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    Why are Amtrak California trains on time but long-distance Amtrak trains are delayed?

    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...
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    Passenger jet pilots fell asleep on flight carrying 159 passengers

    Already on my list of airlines I will not use.
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    St. Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago (TCMC) second daily service

    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...
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    Brightline Trains West!

    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.
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    Brightline Trains West!

    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...
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    Detroit Peoplemover and Q-Line

    It's made by Lionel, it's swell.
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    Can Union Pacific bring back their own passenger trains?

    ???Not sure of where your V^3 comes into play. I do know it is there, but not at what speed it becomes a consideration. In the Japanese formulae they use V^2 up to 300 km/h, which is as far as they go with any information they let us have. Can't give you their formulae as it is proprietary...
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    Can Union Pacific bring back their own passenger trains?

    When you go to extreme high speeds with freight trains, aerodynamic resistance becomes a major factor in the need for power, and with it extra units to pull the train. In fact, at high speeds aerodynamic resistance is THE major component of train resistance. Since aerodynamic resistance is...
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    San Clemente landslide affects Pacific Surfliner 1/24/24

    There is nothing inherently wrong with this concept and route, other than its curvature. Flat is a very good thing, and low cost also was a near necessity at the beginning, as for the original we were talking about private money, not government printing press as a source of finance. What is...
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    Can Union Pacific bring back their own passenger trains?

    Brightline trains run on tracks of the Florida East Coast, which did not join Amtrak, therefore the FEC has no contractual relationship with Amtrak. Commuter lines were specifically excluded from Amtrak from its beginning. The chance of Union Pacific choosing to operate passenger trains is...
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    Passenger train service to Phoenix AZ.

    This is not near as bad as it looks. Drag the rails in the damaged section out of the way along the track, get some earthmoving equipment out there and grade up the washout back to the proper cross section, bring in a car load ties, associated OTM (spikes, plates, bars and bolts if needed), a...
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    200MPH+ on the NEC: Is it practical?

    O Kkkkkkk. Duly noted. First time I heard this.
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    200MPH+ on the NEC: Is it practical?

    16.7Hz is not correct by the way; it is 50Hz divided by 3, so it is 16 2/3 Hz. Normal AC in Europe is 50 Hz, not 60 Hz as in the US, Canada and quite a few other places. The history of the why for the old Pennsy's 25 Hz, I don't know. Likewise, I have no idea why the ex New Haven 11.5 kV 25...
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    Auto Train extension?

    The alternative through DC would be to follow the freight route. That route is cleared or is in the process of being cleared for double stacks, so the superliners would be no problem. There is nothing I can see changed that would result in a Midwest Autotrain being anything other than the...
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    Brightline Trains Florida discussion 2024 Q1

    Congratulations to the mayor for this sort of pronouncement. People always trying to blame the railroad, pay attention.
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    California HSR

    I trust that the "no comparison" meant that the Shinkansen was significantly better. As to CAHSR, the concept is great. Unfortunately, it appears that a lot of the details in the implementation leave much to be desired. See what I wrote earlier on that. The real need is there. But, the...
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    California HSR

    By now when I hear "world class" I tend to break out with an allergic reaction. It usually means taking THIS IS THE WAY THINGS ARE DONE IN WESTERN EUROPE, THEREFORE IT IS THE WAY THINGS SHOULD BE DONE EVERYWHERE without thought or analysis. I do have absolute faith in the ability of the CAHSR...
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    BART derailment 1/1/24

    There is a term called "Cascade of Events" or "Cascade of Errors" that I suspect applies here. That is to say, it frequently takes more than one wrong act to create a disaster, or to turn a small accident to a much more severe accident. Usually, "accident" is a misnomer, as commonly these are...
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    Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle discussion

    Look at the map view of the Marshall station area. The platform for the Eagle's stop is on the northwest quadrant of the wye. If/when the Meridian - Shreveport - Dallas train ever happens, its stop would be on the south quadrant of the wye. There is no platform there, but remnants of a...
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    Amtrak California extension to Reno possible?

    Even if the maximum allowed track speed is 79 mph, the answer to that is a resounding NO!!! The curves do not permit it. Find an employee timetable of any recent, as in the last 40 years, vintage and look at the speed restrictions due to curvature. Some people seem to be of the impression that...
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