$8,000,000,000 for high speed trains

[jl653]

It appears that the $8B in the stimulus may only be the beginning:

White House weighs high-speed rail investment
Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:57pm GMT
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is seriously considering an effort to develop high speed passenger rail service, an initiative long on planning but unrealized nationally because of financial and logistical hurdles and insufficient political backing.
 
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday said his agency has submitted a report to the White House outlining at least six corridors for possible service as well as cost and timeline estimates.
 
"This is going to be President Obama's, I believe, top transportation priority," LaHood told reporters. "They asked us to give them as much information as we could."
 
LaHood did not identify rail corridors other than to say it would be a national effort. High speed initiatives are in various stages of planning in California, Florida, Nevada, the Carolinas, the Northeast and the Midwest.
 
LaHood also acknowledged
the overall cost for high-speed service would go way beyond the $8 billion in rail funds included in economic stimulus legislation
approved by Congress last week and signed by Obama on Tuesday.
 
http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNews/idUKTRE51H7YH20090218

http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNe...E51H7YH20090218
http://uk.reuters.com/article/usPoliticsNews/idUKTRE51H7YH20090218

 

[Guest_timetableflagman_*]

Currently, even someone intently wishing to travel by train has to often chose otherwise because of the need to add another day off from work for travel time at each end for midday departures or arrivals.

Consider Boston to New Orleans. At 220 MPH, I could depart Boston in the evening and be in New Orleans the next morning. With the current schdule, it's two days and a night.

I agree. The trip between Boston and New Orleans could be only 36 hours (two nights with only one day in between-- effectively, only one "day") with current, conventional speed if trains departed origins in the evening and the largest cities every twelve hours apart, arriving at destinations in the mornings.

The thing you're agreeing with is not the thing I said. There's no good reason why I shouldn't be able to make a BOS to New Orleans (or for that matter, Boston to Los Angeles) sleeper trip in about 12 hours. If sleeper trips are a great idea, we shouldn't be limiting their distance to city pairs within 800-1000 miles when this country is as large as it is.

You apparently don't understand what I'm agreeing with. I agree that it would be ideal to get from Boston to New Orleans, Los Angeles, etc., in 12 hours for a culture spoiled on the expedience (or perceived expedience) of air travel.

However, Boston-LA would require about 272 miles an hour average! The fastest you'll be able to get coast-to-coast (it doesn't matter the exact points) is 24 hours (200 mph maxium-- rail average speed is about half the maximum speed considering restrictions, stops, etc., which will occur with any rail system, no matter how "world class").

But, with sleeping cars, dining and other accommodations readily and affordably available on a train, that same day could have two comfortable, restful, well nourished, hygienic and potentially productive nights on either end en route for less speed and requirements for the rail system. Therefore, 36 hours (150 mph maximum) is the best you can practically get and actually is quite sufficient for approximating air travel times. Flying will get you coast-to-coast in a day, in time for you to go to bed, sleep off jet lag and do your business the next day! So, you would accomplish the same thing by 150 mph coast-to-coast rail passenger service as by air!

For now, the incremental upgrading to 110 mph with the "paltry" $8 billion allocated could get us better, not ideal, speeds coast-to-coast (60 hours or three nights instead of about 72 hours three nights and days, currently). The "corridors" that could be served along the way could greatly increase revenue ridership along with the improved coast-to-coast and regional connecting travel.