The world leaping ahead of us, the U.S. still has no fast trains.




You still haven't explained why we should build something that isn't needed.
We build a lot of things that aren't needed.
The airlines are all in debt...who's subsidizing them ?




Soooo, you want to cause all sorts of environmental destruction, waste trillions of dollars, all because the airlines got fucked over by the government?
It wouldn't cost TRILLIONS, first of all, but since you guys like pulling that number out of your asses, why do you never bitch when it's the Pentagon budget ? Or subsidies for nuclear plants that NEVER turn a profit, or when BP or Exxon walk from environmental accountabilty. ?

Yes, it will.

Now to put it into perspective, the California Bullet Train now under construction has already cost over $100 billion, and is expected to if ever completed cost in the area of $500 billion to just go from LA to San Francisco.

That is half a trillion dollars, for a train to go 400 miles. And not even a "hyperloop", just a bullet train like they have been making for decades.

This is where Elron Musk and his fantasy breaks down. Hell, they just finished for over $50 million a slow moving taxi. Heck, remember when it was first announced? The Internet does not forget.

The Vegas Loop – Quick Facts​

  • Includes the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop (LVCC Loop)
  • Total Current Cost: $52-million
  • Travel Speed: 155 mph
  • Estimated Capacity: 4,000 passengers per hour
  • Completion Date: Unknown, but the LVCC Loop is expected to debut January 2021
  • Projected Stops: McCarran International Airport, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas Convention Center, Fremont Street Experience, Slotzilla and Garage Mahal at Circa.

155 miles per hour! 4,000 passengers per hour! The greatest thing ever, that will revolutionize the world! Completely autonomous vehicles!

Uhhh, no. It is taxi drivers going at slow speed in a tunnel, 3 passengers at a time.

This is the problem, you are believing all of the hype without applying logic and reasoning, and at least a healthy dose of skepticism. It will cost a great many trillion dollars, because even after all of the money poured into it, it still does not exist.

It exists as much as the flying wing passenger jets that were promised 60 years ago.





buuuut the train doesn't even go from LA to San Fran, it goes from Lancaster/Palmdale, to Tracy CA. So, 65 miles away from LA. And almost 80 miles from SF. Like I said, from nowhere, TO nowhere.

Actually, they don't even know how to get it to Palmdale.

As I have said many times, I have been watching this for decades. And for the train to get into the LA area, it has to overcome a huge obstacle. And that is traversing the Tehachapi Mountains. There is no way to avoid that, you must go over them. And they still have absolutely no plan on how they are going to do it. In other words, it will never even get past Bakersfield.

In California, there are only 2 ways to take a train from North to South. The one used by passenger trains is the "Coastal Route", which the Surfliner does. It hugs the ocean for most of the trip, never going very far above sea level. That is why the first major transit route followed the old Spanish Trail, then US 101. This is the same route that passenger trains take.

But then, there is still a problem getting from there to the Central Valley. Why do you think I have been mentioning "topography" so damned often? It is not because I like the word, it is because I am really aware of the topography of California, and what exactly that means for trains. No matter what, to get in and out of LA and the San Francisco area you need to cross mountain ranges (most times 2 or more). This can not be avoided, and it is just as much of an engineering challenge today as it was 150 years ago.

Now the Coastal Route is the only way passenger trains take. The other route is the "Tehachapi Loop".

599-750-Untitled-1.jpg


And it is exactly what it sounds and looks like. A long, snaking train route at the summit of the pass so that trains can traverse it. But not passenger trains, they only take it when the coastal route is closed for repairs or maintenance. The max speed of the Loop is 35 miles per hour. And it is heavily traveled by freight trains, so is never used for passenger ones unless there is no other choice.

And from when they first started this project, my main question has always been the same one. "How are they going to take this train into the LA basin?" And over a decade later, there is still no solution. The closest one I heard so far basically involved condemning and destroying most of the city of Tehachapi (including the Hospital and High School), and building it there. Well, obviously that will never happen. And other than that, there is still no plan on how to get it the rest of the way to LA.

Now the part from the Antelope Valley to LA is not that big of a deal really. There is only a single low pass to get through (around Acton), and there is already existing tracks that can be upgraded to support 100 mph trains. Studies been done there long ago, back when the plan was for much of the Metrolink had that as a long term goal. But here is the thing, prior to Moonbeam taking it over, that was what they had been discussing in areas like LA and Sacramento for decades. Not a unified "Bullet Train" system like is normally seen in the world, but selectively upgrading existing lines that could support trains from 100-150 mph with that as demand called for it.

In the 1990's, LA Metrolink released a map of all their proposals, with a timeframe of like 50 years. Mostly trains with a speed of 100 mph, to go to and from selected outlying areas as a way to decrease the congestion that was already a problem. But one line at a time, starting with the ones that had the most ridership, but was already capping out because most were capped at 55-60 mph because of other factors (the trains themselves and the tracks). But never upgrading all of them, just the ones that were showing that they had the demand.

And also as a disaster system. This has been shown in California at least three times in the last 50 years. The 1971, 1989, and 1994 earthquakes devastated parts of that state, and in all three, trains were the only way to get around for months (or years). The I-5/California 14 interchange was completely destroyed twice, and at that time the Palmdale Metrolink route was only a proposal. They had it running within a week, and ridership has only grown over the decades.

But the problem is that people do not understand that the solution does not have to be what some propose, and a huge monolithic single purpose system. It can be done in segments, and not even with the idea of tying them all together into a single system. We sure as hell never built any of our other infrastructure that way, why should it be done this time?
Again bullet trains are impossible from the standpoint of moving people. Sure the yare technically feasible but they are logistically impossible because too many rails would need to be built. However if you want to bust your piggy bank go ahead

What is a "bullet train"? Do you even know what it is?

I think the biggest problem is that you really have no idea what "High Speed Rail" is.

Here is the amazing thing, as much as you are screaming that it will never work, we have been using it in the US for over 20 years!

The "Acela Express" is the line that runs from Boston to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC. Average speed of 150 mph, over 450 miles of track, and carries over 3.5 million passengers per year.

You really have no idea what is even being discussed. I have especially been laughing as for ages you have been screaming it would "never work in the US", completely oblivious it has already been in place for decades.
The "BosWash Corridor" is the only place where population density and traffic patterns make a high speed rail system profitable. The distances are too short for efficient air travel, and there is a LOT of traffic up and down it. Sacramento to SF is similar due to commuter traffic as most people who work in SF can't afford to live there. But you've got to cross that pesky San Francisco Bay on the Bay Bridge. The old bridge was designed for train traffic, the new one isn't and can only be modified by giving up traffic lanes and even then can only carry light rail like interurban trains. The way they HOPE California High Speed rail will work would be MetroRail from downtown Los Angeles to Palmdale, change trains to high speed rail (after they figure how to get across or under the Tehachapi Mountain Range) or a conventional slow speed rail train to Bakersfield with possibly another train change for the high speed run up the central valley. A train change to BART in Sacramento. then BART to downtown San Francisco. The total time will be far longer than the existing coastal route.

Actually, I have been following the way they have wanted to do Metrorail for decades.

And they never intended HSR on each line, only on the ones that made the most sense for density. Lines like Simi Valley to LA, Riverside to LA, and the like. The AV was never intended to be a true "bullet train", because the top speed without huge changes is only around 75. But that 75 would still be a 50% improvement over the current 50.

The same with the decades old concept of LA to Vegas. Not many would have used it for commuting (other than entertainers), but the tourist traffic could have made it work in the 1980's. At that time, none of the mega resorts had been built yet, and most of their business actually came from the LA area. Of course, at that time the Indian Reservations at most had bingo parlors and that was it. And a few "Poker Clubs" in LA.

Now however, there are Indian Casinos all over the state, and some poker clubs rival those of Vegas 40 years ago. And with the mega resorts, more and more travel goes there from long distance tourists, not the more local ones. I remember driving to Vegas in the mid-1980's, and it was a nightmare. It is actually less of a problem now, as more fly there than drive now. With the mega resorts, it has become more "kid friendly", so many families pick going there instead of Disneyland.

But there are local lines all over LA that could use an improvement. But those are lines already seeing 1 million plus riders a year, and they only intended on concentrating on those lines. But as lines came up for their 20 year or so replacements, upgrade them to high speed rail so they could just add the trains later if needed.

The original plan for the state system was to do just that, HSR to Sacramento, then the Capitol Corridor HSR to San Francisco. But the Governor did not like that, he wanted LA-SF only. Even those of us that like the idea think this is retarded, and will never work. There is just not enough of a demand through the Central Valley for this, nor for a route from SF to LA.

Yes, Acela goes from Boston to Washington, but relatively few actually take it from end to end. Most take much shorter segments, like Boston-NY, NY-Philly, or the like. And once you get outside of LA, there is really nothing anybody wants to see until SF.

Hey honey, let's go take the new bullet train! I always wanted to see Bakersfield! We can even catch a show at the Buck Owens Cristal Palace! Or we can go to Fresno, and take the bus to Oakhurst and see the Talking Bear!

At least if they had tried to do it up the Coastal Route, there would have been things that people would have actually wanted to go to. San Louis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Moro Bay, Pismo Beach, Hearst Castle, things that people would have actually taken it for for tourism if nothing else. The Central Valley is literally the "Fly-Over Area" of the state. We only go through it because we have to if we want to go somewhere else. There is nothing there of interest.

Then you have the other issue, the weather. Many may not know this, but the Central Valley can often get hurricane force winds. And every decade or so they get killer dust storms. I have a feeling that many times that route will be down because of that. If anything, it should have been built closer to the mountains to mitigate that issue. But this is not a real system, it is a huge vanity project.
Has it ever occurred to you that you are following bullet trains that do not exist for decades and that you are likely an obsessive compulsive train fanatic that does not care if a track cost a trillion dollars to build so that a few hundred can ride? You might want to lie back on a couch and explain this to Siggy

I see.

So the Acela Express never existed, and all of the 3 million plus that take it every year are what, government stooges? Under some form of mind control?

This is why I do not take you seriously at all. But please, feel free to start a thread in the Conspiracy Theory section and explain to us all how over 3 million people a year are fooled into believing they take a train that you insist never existed.
Correct the Acela Express is not nor was it ever high speed rail. You are the fool who is confused as to what a high speed train is.

Seek help

Prove it.

By far, most track in the US is "Class 3" or lower. That means a maximum speed of 60 MPH. But please, feel free to look it up.


It has to do with a lot of factors. The grade and angle of curves, width of the shoulders on each side of the track, the switching equipment used, and if it is single use (passenger only) or mixed use (alternating both passenger and freight). More than anything else, those are the factors that determine how fast trains on a system can go.

Anything rated at over 59 MPH is "High Speed Rail". It does not matter if it is 65 mph, or 600 mph. If it is rated at and travels at 60 mph or higher, it is HSR.

That means Class 4 through Class 9 rails, and the trains to run on them.

The Acela is running mostly on Class 7 rails, which means a maximum speed of 125 MPH. But it does not travel that fast, only at an average of 85 mph (but up to 150 mph in some sections). But it is still High Speed Rail. Because unlike most other systems, it is a hybrid, that runs on both Class 3 rails, mostly Class 7 rails, but a few segments are Class 8 rails.


See what I have put in there above? Those are known as "References". Can you say "References"? I knew you couldn't. But please pay attention to my last one, specifically pages 106-110. Notice something? For most of those routs, it is traveling in excess of 60, up to a maximum of 150 mph.

You scream and cry and whine that you are right, but provide no references at all. To be honest, Angelo is no better because he posts 20 videos that are garbage PR fantasies that are as stupid as what you post, but slanted the other way. He at least tries to post "references", even if he does not understand that a fantasy CGI promotional video or some idiot posting click-bait is not a real reference. Might as well post a video from the Flat Earth Society as proof that the planet is not round.

Meanwhile, I talk about actual speeds, statistics, specific systems, and provide references to back them up. And you just scream you are right, with nothing but your screaming to insist you are right.

This is really like watching "All About the Pentiums" at the level of logical discorse.
Actually it is easy to prove that you are a mental patient who does not actually know what a high speed train is, or that the Acela express is NOT A HIGH SPEED TRAIN

This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

That you little fart is a high speed train as it travels 300mph faster than the acela............Doofy

PS I bet that the military let you dig holes in the dirt and check for mines.
 
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Actually it is easy to prove that you are a mental patient who does not actually know what a high speed train is, or that the Acela express is NOT A HIGH SPEED TRAIN

This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

And where is that the definition of what it is?

YOU point to the fastest train in the world, and insist that is it. Therefore, I guess that anything under 300 miles an hour is not a high speed train.

OK, fine. Therefore, we can just build all the 200 mph trains we want, and you can not say anything as it is not high speed rail.

Got it, your definition changes into any that you think supports your decision. Acela is not High Speed, and we can replicate that nation wide as it does not meet your definition of what is not possible.
 
Actually it is easy to prove that you are a mental patient who does not actually know what a high speed train is, or that the Acela express is NOT A HIGH SPEED TRAIN

This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

And where is that the definition of what it is?

YOU point to the fastest train in the world, and insist that is it. Therefore, I guess that anything under 300 miles an hour is not a high speed train.

OK, fine. Therefore, we can just build all the 200 mph trains we want, and you can not say anything as it is not high speed rail.

Got it, your definition changes into any that you think supports your decision. Acela is not High Speed, and we can replicate that nation wide as it does not meet your definition of what is not possible.
Again doofy the Acela's highest speed is 300 mph slower than the new high speed Japanese train. But that's ok, you keep believing that the acela that can not beat a 112mph Toyota Prius in a flat out speed race is high speed. Seriously you need to get medication, and fast
 
Weatherman2020
There is no monster other than in your hate filled head. It wouldn't matter what he did, you would hate him.
They hate him so much, the dirty filthy Cathie church banned him from.having commumion when he became president but didn't object prior to that.
The no star is the ignorant republicans that hate with a passion.

Left to your own devices, your liberties would be taken back to slave days by big business etc. You are now a slave to big health with their rip off fees they charge.
Thank the republicans for allowing that.
You have nothing to protect yourselves except the government. So Don't give me that shit about Biden being a monster.
You're paranoid and know nothing.
 
Fucking Republicans are so lockstep against high speed rail they're almost as pre-wired and programmed as the sheep Democrats when it comes to abortion.
The reason we oppose high speed rail is because it's a big fucking waste of money. Air travel has made trains, even fast trains, obsolete.

This is such a ridiculously dumb statement. If you're traveling long distances like 1k miles and beyond, then sure, but who the fuck wants to take an airline to go 150-600 miles? Anyone who has ever taken an airplane knows what it's like to deal with the airlines. To get on a train, there are no pat downs, long screening lines, long delays, lost baggage or flights being rescheduled or you getting kicked off your flight. You just get to your train station with your bags in tow, wait for your train to arrive on time, get on and get off when you reach your destination. A flight from NYC to North Carolina would cost $360 and take over 2 hours, but you'd be lucky if you're entire trip from arriving at the airport till when you land takes just over 3 hours. A bullet train can cover that distance in the same amount of time as your entire airline trip but without the headaches of the airlines and I wouldn't be surprised if it was much cheaper as well. For shorter distances the cost and time of travel would absolutely be the only way to travel. Again, extremely dumb statement.
 
Markle What is the difference?

"High Speed Rail" is any rail system that travels in excess of 59 mph.

What you are saying is as retarded as claiming that Hawaii does not have an "Interstate Freeway System", since none of the freeways connect to any other state. You are insisting on a definition that is not accurate. It does not matter if it goes 100 or 1,000 miles, if it goes over 59 mph, it is "High Speed Rail".
200 km/h (120 mph)

High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include 200 km/h (120 mph) for upgraded track and 250 km/h (160 mph) or faster for new track.

High-speed Rail

www.railsystem.net/high-speed-rail/
 
Fucking Republicans are so lockstep against high speed rail they're almost as pre-wired and programmed as the sheep Democrats when it comes to abortion.
The reason we oppose high speed rail is because it's a big fucking waste of money. Air travel has made trains, even fast trains, obsolete.

This is such a ridiculously dumb statement. If you're traveling long distances like 1k miles and beyond, then sure, but who the fuck wants to take an airline to go 150-600 miles? Anyone who has ever taken an airplane knows what it's like to deal with the airlines. To get on a train, there are no pat downs, long screening lines, long delays, lost baggage or flights being rescheduled or you getting kicked off your flight. You just get to your train station with your bags in tow, wait for your train to arrive on time, get on and get off when you reach your destination. A flight from NYC to North Carolina would cost $360 and take over 2 hours, but you'd be lucky if you're entire trip from arriving at the airport till when you land takes just over 3 hours. A bullet train can cover that distance in the same amount of time as your entire airline trip but without the headaches of the airlines and I wouldn't be surprised if it was much cheaper as well. For shorter distances the cost and time of travel would absolutely be the only way to travel. Again, extremely dumb statement.

Strange, I found numerous flights from NYC to Raleigh, NC for $69.00.

 
This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

That you little fart is a high speed train as it travels 300mph faster than the acela............Doofy

PS I bet that the military let you dig holes in the dirt and check for mines.

miles_davis_so_what_meme-S.jpg
 
This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

That you little fart is a high speed train as it travels 300mph faster than the acela............Doofy

PS I bet that the military let you dig holes in the dirt and check for mines.

miles_davis_so_what_meme-S.jpg
Just pointing out that the Japanese 374 mph train is high speed and that the acela express 70mph train is thus very low speed
 
This Japanese train, which is currently being developed and tested by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), holds the land speed record for rail vehicles, clocking in at 374 mph.Mar 23, 2021

That you little fart is a high speed train as it travels 300mph faster than the acela............Doofy

PS I bet that the military let you dig holes in the dirt and check for mines.

miles_davis_so_what_meme-S.jpg
Just pointing out that the Japanese 374 mph train is high speed and that the acela express 70mph train is thus very low speed
so-what-pic-S.jpg
 
Markle What is the difference?

"High Speed Rail" is any rail system that travels in excess of 59 mph.

What you are saying is as retarded as claiming that Hawaii does not have an "Interstate Freeway System", since none of the freeways connect to any other state. You are insisting on a definition that is not accurate. It does not matter if it goes 100 or 1,000 miles, if it goes over 59 mph, it is "High Speed Rail".
200 km/h (120 mph)

High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include 200 km/h (120 mph) for upgraded track and 250 km/h (160 mph) or faster for new track.

High-speed Rail

www.railsystem.net/high-speed-rail/

I bolded the significant portion in that statement to make that clear.

That is the EU. This is the US. Japan has yet another definition, as do all other countries.

To put it simply, there is no single definition. And as this has been discussing the US, I have been using the US definitions.

For that, any train that is allowed to exceed the 59 MPH cap on passenger rail transit. The US has an artificially low rating, as most passenger service have run on mixed use lines, with both freight and passenger trains on the same system.

To certify for high speed in the US, it has to be on a closed system, where no other trains by HSR passengers are used on those segments (this is why in some areas the Acela travels at 60, at others 150). The rails themselves have to be certified to be able to handle those speeds, no road crossings, and the right of ways (track and median) have to be of a sufficient size to keep them safe to others.

In most of the US, we will never meet those speeds and standards. Medians are to narrow, road crossings, and mixed use also prevent most from ever being allowed to go that fast. So our standard is lower. Of course, most other countries also do not cap their standard passenger lines at only 59 mph.

For example, most "standard passenger trains" in Germany travel at speeds of 120+ MPH. That is double the speeds of those in the US, because they are not having to follow US standards. The same can be done here, but it is primarily the law that mandates the 59 MPH speeds and nothing to do with the capabilities of the rail, trains, or anything else themselves.
 
Markle What is the difference?

"High Speed Rail" is any rail system that travels in excess of 59 mph.

What you are saying is as retarded as claiming that Hawaii does not have an "Interstate Freeway System", since none of the freeways connect to any other state. You are insisting on a definition that is not accurate. It does not matter if it goes 100 or 1,000 miles, if it goes over 59 mph, it is "High Speed Rail".
200 km/h (120 mph)

High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include 200 km/h (120 mph) for upgraded track and 250 km/h (160 mph) or faster for new track.

High-speed Rail

www.railsystem.net/high-speed-rail/

I bolded the significant portion in that statement to make that clear.

That is the EU. This is the US. Japan has yet another definition, as do all other countries.

To put it simply, there is no single definition. And as this has been discussing the US, I have been using the US definitions.

For that, any train that is allowed to exceed the 59 MPH cap on passenger rail transit. The US has an artificially low rating, as most passenger service have run on mixed use lines, with both freight and passenger trains on the same system.

To certify for high speed in the US, it has to be on a closed system, where no other trains by HSR passengers are used on those segments (this is why in some areas the Acela travels at 60, at others 150). The rails themselves have to be certified to be able to handle those speeds, no road crossings, and the right of ways (track and median) have to be of a sufficient size to keep them safe to others.

In most of the US, we will never meet those speeds and standards. Medians are to narrow, road crossings, and mixed use also prevent most from ever being allowed to go that fast. So our standard is lower. Of course, most other countries also do not cap their standard passenger lines at only 59 mph.

For example, most "standard passenger trains" in Germany travel at speeds of 120+ MPH. That is double the speeds of those in the US, because they are not having to follow US standards. The same can be done here, but it is primarily the law that mandates the 59 MPH speeds and nothing to do with the capabilities of the rail, trains, or anything else themselves.

img_1313-whats-your-point-nana-meme-S.jpg
 
BUT the rulers of the state will provide gruel after a hard days labor.


Yep....this is the thing the left never tells the dupes.........after they destroy the best system in the world....the "equality" that they will impose will be the equality of forced labor and death camps.....as history shows us wherever the left takes total control...
 

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