Massive Amtrak Crash....but who cares about our highways and trains?

[Political Junky]

...The Chinese, French, Italians, Japanese, et al. are laughing at us...

Bullet trains never crash?

Bullet trains are not practical in the US --- anyone who proposes them either 1) doesn't understand them, or 2) builds them and is trying to get rich by screwing the public.

Just out of curiosity... why are bullet trains impractical in the US?

Bullet trains are effective in small countries - the distance between ticket selling locations is small. Thus, they are able to sell tickets for shorter runs, thus driving down the cost-per-mile to make it cost effective. Using bullet trains to go from LA to Chicago, or Cincinnatti to Dallas just isn't economically feasible.

In addition, using the bullet train presumes a robust public transportation system in the cities. We don't have that - anywhere. When you arrive at the station, you're still 15 miles from your office. I was in Southern California when they put commuter trains in for only gazillions of dollars. I tried to use it --- the best schedule I was able to arrange was 4 hours 20 minutes, 5 train changes, and the closest stop to my office was about 4 miles.

Small countries like China? Try again.

 

[Spare_change]

...The Chinese, French, Italians, Japanese, et al. are laughing at us...

Bullet trains never crash?

Bullet trains are not practical in the US --- anyone who proposes them either 1) doesn't understand them, or 2) builds them and is trying to get rich by screwing the public.

Just out of curiosity... why are bullet trains impractical in the US?

Bullet trains are effective in small countries - the distance between ticket selling locations is small. Thus, they are able to sell tickets for shorter runs, thus driving down the cost-per-mile to make it cost effective. Using bullet trains to go from LA to Chicago, or Cincinnatti to Dallas just isn't economically feasible.

In addition, using the bullet train presumes a robust public transportation system in the cities. We don't have that - anywhere. When you arrive at the station, you're still 15 miles from your office. I was in Southern California when they put commuter trains in for only gazillions of dollars. I tried to use it --- the best schedule I was able to arrange was 4 hours 20 minutes, 5 train changes, and the closest stop to my office was about 4 miles.

Small countries like China? Try again.

Not a problem ... if the government is willing to subsidize the costs. This is NOT a profit making business. In addition, China has little or no private transportation infrastructure. Most people don't own cars, and can't get from one city to another. Thus, the government pays for railway. You willing to do that?

China has about 9,000 miles of bullet trains. That's a track from NY to LA and back, and a link to Seattle. That hardly qualifies as significant. Oh, by the way, they had 2.49 million passengers in 2014. Do you seriously believe that we can create that kind of traffic?

I quote the London Financial Times, 2011-04-14. "Concerns about HSR safety, high ticket prices, low ridership, financial sustainability of high-speed rail projects and environmental impact have drawn greater scrutiny from the Chinese press."

These are the very elements that make them impractical.

 

[Political Junky]

Bullet trains never crash?

Bullet trains are not practical in the US --- anyone who proposes them either 1) doesn't understand them, or 2) builds them and is trying to get rich by screwing the public.

Just out of curiosity... why are bullet trains impractical in the US?

Bullet trains are effective in small countries - the distance between ticket selling locations is small. Thus, they are able to sell tickets for shorter runs, thus driving down the cost-per-mile to make it cost effective. Using bullet trains to go from LA to Chicago, or Cincinnatti to Dallas just isn't economically feasible.

In addition, using the bullet train presumes a robust public transportation system in the cities. We don't have that - anywhere. When you arrive at the station, you're still 15 miles from your office. I was in Southern California when they put commuter trains in for only gazillions of dollars. I tried to use it --- the best schedule I was able to arrange was 4 hours 20 minutes, 5 train changes, and the closest stop to my office was about 4 miles.

Small countries like China? Try again.

Not a problem ... if the government is willing to subsidize the costs. This is NOT a profit making business. In addition, China has little or no private transportation infrastructure. Most people don't own cars, and can't get from one city to another. Thus, the government pays for railway. You willing to do that?

China has about 9,000 miles of bullet trains. That's a track from NY to LA and back, and a link to Seattle. That hardly qualifies as significant. Oh, by the way, they had 2.49 million passengers in 2014. Do you seriously believe that we can create that kind of traffic?

I quote the London Financial Times, 2011-04-14. "Concerns about HSR safety, high ticket prices, low ridership, financial sustainability of high-speed rail projects and environmental impact have drawn greater scrutiny from the Chinese press."

These are the very elements that make them impractical.

Passengers generally prefer to travel by high speed trains, which should be attributed to their advantages:
1. Fast: Their present operational speed is 155mi-186mi/h (250-300km/h), greatly shortening the journey time. For instance, the duration from Beijing to Shanghai has been shortened from a previous 15 hours to about 5 hours.
2. Punctual: Being different from flights, they are less influenced by weather or traffic control, hence able to arrive at their destinations on time.
3. Convenient: CRH trains are scheduled more frequently than ordinary ones and many of the high speed railway stations are reachable by subway, making rail journey much more convenient than before.
4. Reasonable price: Although the ticket may be a little higher than an ordinary train ticket, it is much cheaper than a flight. Take the journey from Beijing to Shanghai for instance, a soft sleeper on an ordinary train is CNY476.5, a second class on a bullet one is CNY553; while the full fare of an economic class seat on a plane is over CNY 1,000.
5. Comfortable: The carriages are much better equipped than the old-generation carriages, and can rival airplanes. Seats are wider and softer, windows are bigger, and washrooms are cleaner… All these ensure passengers a comfortable and pleasant journey.
6. Safe: The bullet trains are operated by advanced technological communication systems to ensure passengers’ safety.
China Bullet Train Tickets Booking High Speed Rail

 

[Steve_McGarrett]

No wonder the Amtrak crashed. The engineer Brian Bostian is a homosexual militant pro-same sex marriage activist. Spread the news. Multiculturalism, Affirmative action and Diversity kills. This guy is proof.

BREAKING GotNews IDs Gay Activist Train Engineer Who Caused Amtrak Crash UPDATED W PHOTOS - GotNews

 

[Political Junky]

No wonder the Amtrak crashed. The engineer Brian Bostian is a homosexual militant pro-same sex marriage activist. Spread the news. Multiculturalism, Affirmative action and Diversity kills. This guy is proof.

BREAKING GotNews IDs Gay Activist Train Engineer Who Caused Amtrak Crash UPDATED W PHOTOS - GotNews

Funny, the Right lives by the word of Matt Drudge. Drudge is gay, worked as a cashier at the CBS gift shop in LA.
more at:
Matt Drudge

 

[M14 Shooter]

The death toll is now 7 with 200 injured.
Certainly the Right doesn't care about infrastructure .. they just cut AMTRAK funding.
I heard on TV that the US spends 1.7% of the budget on infrastructure, Europe 5%, China 6%.
If you travel, the difference is obvious.

And I do. Huge difference. U.S. train system sucks. Amtrak is pinched, not getting funding and so they are cutting corners and....curves....in order to compensate.
The Acela Express will knock you off your feet if you are standing on a platform when it passes. This is not news, this high speed.

You argue the engineer was simply going as fast as the schedule Amtrak set.
Why aren't you screaming for Amtrak to be held criminally liable for these deaths?
When are you going to show that the automobile companies "quashed" passenger rail travel?

Who said I wasn't screaming for Amtrak to be held liable? Where do I defend them? I'm condemning them if you have the slightest ability to comprehend English.

No....you are trying to condemn the GOP for reducing AmTrak's budget.
Nowhere have I seen you lay the blame on anyone except the GOP.

GM started the movement to kill off mass transit. Google Edwin J. Quinby. I'm not your mother and I won't do your homework for you.

Edwin J. Quinby
In 1946, Edwin Jenyss Quinby, an activated reserve commander,[33] founder of the Electric Railroaders' Association in 1934 (which lobbied on behalf of rail users and services),[34] former employee of North Jersey Rapid Transit (which operated in New York) published a 24-page 'expose' on the ownership of National City Lines addressed to "The Mayors; The City Manager; The City Transit Engineer; The members of The Committee on Mass-Transportation and The Tax-Payers and The Riding Citizens of Your Community". It began, "This is an urgent warning to each and every one of you that there is a careful, deliberately planned campaign to swindle you out of your most important and valuable public utilities–your Electric Railway System".[35] His agitating may have led Federal authorities to prosecute GM and the other companies.[36]

This is all you have to prove that the automakers "quashed" passenger rail? An 'expose' by a pro-rail guy?

Let me know when you have some substantive.

Let me know when you get off your ass with anything to disprove it.

Wow. Are you so silly as to think that it is my responsibility to disprove a claim you know you cannot support?
Its amazing you can take yourself seriously.
You made a claim that you know you cannot back. We both know it, I'm simply honest enough to admit it.

 

[M14 Shooter]

If we had real high speed trains like Europe and China have there would have been no problem.

If the market had a demand for those trains, we'd have them.

The demand is there.

For commuter lines, not long-distance - which is why AmTrak loses money and requires taxpayer subsidy.

 

[MaryL]

Being Gay is the new catchword for being incompetent? Let's set our secret decoder watches to the same frequency and put aluminum foil in our hats, too.

 

[Political Junky]

If we had real high speed trains like Europe and China have there would have been no problem.

If the market had a demand for those trains, we'd have them.

The demand is there.

For commuter lines, not long-distance - which is why AmTrak loses money and requires taxpayer subsidy.

Subsidized like the airlines and Big Oil?

 

[M14 Shooter]

If we had real high speed trains like Europe and China have there would have been no problem.

If the market had a demand for those trains, we'd have them.

The demand is there.

For commuter lines, not long-distance - which is why AmTrak loses money and requires taxpayer subsidy.

Subsidized like the airlines and Big Oil?

Your red herring indicates you know you have no effective response to what I said.
I therefore accept your concession of the point.

 

[Political Junky]

If we had real high speed trains like Europe and China have there would have been no problem.

If the market had a demand for those trains, we'd have them.

The demand is there.

For commuter lines, not long-distance - which is why AmTrak loses money and requires taxpayer subsidy.

Subsidized like the airlines and Big Oil?

Your red herring indicates you know you have no effective response to what I said.
I therefore accept your concession of the point.

Bullshit -

 

[jon_berzerk]

unlikely

--LOL

 

[jon_berzerk]

i know, but deritoro and NTPP say otherwise....why are you telling me this?

I'm agreeing with you so that they may see that there are others who have a rudimentary understanding of physics like you do and understand about centrifugal force (which deritoro and NTPP apparently don't).

actually the object in this case wants to keep moving in a straight line

in this case the object did not want to be drawn away from a center of rotation

Momentum's a *****.

inertia which makes objects resistant to the forces that makes them move in a curve

I know!!! I know!!!!

Let's automate it!!!

Safer - but lots of jobs lost.

some day not to far into the future

 

[ninja007]

Last time I mentioned our crumbling infrastructure I was derided for sounding like a broken record. So six people dead and 140 injured. So six people dead and 140 injured. So six people dead and....

Not to mention that all train traffic between Phila and NYC has been stopped since last night at 9:30. You shut down NYC and the country will come to a halt, too.

the 2 huge stimulus' were supposed to fix the infastructure.

 

[Two Thumbs]

This line, the Northeast Corridor, is a nightmare to ride. The rail system between D.C. and Boston hasn't been updated in over 60 years.

But bomb, bomb, bomb ....bomb, bomb Iran. Yeah baby! Defense spending trumps our own citizens' ability to get to work every day.

Death Toll Rises to 6 in Philadelphia Amtrak Train Wreck
(140 injured)
Death Toll Rises to 6 in Philadelphia Amtrak Train Wreck - WSJ

The Chinese, French, Italians, Japanese, et al. are laughing at us.

Mr. Nutter said a “black box” data recorder aboard the train had been recovered and is being analyzed at an Amtrak facility in Delaware. He said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the accident.


In other words; You Are A Lying PIle of Shit that is using the deaths of innocent people to push your agenda.

vile ******* leftist filth

you seem angry.

I'm a good a decent human being, that's why I'm not leftist filth

 

[Two Thumbs]

This line, the Northeast Corridor, is a nightmare to ride. The rail system between D.C. and Boston hasn't been updated in over 60 years.

But bomb, bomb, bomb ....bomb, bomb Iran. Yeah baby! Defense spending trumps our own citizens' ability to get to work every day.

Death Toll Rises to 6 in Philadelphia Amtrak Train Wreck
(140 injured)
Death Toll Rises to 6 in Philadelphia Amtrak Train Wreck - WSJ

The Chinese, French, Italians, Japanese, et al. are laughing at us.

Mr. Nutter said a “black box” data recorder aboard the train had been recovered and is being analyzed at an Amtrak facility in Delaware. He said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the accident.


In other words; You Are A Lying PIle of Shit that is using the deaths of innocent people to push your agenda.

vile ******* leftist filth

you seem angry.

I think Two Thumbs has one firmly up her @ss.

Note that absolutely no rightie will address the Chinese high-speed train image I posted. None of them. Cluck-cluck...

you're a low life degenerate with no regard for the lives that were lost passed pushing your agenda.

they are nothing but props to filth like you

 

[jon_berzerk]

Last time I mentioned our crumbling infrastructure I was derided for sounding like a broken record. So six people dead and 140 injured. So six people dead and 140 injured. So six people dead and....

Not to mention that all train traffic between Phila and NYC has been stopped since last night at 9:30. You shut down NYC and the country will come to a halt, too.

the 2 huge stimulus' were supposed to fix the infastructure.

and them some

when it didnt happen the prezbo laughed on late nite tv

"i guess those shovel ready jobs not so shovel ready after all"-the prezbo

 

[Steve_McGarrett]

No wonder the Amtrak crashed. The engineer Brian Bostian is a homosexual militant pro-same sex marriage activist. Spread the news. Multiculturalism, Affirmative action and Diversity kills. This guy is proof.

BREAKING GotNews IDs Gay Activist Train Engineer Who Caused Amtrak Crash UPDATED W PHOTOS - GotNews

Funny, the Right lives by the word of Matt Drudge. Drudge is gay, worked as a cashier at the CBS gift shop in LA.
more at:
Matt Drudge

I don't live by the word of Drudge. I only read the links he puts up on his website.

 

[Yurt]

Despite pressure from Congress and safety regulators, Amtrak had not installed along that section of track Positive Train Control, a technology that uses GPS, wireless radio and computers to prevent trains from going over the speed limit. Most of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor is equipped with Positive Train Control.
Investigators Train in deadly wreck was speeding 106 mph - Yahoo News

in response to the ridiculous claim that the gop is responsible:

Eliminate Subsidies for Amtrak

Eliminate Subsidies for Amtrak Congressional Budget Office

 

[ninja007]

I heard the driver left 16 min. late, so the pressure was on to catch up....