Nice shot Bob, but I wonder why North America is still testing this type of railroad equipment. Europe and Asia are moving their trains at 150-200 mph while we still trudge along at 85-100. It is time to get with program and accept that some foreign technology is better than ours and get with it. The old dinosaur builders need to move aside and let the young techies run with it.
|
The one bit about this train it is capable of 125 mph which is the speed they hope to run when they expand to Orlando. So I think e are exceptionally slowly getting there.
|
| Posted by Torker on May 26, 2017 | |
The thing about American railroads is that the passenger railroads (with a few exceptions such as the Northeast Corridor) do not own the track rights which limits their access to the rails, and thus, to the speed they can run. Siemens already makes products which run at much higher speeds
|
Good photo, but the paint on the locomotive will take some getting used to. If looks like it collided with a truckload of yellow paint.
|
The United States is just not built for high speed rail. Its large geographic size and low population density (compared to Europe or Japan) means long distance travel is more efficient by plane and the urban sprawl that has existed in this country since the end of WWII has made cars the most efficient way to travel short and medium distances. Plus, most of the railway lines in this country are owned by private railways, with many already operating at full capacity. Good luck trying to get more Amtraks to run, let alone high speed rail. And even in the areas where high speed rail would be feasible (northeast corridor for example) you would have to bulldoze A LOT of houses and seize A LOT of private property before you could even begin to upgrade the line to HSR standards. (Another effect of urban sprawl) And all of this requires A LOT of money, which can only be funded through increased taxes. So unless Americans are willing to pay way more taxes, HSR in America just isn't going to happen. (I'm looking at you California HSR!)
|
Nice catch, Bob - thanks for sharing some early runs. As for high speed rail in the United States - as in Europe, in a nut shell, think Mick Jagger said it best: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well, you might find, you get what you need". I agree with miningcamper, as well - paint scheme will take some time to get use to - it looks like it's wrapped in retail packaging waiting to be hung on a hook.
|
| Posted by Miguel on September 30, 2017 | |
Another way to put it is this: European car loads are 30-50 tons, basically what the US was 60 years ago. Our trains aren't fast but they serve an incredibly valuable service. And they do it WITHOUT massive government subsidy, unlike our cousins on the other side of the Atlantic.
|
|