High-Speed Rail Routes That Could Get Upgrades (MAP)

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined plans for a high-speed rail network he said would change the way Americans travel, drawing comparisons to the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.

Initially, regional transportation offices will compete for the $8 billion included in the $787 billion economic stimulus spending package for high-speed rail, bolstered by $1 billion a year for five years requested in the federal budget.

Ten corridors the Obama administration had identified for possible high-speed rail projects:

California corridor (Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego)

Pacific Northwest corridor (Eugene, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, Vancouver British Columbia)

South Central corridor (Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock)

Gulf Coast corridor (Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta)

Chicago hub network (Chicago, Milwaukee, Twin Cities, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville)

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Florida corridor (Orlando, Tampa, Miami)

Southeast corridor (Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Macon, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville)

Keystone corridor (Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh)

Empire corridor (New York City, Albany, Buffalo)

Northern New England corridor (Boston, Montreal, Portland, Springfield, New Haven, Albany)

Comments

[BradHart]

If the Ohio section doesn't hit the Dayton-Springfield area, which the map looks like it avoids it will miss a populated area of more than a million people. This is bad planning on their part...

[frantaylor]

You can find all manner of interesting trivia about Acela

here: http://www.trainweb.org/tgvpages/acela.html

and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acela

[bonum]

this is awesome, I have traveled on the high speed trains of Europe and not only are they efficient but the view is amazing, also it was much faster than flying from Germany to Austria once you factored in all of the "waiting" and congestion time in the airports.

high speed rail in Japan is also utterly amazing, I've done it twice and I couldn't believe how clean, efficient, and FAST this was.

This is America! we can do this!

[pltmcs]

As discussed on www.ProudlyMadeInAmercia.com, project likes these are great for the domestic economy in many ways. Just the added value to the economy in building the infrastructure is great, but there are many other benefits. The manufacturing base improvements, the more energy efficient travel, and the less overall pollution help the overall economy.

[frantaylor]

Your link is broken, and trains are barely mentioned there.

[formerprosecutor]

I think a lot of you are only thinking about commuting and other business use.

I think train travel can come back as leisure travel. They won't get hem built in time for the baby boomer generation as we age out; but it would have been nice for 72 million of us to be able to trevel the US and not drive.

[formerprosecutor]

This is just wonderful: I hoep eI am alive to ride this.

But it is a msitake to not go to Omaha and then Denver

[cjt1957]

I think they should put one to every city with more than 100k population. We must be fair to all in this. The tax payers will be subsidizing it from now on, it should be available to as many as possible.

[Atheisto]

It seems to be a venerable map of Obama's biggest doner areas to me...

[TchoupitoulasCanal]

Tell you what.....I'm all for anything that doesn't require me to take my shoes off, pay $25 to check a bag, and make me weigh my luggage....

[formerprosecutor]

Imagine, no gas stops, relax, play games, talk with human beings, maybe have dinner and cocktail, take nap, actually see the country instead of taffic and white lines.

heaven

[cjt1957]

So there will be no security on the trains? Dream on. They will have to nickel and dime you to pay for it all, and then the tax payer will have to still kick in...

[Ergon]

With Rahm Emanuel's republican friend Ray LaHood as SecTrans http://www.alternet.org/story/120407/
I'm not entirely hopeful it'll get done
On time
Under budget
At all.
Here's hoping, though. The European high speeds are a treat!

[SangZe]

Before jumping on the so-called high-speed train, perhaps congress should address the way Amtrak charges. I have yet to figure it out. I do not understand why a ticket from point A to point B should cost different prices at different times and days, or why a representative should tell me on the phone that I should "call back in a few days" to find out if the price of my ticket has changed. The rather expensive and dirty "high-speed" train I took from Boston to NY took longer than the bus I could have taken for $15.00. I would opt for trains if they ran as well as trains do in China.

[tbrnotb]

It's really reasonable and they do a great job on the West Coast. In California its an especially good alternative to driving between SD, LA and SF. So I say...go for it! This isn't China or Europe, we need to develop our own system based on their successes. And yeah, it will be a bit confusing, but let the PR people deal with your confusion and lets move forward. Maybe a successful train system will work out the problems. Otherwise, take the bus!

[granamica]

I took the Starlight ( LA to Seattle) on New Year's eve 2008 and it was amazing. I have taken that train three times and the winter trip was amazing.


Take trains.

[formerprosecutor]

They will have to have reasonable , regular pricing and service(including cleanliness. Nobdy wants to be stuck in a dirty smelly tube .
the airlines manage to keep their planes reasonably clean; it shouldn't be that hard; a lot of that can be dealt with by design and technology.

[frantaylor]

It's called "dynamic pricing", the airlines do it too. They tweak on the prices based on how many seats are left and how close it is to the departure time. They try to maximize profit while still filling as many seats as possible. That's the theory, anyway.

[AxelDC]

Why isn't DC-Philly-NYC on this list? Acela is completely inadequate for the most traveled corridor in the nation. The tracks prevent it from shaving more than 30 minutes off the old-school metroliner, and yet Amtrak charges 2x as much for the privilege.

[frantaylor]

The entire Northeast corridor line, with the exception of the stretch from the CT-RI border to Boston, is in desperate need of track work.

These tracks have been in place for well over 100 years. Parts of the route have been in continuous service since the 1840's. The overhead wiring in some stretches is almost 90 years old.

Talk about shovel-ready!

[frantaylor]

Track-building is great for the local economy where the tracks are built. Concrete cannot be hauled over long distances, so local industry will benefit. Many railroad overpasses are already in poor condition and also need to be rebuilt to handle the extra clearance necessary for the electric wires. They can be rebuilt to handle heavier traffic loads and wider sidewalks, so even highway and foot traffic benefits.

Replacing diesel locomotives with electric means that you don't have to smell diesel fuel all the time if you live near the tracks, increasing property values. Electric trains are also quieter than diesel trains, also enhancing nearby property values. Property values skyrocket when public transportation facilities are installed nearby, because people understand the value in not having to drive everywhere. Increased property values mean more property tax revenue for the local community.

People need to think about these benefits when they think about rail upgrades.

[frantaylor]

High-speed rails are more important than high-speed trains. Amtrak still runs the Metroliner trains on the Northeast Corridor line, in addition to the Acela. If you look at the schedule, you will see that it's really not that much slower. That's because the big difference is the tracks. The standard trains Amtrak has right now will do over 110 mph if the tracks are top-grade.

[MarkBoston]

when we talk about High Speed here .. what are we talking about ??? I live in Boston and we have what is known as a high speed train called the Acela that runs from Boston to NYC. I have been on the TGV trains in Europe and let me tell you .... the Acela is NO high speed train. Besides it cost way to much .. I would rather fly or take the $20.00 Greyhound ... America needs to break away from the auto and jet craft and begin clean electric TGV training

[frantaylor]

I've taken that awful bus from Boston to NYC. Never again. It gets stuck in traffic, it smells like diesel, there is no food, you can't get up and walk around. If you have broad shoulders like I do and you have to sit in the aisle seat, you get bumped hard in the shoulder whenever anyone passes by your seat. There are no electrical outlets.

For me it is worth the extra $100 to take the train because I can get work done and I arrive refreshed and ready instead of grumpy and cramped.

[frantaylor]

Did you notice that the Acela is pretty quick out of Boston, but it slows to a crawl after New Haven? They desperately need to modernize the rails from New Haven to NYC. It will shave an entire hour off the travel time.

[cjt1957]

I wonder how long the environmental impact statements will take. 20 to 50 years may be enough if no one contests them. Of course they maybe illegally pushed through.

[Myshkin57]

Would they need to do those since they're using the exact same rails with improvements? I'm betting not.

[frantaylor]

It took Amtrak years and years to complete the impact statements for the Acela improvements on the Northeast Corridor.

Laying high-speed rail is not just a matter of laying down new tracks. High-speed tracks have to be banked carefully, they use computer simulations to determine the exact angles and curvatures. They have to dig deep into the railbed to install shock-absorbing materials and moisture barriers to prevent frost heaves. They have to build poles for the electric wires. They have to install substations to house the power transmission equipment. They have to run high-voltage power lines. It's really quite a bit of work.

[Jakealoper]

I love trains too and despise the way that this country got so fat, lazy and self obsessed with the car culture. But face it, rail is not the wisest choice. To make rail work economically, you have to have high density development that most people don't want. Homes, jobs, factories, shopping is all spread out and it's hard for rail to meet people's need since it is so expensive to build new lines. Basically, there have been no new rail routes built, everything is using right of ways, tunnels and bridges decades or a century old.

It would be a better use of money to build some bike and ped trails out here in my crummy redneck suburb so people may walk 1/3 mile to the local shopping center instead of driving 2 miles roundabout.

[frantaylor]

We need a modern version of the CCC to build more bike paths and pedestrian walkways. Very low budget and it puts unemployed people to work.

[formerprosecutor]

A modern CCC is a good idea; I do think more people would walk or ride bikes if they didn't fear getting run over. In most midwest small cities , you wouldn't dare ride a bike in traffic.

[cjt1957]

Cheap government labor compeating with private sector union jobs. Not a bad idea...