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WhoozOn1st

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With construction commencement possibly two years out there is increased scrutiny of routing proposals for the Anaheim-Los Angeles segment of the line.

Bullet Train Plan Under Fire

"Among other things, [LACMTA chief Art] Leahy questioned designing the system to run trains every five minutes. 'That's extraordinary,' he said. And widening the corridor to add dedicated bullet train tracks could require taking out hundreds of homes in Anaheim alone, he noted. 'I mean, just crazy stuff,' he said, according to a recording of the session obtained by The Times."

"It 'isn't practical,' to start with that segment said Michael McGinley, who previously headed Metrolink's engineering department and has worked on the local high-speed rail project as a consultant. 'The first $4 billion should not be spent on that little spur. It overlaps and competes with an existing service.'"

Existing service is Metrolink commuter trains and Amtrak Pacific Surfliners.

It's only journalistic shorthand, but I grow weary of the term "bullet train." Maybe that's just cuz I've been hearing it since 1964, when it was applied to the Shinkansen HSR in Japan.

HSR tops the agenda for the April 17 NARP/RailPAC meeting at L.A. No Joe Boardman or Beech Grove this year, but last year's meeting was so interesting overall that I'm going again.

NARP/RailPAC Spring Membership Meeting Draft Program

EDIT: The Michael McGinley quoted in the Times article is scheduled to address NARP/RailPAC.
 
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Five minute frequency seems pretty outlandish to me. I'd say start with hourly.

I think there is some merit in not making ANA-LAX truly high speed first.

This section beats car traffic most of the time.

SF-LAX is what needs to be done first.
 
Five minute frequency seems pretty outlandish to me. I'd say start with hourly.
I think there is some merit in not making ANA-LAX truly high speed first.

This section beats car traffic most of the time.

SF-LAX is what needs to be done first.
If this was a highway project or a project in Asia, they'd simply build an elevated pair of high speed lines (or lanes) right atop the existing railroad ROW and be done with it. But since this is the US of A, we will first spend 6 years arguing about what should be built or not. Then if some money remains something half assed will get built, which will be neither fish nor fowl. Sigh....
 
Five minute frequency seems pretty outlandish to me. I'd say start with hourly.
I think there is some merit in not making ANA-LAX truly high speed first.

This section beats car traffic most of the time.

SF-LAX is what needs to be done first.
The bond issue requires planning for this as a hedge against future capacity bottlenecks.
 
A few comments from an insider that needs to remain anonymous:

1. "Taking out hundreds of homes" is completely bogus. There are probably not 100 homes in total near the line. Housing takes will approach zero.

2. The "five minute train frequency" is a design standard for operating capacity, not the proposed train frequency. That will be less and will be based on actual demand.

3. Michael McGinley is not an unbiased commentator. The decision to put this segment first is both funding and politic related.
 
Well depending on how technical you want to get, coal is very loose solar power. The plants and other things that have been compacted over thousands of years had to use solar energy to become coal. Anyone with me? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
 
Tough words on bullet-train plan

"[California State] Auditor Elaine Howle reported that the authority overseeing the rail system could very likely fall billions of dollars short of what it needs to complete the project, even though California voters approved borrowing billions of dollars to help pay for it."
 
You know, when this country was founded, people actually do things. Now they sit around and talk about how they are going to do things.

Or... to quote Dave Barry roughly:

"President Madison started the policy for the U.S. to "get tough" when it came to world events. This was replaced in the 1970s with the U.S. policy of calling a press conference and threatening to "get tough"."
 
Anybody wanna guess where the equipment will come from?

New chief chosen for high-speed rail project

"A senior private-sector executive with extensive international rail construction experience was named Thursday to lead California's $43-billion high-speed rail project from the drawing board toward the start of construction.

"Roelof van Ark, 58, president of Alstom Transportation Inc., a subsidiary of a French-based conglomerate, was unanimously approved as the new chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority at an agency board meeting in Sacramento."
 
High speed hi-jinks from the governator. He wants an HSR demonstration - by November - on the L.A.-San Diego corridor. Piece O' cake!

Fast track for high-speed rail is sought

"Skeptics of the idea say the project might not demonstrate high-speed rail's capabilities and is too ambitious to do in five months, especially if extensive improvements turn out to be needed to accommodate the train.

"'This will not be high-speed rail,' said Jim Mills, a former state senator who helped create commuter rail service between San Diego and Los Angeles. 'The difference in the running time compared to conventional equipment might only be a few minutes. And, if one of these lighter European designs derails or hits a gravel truck on the tracks, it will be a catastrophe.'

"Others pointedly questioned the governor's motivation beyond his long-time support for high-speed rail.

"'What hit me first about this was the desperation of having a ribbon-cutting shortly before the governor leaves,' said Rich Tolmach of the California Rail Foundation. 'They've realized there's no legacy for the governor.'"
 
Is this a chance to announce that "I'm Back!!!" as he returns to the movies since he has no future in politics! Maybe he can make a train movie! ;)
 
High speed hi-jinks from the governator. He wants an HSR demonstration - by November - on the L.A.-San Diego corridor. Piece O' cake!
["'This will not be high-speed rail,' said Jim Mills, a former state senator who helped create commuter rail service between San Diego and Los Angeles. 'The difference in the running time compared to conventional equipment might only be a few minutes. And, if one of these lighter European designs derails or hits a gravel truck on the tracks, it will be a catastrophe.'
Surely no one could be this stupid.

OK, he is a politician, so it is possible, with apologies to Jim Mills who is absolutely correct. There are quite a few other things that make this essentially impossible.

1. No way will the FRA allow this to happen. No high speed trainset in the world meets the US crashworthiness requirements for operating on a track with road crossings, even assuming that the freight trains will all be stopped when this thing is operating. If they continue to run, that also is a NO NO per FRA.

2. All, so far as I know, high speed trainsets run off electricity. The overhead wire to carry such is absent from the San Diego line.

3. Track class will not permit anything plus 110, maybe even plus 90.

4. To many curves to get any reasonable improvement in run time.

There are certainly more, but numbers 1 and 2 will make certain that this run will not happen.
 
:eek: WOW! I agree, this is PC run amok! :wacko: And it proves that not only rightwing nuts are mobbing up for witch hunts! Hope the Terminator terminates this one if it reaches his desk!(Dont know if the rich witch or Gov. Moonbeam would sign this one, kill it while you can (so to speak!) :help:
 
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Just plain nuts...

Bill to compel firms to admit Holocaust role advances

"Essentially targeting a French rail operator, a key state Senate committee Tuesday advanced legislation that would require companies interested in working on the California high-speed train project to admit whether they transported people to concentration camps during World War II."
Just wow. I can't imagine what good that would do. Seriously, anyone who was working for that company is at least retired now, if not deceased. One would think sixty-five years would be enough time to forgive and forget.
 
No biggie. Just freely admit you transported Jews to their death. Your admission will be met with general apathy. Then when another refinery explosion or mine collapse or oil rig disaster happens a few days later the media will be rushing off to cover the next preventable tragedy with kid gloves and forget all about whatever the last thing was. Bad news has become no news in this era.
 
"There were two important high speed rail reports released this week in California. One of them, by CALPIRG, showed how HSR is a clear success around the world, having no trouble meeting its ridership goals and improving transportation. The other, by the Berkeley Institute for Transportation Studies, questioned some of the assumptions of the HSR ridership study.

Guess which one got covered breathlessly by the media - and guess which one was ignored."

Complete article from Calitics, How the media gets HSR wrong.
 
Unfortunately, a lot of the anti-HSR are working hard to make their beliefs into a self fulfilling prophecy. They are doing all they can to slow things down, putting on political pressure to go slower in some areas insisting on going around rather than going through, over, or under things of all kinds from single buildings all the way up to towns. Then there are those that dream up wildly improbbably scenarios to justify putting in airport type "security".

How about looking at the most recent new start up, which I think is Taiwan. Before, there were flights about every 15 minutes between the end point cities, plus several a day to the main mid point city. Now it is down to either a couple a day or a couple a week.(I have heard both) As an additional bonus, there are some cities that get quick service that had no air service at all, which has reduced driving. There are now more longer distance flights out of the south end airport as it is no longer congested with short hop flights.
 
Just plain nuts...

Bill to compel firms to admit Holocaust role advances

"Essentially targeting a French rail operator, a key state Senate committee Tuesday advanced legislation that would require companies interested in working on the California high-speed train project to admit whether they transported people to concentration camps during World War II."
Just wow. I can't imagine what good that would do. Seriously, anyone who was working for that company is at least retired now, if not deceased. One would think sixty-five years would be enough time to forgive and forget.
I don't think forgiving and forgetting are in order where genocide is concerned, but it's pretty absurd to attempt to hold people or companies accountable for policies and actions taken by earlier generations. It's like holding a grudge against the modern South for slavery and the Civil War. Oh wait, I actually do that.
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