Kerry and Specter introduce bill to borrow $23 billion for high-speed rail projects

[Heracles 417]

Yeah. Hope they start by firing all of the CTA's bad management structure, helping Mayor Daley NOT get reelected, and gutting most of the City's government.

Not that easy to do but possible.

Get rid of the ghettos and change will happen.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

NYC needs to modernise its rail system and get that new station built. You get some horrific delays on the trains going into Penn Station.

It says a lot when the bus is quicker...

[HAL 9000 96]

Yeah. Hope they start by firing all of the CTA's bad management structure, helping Mayor Daley NOT get reelected, and gutting most of the City's government.

Not that easy to do but possible.

Get rid of the ghettos and change will happen.

Might be part of it I guess.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Where are all the fiscal conservatives to talk about why this is such a bad idea?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Where are all the fiscal conservatives to talk about why this is such a bad idea?

Fiscal Conservative?

Do those even exist these days?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

NYC needs to modernise its rail system and get that new station built. You get some horrific delays on the trains going into Penn Station.

It says a lot when the bus is quicker...

The thought of a second Penn Station in midtown with a doubling (or more?) of the number of passengers arriving in midtown during rush hour makes me queasy. Isn't it crowded enough?

I'd much rather see a massive investment into light-rail in the northern NJ and hudson valley areas with additional tunnels across the hudson... basically turn those regions into another commutable borough of nyc.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

All of the worlds most successful cities and countries have a modern and ever expanding high speed rail network or projects in the works. We have a lot of catching up to do.

i can't wait for the 'small government' conservatives to start railing against this.

pun intended?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

oops, double-post.

Edited November 25, 2008 by CherryXS

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Some good info from http://campusprogress.org/cribsheets/3455/...igh-speed-rail:

What is high-speed rail?

The Federal Railroad Administration defines HSR as a series of technologies involving trains traveling at speeds of 90 to 300 miles per hour (mph). However the Kerry legislation pushes for all new HSR projects to travel at 150 mph and many state initiatives set the bar at 110 mph.

On many rail systems, 110 mph can be obtained by making improvements to the current tracks. But to achieve the speeds of our European and Asian counterparts, a real overhaul is needed to create dedicated track lines and no at-grade crossings. It’s not safe for vehicles or pedestrians to cross HSR tracks because should they get stuck, the trains would not be able to stop in time.

What are the benefits?

HSR and increased intercity passenger rail would dramatically reduce travel times, improve safety and provide highway and airway congestion relief. On trains traveling an average of speed of 140 mph, it would take an hour and 45 minutes to get from downtown Washington, D.C. to downtown New York City versus a conservative estimate of four hours and 15 minutes traveling on the highway on a car. Trains also save on delays and aggravations associated with air and auto travel such as check-in lines, traffic, and re-fueling.

Passenger rail travel results in significantly fewer deaths than automobile travel. According to a 2007 report prepared by the Passenger Rail Working Group (PRWG), the death rate per 100 million passenger miles in automobiles is 0.8 versus 0.03 in rail travel. The United States has more than twice as many traffic deaths per million people than many European countries that are more rail-friendly. In 2000, traffic crashes cost Americans a total of $230.6 billion to $32.6 billion in medical expenses alone, and only 25 percent of overall crash costs were paid by those involved in the crash.

HSR is also more environmentally friendly and energy efficient than car travel. On average, intercity passenger trains produce 60 percent fewer CO2 emissions per passenger-mile than the average car and half the greenhouse gas emissions of an airplane. The PRWG report found that Amtrak consumes 17 percent less energy per passenger mile than airlines and 21 percent less than autos. Trains also have a much higher occupancy count than cars and planes, which amplifies the benefits of trains’ energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.

It’s also worth noting that expanded rail service would foster economic development and emergency preparedness. After our nation’s two most recent national disasters, 9/11 and Katrina, emergency workers relied on rail to evacuate people from a disaster area. In the case of 9/11, rail was the only mode of transportation in and out of Manhattan while highway bridges and tunnels were closed.

What’s holding back high-speed rail in America?

The attempts to move forward with the HSR have been set back by environmental concerns, right-of-way disputes and inconsistent political support. The FRA has designated eleven high-speed corridors across the country, which allows a corridor to receive specially targeted funding for highway-rail grade crossing safety improvements and recognizes that area as a center of HSR activity. Amtrak is willing to operate “Acela Regional” service in other state-sponsored corridors if given the funds for the necessary upgrades.

The proposed high-speed rail system in 2030.

At the state level, California has taken the lead on the campaign to implement HSR. They established the California High-Speed Rail Authority in 1996 yet still haven’t established a high-speed rail system. Earlier this month, the Golden State moved forward on this initiative by passing a proposition to sell nearly $10 billion in bonds to propel an 800-mile system of bullet trains that could speed along at 200 mph, linking the Bay Area and Southern California and the cities in between. The total system is estimated to cost around $40 billion. A ticket in between Los Angeles and San Francisco (a trip that would only take two hours and 38 minutes on HSR) is estimated to cost around $60.

The Amtrak Reauthorization Measure, recently passed in the House, is also relevant to this discussion. The bill authorizes $14.4 billion for Amtrak over the next five years and permits construction of a high-speed rail line between Washington, D.C. and New York City. The Amtrak bill includes roughly $300 million in grants for HSR.

“The nation needs a functioning inter-metropolitan area network for passenger rail travel,” Robert Puentes, an infrastructure expert in the Metropolitan Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, wrote in an email. “Americans should have access to safe, reliable, and convenient choices. By not providing these options the U.S. stands out from its global competitors. The federal government should take the lead role in establishing a new frame for inter-metropolitan area rail that is flexible and responsive to the different travel needs of the nation. Doing so will move us to a more integrated, sustainable, and competitive future.” Today, we pay a heavy price in wasted time and fuel inefficiency with our country’s outdated auto-based transportation infrastructure—a high-speed rail system is a good first step toward resolving those problems.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Hopefully there will be similar investment in the Chicago region to attract more Olympic attention.

Unfortunately, Chicago will follow the example of Atlanta--which has a metro-rail though way narrow compared to the spread of Olympics sites--and make clusterf##k of that.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hopefully there will be similar investment in the Chicago region to attract more Olympic attention.

Unfortunately, Chicago will follow the example of Atlanta--which has a metro-rail though way narrow compared to the spread of Olympics sites--and make clusterf##k of that.

If you could go back in time and if you had the power to change things at will, how would you have changed MARTA?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Source: http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/203

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Edited November 25, 2008 by A.J.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Hmmm I would like to see a high speed rail system...not sure about the cost but if car companies and banks are begging for money, why not get money for something like this.

Yup, this is the kind of investment that can create more growth. Like the interstate highway system did.

[HAL 9000 96]

Hopefully there will be similar investment in the Chicago region to attract more Olympic attention.

Unfortunately, Chicago will follow the example of Atlanta--which has a metro-rail though way narrow compared to the spread of Olympics sites--and make clusterf##k of that.

Oh they'd have to really muck things up to follow Atlanta's example.

For the large part, many proposed Olympic sites are within 10 minutes walking from CTA Rail stops. You can't cover every single event with mass transit.

Better in this city would mean high speed connecting other regional cities, alleviating Amtrak and Metra Rail routes that are pretty popular. Increasing inner-city rail routes (new tracks including a route that circulates the city- memories of Tokyo's Yamanote line come to mind) to alleviate inbound commuting that has to radiate outwards again just to reach its destination.

That sort of stuff.