarily for the benefit of the HSR. Each curve is a study of its own. Increased superelevation will almost always require increased spiral (transition from tangent to full radius) lengths...

The ultimate plan is four track, but is probably somewhere in never never land. For now, use existing tracks. Likewise, for some of the grade separations. It is amazing how much NIMBYism comes out, and how irrational some of it is. As to the creeping in the last couple miles, for the San...

Let's assume that 30 mile of the distance could be run at 90 mph instead of 80 mph. It is highly unlikely that much more of the distance could be speeded up sufficiently for the higher speed to be practical: 30 miles at 80 mph = 22.5 minutes 30 miles at 90 mph = 20.0 minutes. That is to say...

As has already been said, I see no need nor reason to increase the span width or height opening. Either, particularly vertical clearance would require far more work than simply replacing the existing structure. I also doubt that there is any foundation damage to the pier that was struck. In...

Avoiding quoting the entire post since it is just above this one. Actually, at 15 trains per hour your chart does not prove your conclusion so far as the Shinkansen is concerned. 142 seconds is still under 3 minutes. Nor am I ready to believe these distances are the absolute floor. 13.8 km at...

What are some of the reasons? What I have seen so far are mostly NIMBY'isms or somewhat dubious environmental issues. Think some variation of these same things won't happen for any of the relocation plans? If anything they will likely be stronger. There may be some areas where some shifts in...

Slope protection is neither mystery science nor magic. Use it, posthaste. And while you are at it, make the railroad roadbed wide enough for two tracks and catenary. If my opinion was requested, I would say put the tracks on 22 to 24 feet centers so you could have one row of poles down the...

With all the excitement about Maglev and its speeds, we must not forget that the laws of physics apply regardless of the method of propulsion. In other words, a 200 mph curve on rails will still be a 200 mph curve if the propulsion is maglev. The rate of change in vertical curves on high speed...

What is the magic about that date? Maybe what you want to know can be found otherwise.

Even after seeing it is hard to believe the huge volume of people and trains on the existing route. Think big city rapid transit at rush hour. About as much speed as possible has been squeezed out of the exiting route due to curvature and clearances. They have the interesting issue of sonic...

If we are talking Sacramento to San Jose, two things initially come to mind: First, the state supported removing the few single track sections, so the route is double track throughout. Second, the line is near dead flat, so freight trains can maintain their speed, so delays due to slow...

Already on my list of airlines I will not use.

The Mississippi River this far north is anything but a Great River. It is a comparatively a small river, little more than a creek to those who live along the true Great Mississippi. The dividing point between the Upper River and the Lower River is the point where the Upper Mississippi River...

Concerning the use of European signaling and similar practices: They should be approached with a large dose of skepticism. Many things they do do not work as well as they claim. Many of the US normal practices are more rugged, simpler, and more reliable than their European equivalents.

I am a Civil Engineer, and the usual is to gather up all reports and studies that have been done in the area of concern first, and then work out from there. I would be very surprised to find they did not gather all studies that they could get their hands on. Just having existing reports can...