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| Re: High speed rail on the NEC-300 kmh service (614058) | |||
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Re: High speed rail on the NEC-300 kmh service |
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Posted by WillD on Thu May 8 01:09:35 2008, in response to High speed rail on the NEC-300 kmh service, posted by R42 4787 on Thu May 8 00:45:59 2008. I see I was a bit too late with this post, and that you don't know how to respond to an existing thread. Why the focus on the NEC? We've already got a workable solution which, although not HSR in the strictest sense, is more than adaquate for the time being.Your plan represents a massive waste of resources because your dedicated HSL built on the NEC would completely squander the other two tracks if you removed commuter traffic from them. There are only so many WAS/BAL - PHL/NYC trips to be made, and even when you grind the airline shuttles into the ground you'll still be left looking for more business. Then there's the small matter of the numerous junctions along the NEC. It does little good to go 186mph for 100 miles only to sit and crawl through ZOO at 20mph. If you really have to give the Northeast Corridor a 186-200mph line then go with new construction of a two track dedicated High Speed Line. You can avoid the enroute urban centers as you please, include junctions so 'local' trains can call at Philadelphia and Baltimore, you don't completely screw over the far more numerous commuter passengers, and you can likely get a higher average speed. That being said, I think it is a complete mistake to focus any more effort on the NEC for the time being other than fixing NYC's passenger stations and completing NECIP. For passenger rail to be truely accepted in this country you're going to need a far broader political base, both ideologically and geographically. You're not going to get that rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic in the Northeast. The best chance for a true high speed rail line in the country (in the sense that it's about the only one still being talked about), is the California High Speed Rail Authority plan. Even then the line 40 billion dollars from getting built and on life support from an indifferent governor. I believe that we need the feds to step in and provide some financial incentives to get projects like CAHSR and the earlier Texas TGV and Florida Overland Express projects off the ground. That way rail support becomes more of a national issue and areas which currently recieve little service and provide little support would see the sorts of benefits an NEC-like line can provide. |
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