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From: NC3D
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  • Once it is built, this will make WAY more sense to travel on financially than by car or plane. I live in California and am absolutely thrilled about this plan, although yes, it does cost an immense sum of money to build. No longer will I have to spend loads of money on gas and time driving to LA, or paying through the roof to fly there.

  • This will never happen. Cali will never find the power to make this work.

  • As I, a european, that frequently uses his Highspeedrail. Second this idea, it's wonderful. We use our with pleasure, reaching daily speeds of up to 350km/h with ease. Elimating the fuss of driving 8 hours from amsterdam - paris to a 2h 44min ride on the TGV, or using the airport. I live close to amsterdam central station I'd use the local train to get to get from Amsterdam Muiderpoort to Central station a 10minute ride before arriving 3 hours later in Paris.

  • 0:28 don't lose your blue lunch bag buddy!

  • @DCFilmsStudio California should secede and become it's own country...then we can get things done!! :D

  • Government agencies are very good at producing "pretty" videos and powerpoint presentations but are not so good as putting in new and large infrastructure projects. This will never be built.

  • @TheFiscallySound starts in september 

  • @CaliBornNraised916 You dream!

  • @TheFiscallySound For those who dream and "Hope" ...

    " ...The rail authority hopes to begin construction on the the 800-mile rail system this year, though it needs legislative approval to do so. ... "

  • @CaliBornNraised916 Jan 3'rd NEWS!

    The Legislature should not authorize the issuance of $2.7 billion in bonds to start building California's $98.5-billion bullet train project, a state-appointed review panel says in a key report to be released later Tuesday.

  • @TheFiscallySound Sensable decisions are finally being made ..

    In a scathing critique that could further jeopardize political support for California’s proposed $98.5-billion bullet train, a key independent review panel is recommending that state officials postpone borrowing billions of dollars to start building the first section of track this year.

  • @TheFiscallySound K all I heard was shoulds and recommends. Thanks for making yourself look like an idiot.

  • i find it somewhat smart for them to plan the train to go through the inland empire. Those who live in small communities like temecula, san marcos, escondido, murrieta, lake elsinore, etc. will have easy access to it when it fully opens. apparently, the inland communities in the riverside county never really had trains pass by them, i think.

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  • I would get on the train instead of driving or flying, build it!

  • I cant belive all the train company's are going to be running on electricty! by 2020!! thts shocking

  • Since im going to live in la in the furture! I can visit the bay area and then come back to la in hours!! I cant wait til 2020

  • Just build the dang thing!!! i cant wait til the future!!!

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  • ASNWER to your question on TrainSets it will be the Velaro a High-Speed Train built by Siemens

  • @sideslide23 How do you know?

  • @atlboy82 Siemens produce energy effecient product world wide from windmill, river Dam Turbines and preaty much anything. Germany purchase newer high speed trainset off of Siemen and the russian bought there trainset off of Siemens and were pretty much going to have that type of trainset.

  • @sideslide23 Oh I thought you knew for sure that it was going to be a Siemens Velaro but I guess not. Siemens makes good trains but so does Alstom and Kawasaki. As far as I know the CHSRA hasn't opened bids for rolling stock. I'm hoping for either Velaro or AGV in Amtrak California paint scheme.

  • @sideslide23 I hope not. I hope the winning bid will be for the Hitachi/Kawasaki Heavy Industries/Nippon Sharyo N700 Series.

  • A high-speed rail could be a substantial & valuable asset for California. The idea and function are sound. However, to assess the success of this project, citizens must use the mechanisms available to provide constructive input or raise valid opposing points. How can citizens participate? Contact the Public Board. Participate and monitor the feedback of the individual projects segments. Check out the State Audits over time.

    I'd also like to see the calculations for the job creation stats.

  • HSR needs to look at real manufacturers like Siemens, ADtranz, Alston, GE (they can supply the motors) Bombardier, hitachi, THERES A HUGE LIST. And i don't give a shit if it is more expensive. Your paying for quality not some piece of shit made in china.

  • that's it. FLOOR this project, at least untill we actually have the damn money, and next time there BETTER be a list of REAL suppliers . Not some piece of shit faulty Chinese train.

  • @tehatemachine heard about hygiene skank?

  • @MrEiriku wrong reply you made fuckhead, try clicking the right person next time.

  • @tehatemachine I FUCK YOU IN THE ASS AND YOU LIKE IT

  • @MrEiriku No u. 

  • @tehatemachine suck my dick slut

  • @tehatemachine USA = United Skanks of America. LOL

  • Better for them to take their time. These things take time. In Japan over 40 years, in France 30. There is already skepticism about Chinas new high-speed, with accusations of graft in construction materials evident in the recent sacking of the railways minister.

  • @45petrus the HELL with fucking chinas proposal. Man this just makes me want to leave this fucking state. It really shows how very thhought they have in their heads. that they don't do their homework or use their brains. They want to buy trains from china? OUT OF THE QUESTION, it shouldn't even be a question, or how about an answer. FUCK NO. funny how they'd even CONSIDER. We either develop our own system (like Europe and japan did) Or borrow from them. But china? FUCK CHINA.

  • what do you want to bet those little gang bangers will find a way to spraypaint it going 220

  • Hello? Petrol's pick production will appear in few years (5-10) and any other solution will be needed. The energy system (with the nuclear branch prestige damaged) won't be able to afford the electric cars' demand. High speed train will be needed. In a Spanish (I'm Spanish as my English gives it away) magazine I saw a very ilustrative image. A traffic jam picture VS a lonely train full of people. In the footnote: Stupidity VS inteligence.

  • this high speed rail is ripping right through my hometown and my families' farmland, people don't realize the negative impact of this project it has on the central valley.

  • @bsquadrider move the Farmland to Arizona and farm on Maricopa land.

  • Can't wait for the LA/Ontario airport / Office District station that will change our entire region. This is why they call us the Inland EMPIRE of Southern California...the Gateway to California. Looks like President Obama and Vice President Biden have a plan and as a future beneficiary of this plan I say hoorah! Thanks for a futuristic Californian transportation system that rivals entire national economies all over the world. As a young American I am excited. The right direction for CA.

  • integrate the baja california and complete the silent annexation to cali anyway :)

  • Documents found in Bin Laden's mansion point to he was planning on attacking the rail line in US.

    You high speed rail lover can enjoy 30 min of TSA officer search you bags whenever you board a train.

  • @Civsuccess2 no because a bomb on a train is only going have a lot less effect that an a plane. A small device on a person would not like have enough force to derail the whole train.

  • @hunkgod

    Please watch the movie "Source Code".

    Oh, don't forget. Train and plane are now equal in the entire TSA thing. 30 min of waiting time.

  • @Civsuccess2 Are you kidding me?...You just gave a hollywood movie as your evidence. Europe has had terrorists blow up trains, they don't have airport style TSA checks. What checks are you talking about, Caltrain and Amtrak don't have them.

  • @hunkgod Unfortunately a lot of people seem to quote Hollywood movies like source code now as a case for airport style security on trains. Just a lot of stupid people... They wish to undo the convenience and efficiency of train travel and force everyone on to our increasingly congested and unmaintained highways which are the most dangerous form of transportation. Having airport style security for trains makes about as much sense as at a Movie theater or crowded restaurant.

  • @Konman91316 He should be more worried about them releasing a biological agent into a stadium of a 100,000 people or something.

  • @Civsuccess2 he was also planning to attack your penis

  • finally the states decided to keep up with europe ...

  • 220mph!!!

  • An adult roundtrip airfare from SFO to LAX or vice versa is under $200 (including taxes) in general. If you fly standby, or participate in some kind of discount flight program, airfare will be even cheaper. So, why would we need a Hi-Speed train connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles? 

  • @PlebeianLavigne

    How about so I can avoid dealing with those power trip hungry TSA inspectors who think they can own your ass anytime they want.

  • @PlebeianLavigne watch the video.

  • @PlebeianLavigne One good reason is that air prices have being going up, and are going to go nowhere but up. And that's not just because of fuel costs. The Airports plan to charge far greater landing fees so that the airports aren't a continual drain of public money to keep them open, as the public can't afford to subsidize air year after year like it has before. The train has a far lower energy requirement, as a matter of physics it takes less energy to run, thus the running costs are lower.

  • @PlebeianLavigne On the current route, a train could run the entire length and back on less energy than it takes a plane to get up off the landing strip up to its cruising altitude. The cost of oil is greater than electricity, and there's more long term methods of getting that than oil, thus its value has and will continue to rise slower. Thidly, it isn't just providing the services to those two communities, but over 20 others on its way, which would cost even more in equivilent airports.

  • A Hi-Speed train running between Sacramento and Oakland is more feasible in my eyes. Currently there's BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) connecting Oakland and SF. Very fast and convenient. A train station in SF would worsen already hell like traffic in downtown SF. So the train station would be better off placed in Oakland, helping to ease the traffic pain of downtown SF while helping itself (meaning Oakland) to develop.

  • Having a Hi-Speed train is a great thing for CA, but the route depicted is crazy. We don't need a Hi-Speed train running between San Francisco (SF) and San Jose (SJ) when there's Caltrain in operation, running from SF to SJ to Gilroy. FYI, Caltrain ended up with a $30 million deficit for fiscal yr 2010. Passenger fares, parking fees only helped to cover roughly 40% of Caltrain's annual operating budget. A Hi-Speed train on this route would be a financial suicide, killing Caltrain & itself.

  • @PlebeianLavigne Caltrain will be terminated when this service comes in, the route upgraded, electrified, an intergrated into this plan. They won't be in competition with one another.

  • @s2k997 Caltrain will still be there if Caifornia High speed rail reach the Penisula cooridory, there talking about Blended system whare High speed rail will share the tracks with the Caltrain right of way tracks, the blended system will get Caltrain a electrification, and caltrain will have to eliminate the Baby bullet and let High speed rail take over the express service. Its cheaper than elevated and deep tunnel project.

  • As a California, progress on this project seems painfully slow. Just want it built now! but I understand that they need to take the time to properly plan everything out and do it right.

  • They should have had this decades ago.

  • 10 years is very big time

  • @donzaliko There's an old Chinese proverb...

    "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is right now."

  • @lenojames I never heard that before, but that's a really good saying. Kind of my portrays exactly feelings on this. I'm thinking, if only we could have gotten started on this project many years ago. It seems like such a long time when the project will finally be finished. But best to not dwell on how we could have done it early, and start as early as we can now so as to not wait even longer.

  • @lenojames lol good one

  • @lukestarspeeder I will be faster than the speeds that Eurostar currently runs. The trains will be run by one or more private companies at cruising speeds of 220 mph.

  • cant wait to fly!!!!!! and its going to have a stop in Bakersfield!!!!!go hsr!!!!

  • It's actually quite something that America is slowly getting the point now while we Europeans have known for decades...

  • @AmersfoortTristan Many americans in other parts of the country still don't get it. But California has a reputation for being a much more progressive state, so it's appropriate that it starts here in California.

  • Have you ridden Caltrain? well unless they get this HSR going, you'll never ride Caltrain ever again, because Caltrain is hurting.

  • 2030? Ok, sure.

  • there is a slight chance of having the Korean High speed rail for california instead of the Shinkansen because Arnold got a bid on them and its cheaper than both the japan and china HSR.

  • @sideslide23 No, Arnold is out like in a few months he aint doing squat but taking pictures of himself with HSR trains for his "legacy" project that he supposedly started. Not so, but I'm glad he's on our side even though his term is done.

  • I've used Japan's bullet trains, Eurostar and the French, German and Spanish High Speed train networks. They are so far advanced, air travel is not a rival until it gets over 600miles. City Centre to City Centre, More space for passengers, WiFi. and its so green. Centre of London to Centre of Paris - 2Hr 15min. Centre of Madrid to Centre of Barcelona (386ml) 2hrs 38mins

  • just build it !

  • @avd411 couldnt have said it better myself

  • @avd411 money!

  • but still u can do less time from LA to SF on an airplane than this rail ..

  • @sorullo79 on the plane when its in rout but you spend lots of time at the airport than you do at the train station because at airports, you got to check your bag, you got security check, and on plane you spend time taxi to the runway for take of and after you have landed at your destination, and you have to spend time at the baggadge clame and wait for your bag. at HSR Station you just show up buy a ticket and wait for your train just like riding a City Bus.

  • @sorullo79 The initial time in transit would be less, but add the time to get to the airport from downtown, time to get through ever-increasing security, and luggage check and claim, flying takes nearly an hour longer.

  • @gibb1991 International flights you have to be at the airport 2 hours before... but most people travel within so thats an hour u have to be at the airport. Maybe you live an hour away so thats an hour-hour and half of travel time before you get to the airport.

    Airports are cool, I like to fly but trains grow the infrastructure and the economy.

  • @Sevenfold120 I actually live two hours away from the airport. I was just putting it into perspective from downtown to airport.

  • @gibb1991 From Sac Airport?

    I use to live about an hour away I think... near roseville, I forget how long it took to drive to the AP. 

  • @sorullo79 It depends on your travel distance. High-speed rail performs best between distances of 100-600 miles. Car is best for anything under, and plane is best for anything over.

  • Can High Speed trains transport freight like mail and ULD containers to California's cities and airports?

  • @Trainmaster189 yes if the package doesn't exceed 150 lbs, they'll probably do package express like Greyhound do with their package express, so they should be able to haul package on High speed train.

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  • @sideslide23, I thought of that question when I thought what if California had it's own version of the TGV La Poste, a TGV train made for carrying mail throughout France. May I ask you another question, since high speed trains carry mail, can high speed trains transport produce, milk, & eggs from the state's farms to the stores?

  • @Trainmaster189 no it can't be parrishable food, or product, beside most of the product are carried by Freight Train, and Trucks you can't transport bigger package, however you could carry small package that fits in the baggadge car or baggadge bin. beside, Big cargo doesn't talk, eat, or sleep, Cargo is Cargo.

  • @sideslide23, Well, the high speed trains will carry what you said about packages lighter than 150 lbs and letters. I'm sorry I annoyed you about high speed freight transport.

  • Whatsnext I'll tell you whatsnext, Finally Granite finally won $78M to start on the Caltrain rail upgrade, they are going to elevated the rail system which would start in October and finish by 2012 and this will help the High speed rail project.

  • Am I missing something? In my country, when a high speed line is built, it tends to be in a straight-ish line. The wiggle to palmdale will add time onto a journey that is supposed to attract people out of cars / planes. I know theres a load of mountains in the way, but has no-one thought of digging a tunnel, to go straight from Barkersfield to LA?

  • @robwedekind The area is very mountainous terrain with peaks at 12,000+ feet. Trying to build a straight-shot rail line would require more tunnels and grades, greatly increasing the cost of the project. Since the rail line is given to a private company once completed, costs need to stay as low as possible.

  • other societies in this world have BEEN riding high speed rail for decades already a sign of advance thinking and society

    you can always tell a backward society by what mode of transportation they use to travel...mere slaves to their cars doing chauffeur work even on their weekends

    doing double time polluting the environment a contributor to smog and as guilty as oil companies like the gulf oil spill

  • @emforty2 pariently Automobile, Greyhound buses, and air travel replace Rail Travel here in America, people that owns a fuel effecient reliable cars or RV will still travel by their own, cars if there a family of 4 ore more, people that takes Greyhound Buses, or plane might go with High speed rail if they get it going,

  • Oh yeah, and I think that Nevada needs to pitch in for an extension line from IE to Vegas. Imagine the profit increase for Vegas tourism.

  • @trueboltsfan agree on that one.

  • Will Amtrak go bye-bye once this is built? And why is San Diego always discriminated against? Second largest city in CA will get high speed trains after dumps like Bakersfield? Why can't they complete regional lines first (NorCal and SoCal) and then connect them later thru central California? I can guarantee that more LA residents travel to SD than to SF, and vice versa, so that line should be a priority.

  • @trueboltsfan: Amtrak will not be operating the line. The line, once completed, will be handed over to a private company.

  • @trueboltsfan because "dumbs like Bakersfield" need a boost in growth and attractions in order to uplift ALL of California, plus the point of the high speed rail is connect all of California not two cities that are within a hour and a half drive.

  • @rcapaldi4

    Disagree. Hour and a half? Yeah maybe on a weekend if you're lucky. If you connect the major cities first it will give the residents of San Diego county work in LA or Riverside, and vice versa. Plus the sporting events, Chargers, Dodgers, Padres, Angels fans traveling back and forth easily. Just an example.

  • @trueboltsfan because.. the other cities are paying more money for the project than SD..

  • Its going to be great being able to go to a Dodger game and be back in Northen Cali within 3 hours

  • Hey! 2:34 That looks like the duckbill platypus 700 Series Shinkansen!

  • CAHSR Authority has Hired CEO, well thats their first California high speed rail employees for the jobs.

  • Accoridng to Caltrain, the Construction of the CA HSR project has just started today, there installing flood control system allong the caltrain corridor to start on the grade separation, and this will also help to start out on the High speed rail project.

  • @sideslide23 Alstom Industries has been selected to build and operate the system. This means that at this point the trains will most likely be the AGV's. Very exciting!

  • WOOT!!!

  • @gibb1991

    a bad choice. TGV's and AGV's have narrow coaches. only 2.9 meters wide.

    unless Alstom increase the width of coaches to at least 3.2 meters, Americans will have difficult time riding these trains.

    Shinkansen and Velaro have wide body coaches for 2+3 seat arrangement.

    but to use them in US with her obese population, only 2+2 arrangement

    would work even with wide body coaches.

  • @simhopp I'm sure that the trains will be widened to accomadate American asthetics and standards. It's too late to use the Shinkansen or Velaro (personally I would've preffered the Velaro or the Zefiro 380) since Alstom Technologies has already been chosen.

  • @simhopp This is California.  More health conscious than the mid-western states.

  • Well greenhouses gasses is a load of honkey. But I do believe that it might solve some of the polution and traffic problems. However-- if they would stop the illegal immigrants from clogging the place up then the place would be less densely populated anyways.

  • Very impressive, indeed. But where is the business plan here?

  • @taatpringist The full, finalized business plan is up to the private company who will operate and eventually own the system. The company, Alstom Technological Industries (they built the TGV and the new AGV) was selected today.

  • HSR is a mode of travel that falls in between the car and airplane. Yes, it's bound to the land like a car, but it's speedy like an airplane. And it's roomier than both! So, yeah, it's bound to have a market if it's between major cities. And it generally goes from downtown to downtown. Try finding an airplane that does that...

  • New report coming from New York time. GE had agreement with California government to subcontract the project to the Chinese. Also, Chinese is willing to provide financial loan for the project.

    Everyone, this project will further help Chinese unemployment by providing jobs to China. California will further increase its deficit by borrowing from China.

    This is laughable.

  • @Civsuccess2 That is normal. Everybody knew that California and the US knew nothing about HSR operations, meaning they can either waste huge amounts of money learning it themselves and possibly getting it wrong, or turn to somebody in the know. You're confusing the project's deficit with California's state deficit. If the project goes bust the Chinese lose their money, there's no obligation to repay investments, that's what 'risk' is. If it soars, the project will make returns for all investors.

  • @s2k997 This is what happen. There's 12.5 percent unemployment here in California. The California government wants to hire more Chinese engineers to build the HSR instead of Californian engineer. The money comes from none other than the Chinese. It is essentially the same failed economic policy (of borrowing from China) that doomed the country. US is producing less and less because government favors foreign enterprises than its own. Americans are buying more and more Chinese goods.

  • @Civsuccess2 I also find it extremely odd that you've stopped arguing those points you were so stubbornly engaged with, especially when I revealed how off-kilter your misinformed view of the statistics were compared with reality, such as airport expansion, aviation subsidies, and Acela. Have you silently conceeded that you were wrong, or are you still cherry-picking the facts and ignoring the inconvinient for your point of view? An admittance would be nice.

  • @s2k997 I grew tire of having useless argument. I show you the benefit of air travel. You did not directly answer my concern. Instead, you kept on bring in new materials to support your view. You brought in French HSR, Taiwanese HSR and Amtrek, Heathrow airport. I don't have the patience to show you why air travel is better than all those. Frankly, the argument is pointless.

  • @Civsuccess2 And you introduce no facts, figures, or articles of official domain to prove your vague heresay, which I have often proved to be utterly wrong. I'd rather be introducing facts and scenarios from across the real world that blabbering on self-manufactured misconceptions, half-truths, and downright lies. The arguement is pointless, you stubbornly repeat the same dismissed opinions of what you think it's like, and don't aknowledge when your ramblings are disproven.

  • @s2k997 Look at my past posts where I demonstrated numbers and cited a congressional report on Japanese rail. Somebody already brought up Acela express and I have already talk about it. I don't feel like say it again to you.

  • @CATPWRD: Right now a private company called DesertXpress is going to construct the high-speed line into Las Vegas from Victorville, where it will have connections to downtown LA via Metrolink. The company will not be recieving any tax dollars and announced last week that their project is running on schedule. Construction starts in March 2011 and service will begin in 2014.

  • every long disntance passenger train in the U.S. should all travel at least 150 MPH or faster, beside, Arizona could use a HSR that goes from Phoenix to L.A. area because 6 hours of drive to beat the heat and go to one of the theme park. with the HSR I could get to L.A. from Phoenix in just 2.3 hours.

  • @CATPWRD As It'd be crossing state borders, that would make planning permission one more mega problem to conquer, not to mention convincing Californian voters to pay money towards a significant shootoff to Vas Vegas. However a seperate project, the DesertXpress, is already considering such a notion, connecting Las Vegas to Victorville for now, with the eventual aim of an extention to connect with the Californian HSR network around Los Angeles after this project is mainly done at the earliest.

  • @s2k997: I like the DesertXpress plan since it is a 100% private company. DesertXpress could usher in new private coorperations to build and operate High Speed Rail systems.

  • s2k997, since you are from UK. Why is metro so expensive over there??

  • @Civsuccess2 I'm not sure what you are referring to by 'Metro'. The London Underground system, Light Commuter Rail like the Docklands Light Railway. Neither are particularly expensive from my perspective, barely a fraction of what the taxis will charge you.

  • @Civsuccess2 because you give me blowjobs

  • let me tell you all something, the most expensive project and program ever done in the U.S. history was the space shuttle mission in the 1980s it cost total of $170 Billions of dollor for the project, mission, and the space shuttle flight.

  • Please, no relating this to Europe or I'll start relating my method for headache relief to that of Dr Jekles/Mr. Hydes. Oh, it's "neat" but far more fiscally irresponsible than anything Cali has done up until now. It would be the final nail....and, please don't ask the other 48 states now or ever to help bailout the state. We've been warning (with facts and mathematical logic) for years and years.

  • Train was an advance technology back then in the 1800. After the invention of flight, train is outdated. Train does not do point to point transport. It cannot change the route. Airplane can do all those.

    That's what I meant when I say HSR is an outdated technology.

  • High Speed Train can go downtown to downtown, earn a profit, and attract more passengers than airplanes, and are safer than driving or even flying. That has been proven time and time again in every other developed nation. Planes can't just go anywhere either. Every flight has to have a specific flight pattern approved by the government.

  • @gibb1991

    PP of SF and LA don't travel between the cities. With a ticket price of 130, only 6 million pp demand the service. It's not going to suddenly increase by 100 fold. BTW, SF airport is directly connected to BART, a local metro that leads to downtown.

  • @gibb1991

    Ironic part of what you just said about "safer" train is Belgium HSR just crashed a couple days ago.

  • @Civsuccess2 It wasnt HSR at all, those were two commuter trains travelling at low speeds on a classic line with classic signals.

  • @Civsuccess2 That wasn't High Speed either. That was a regular commuter train, one that hadn't seen upgrades in thirty years and wasn't even outfitted with the safety gear of that era. That's a beaurocratic failure to impliment the safety devices across the entire Belgium fleet, not of the safety mechanisms themselves. It ran a red light, just like any US train it wasn't brought to a halt by automatic breaking which the safety would have done had it been installed.

  • @Civsuccess2 Cherrypicking dates I see. Actually one could pinpoint flight as having been invented, bother the helicopter and the plane, by Italy in the middle ages, centuries before trains. By this cheerpicking of dates, Aviation is centuries older, and thus more 'outdated' in the same irrelivant comparison, than trains. Modern trains, like modern planes, are nothing to do with their centuries old equivilents, thus your point is empty and meaningless.

  • @s2k997 I cannot believe you actually won't admit that flight is more advance technology.

    If flight is not more advance. The HSR authority could have painted their simulated trains "Walk California". Walking is certainly faster.

  • @Civsuccess2 21st century trains AND airplanes are often built by the exact same companies, using the same Engineering skills and tools, and compete with each other in the local regional travel market, the train winning where investment is made. I don't believe flight is more or less advanced technology, and certainly not because "examples of X came in the year YYYY" - basically as "so what?" moment.

  • @Civsuccess2 "I cannot believe you actually won't admit that flight is more advance technology." They are almost both on equal ends in terms of technology.

  • There needs to be a station in Santa Barbara

  • and I hope we get the Pioneer High Speed because this would be great to go from California to Chicago, at 350 MPH and you can get there between 6 to 8 hours traveling nonstop depends on the weather and condition.

  • This video how Japanese Shinkansen700 and French TGV sharing the same track but these trains will be long outdated by then so as Shinkansen Fasttech and French AGV are now the current bullet trains from these 2 countries..

  • It's time to "Fly California"!

  • Ironically, the train has a logo that says "fly" california. That's right, even the train wants to fly. Why on the ground??????

  • Ironic how? It's self explanatory, "Fly" California is related to it's speed. Since commercial aircraft fly at around 300 n-mph and the train goes 220 mph they are saying you are basically flying California without actually flying. It's an insult to the Airline industry and your stupid for not getting it.

  • I just cannot believe that CaliforniaTARDS voted for light rail. Well then again, maybe I can. If you think the USPS and Amtrak are STINKING BLUE ELEPHANTS that lose money each year, you aint seen nothin yet. The cost for the line from San Fran to LA is supposed to cost....what, 40 billion? And it is not allowed to use any public money to build..HAHA! When it is running, the private company running it will get a GAURANTEED rider level per year (government subsidy), or at least that is the rumor.

  • @tickyul

    I cannot beleive you just called this project "Light Rail". This shows you have no clue of what your talking about and just about destroys the rest of your comment completely. Then you say Amtrak. That not only qualifies you for Spam comment, but you just made of fool of yourself comparing 79mph trains to 220mph trains and saying they are the sam. Your a genius!

  • @Daayay: Call it whatever you want, it is going to be another disaster. There is no way that it will run at 220mph, except in very small areas. The cost will probably run about twice the lowball estimate of 40 BILLION. Then guess what? Every single trip is going to have to be subsidized, or no one will ride it. Not a chance that this is good for California seeing that this state is broke. Whoever runs it will get a gaurantee on ridership, which means California must pay in a shortfall. Ciao!

  • @tickyul: Of course cost estimates may be off, it's a very large project. Here are two reasons people ride any train, Time (Speed) and Convinience (Direct connections to destination). The price isn't even an issue because trains don't need high prices to run. The subsidization of Amtrak is a result of the slow, inconvinient travel mode offered. It's a reaction to flawed system currently in place. Fix that and you will have crowds on day one. Then allow 5 years to build up profitable ridership.

  • @DaaYay I'd also throw in that road transportation is getting significantly worse and more crowded. With fuel prices going up the train will undoutably become more and more cost effective (as it is electric), and the roads will get slower still with more cars than ever, making the train a good four or five times quicker. The current system is inept indeed, but with a good capital investment, it's likely that this same system will be running for hundreds of years.

  • @tickyul: People don't seem to realize that these bonds do NOT have to do with our current Califorina budget and are to be paid back with profit's of the system over 30 years. Yes, this technology is PROVEN (in Caps), because it has been shown to attract herds of people from day one. Maybe not exactly what is projected from the get go. But once you experience the convinience, you never go back to the headache's of the road. Maglev tech. I would agree with you since it's not yet proven tech.

  • Actually, HSR is quite profitable. Just this past year, Amtrak's Acela Express (America's only current high-speed service) earned a $41 per passenger profit. This is not the only profitable case, many new private high speed rail companies are springing up and companies that were once government companies are privatizing (i.e. British Rail, Japan Rail, etc.) because of HSR's profitability.

  • @gibb1991

    Acela Express is a slow and cheap train and low maintenance train. You can earn $41 per passager if you provide inferior service. I don't mind they have a slower train base on existing rail track. A true HSR is too expensive to recover the cost of building it.

  • Japan Rail privatized itself because of its extreme profitability and they now provide expansive services at speeds of 215 mph. The new private Italo will run at 225 mph. There are many companies that run high speed rail at extreme profitability.

  • @gibb1991

    Japanese ride metros everyday. Americans do not ride metros. When you talk about profitability, please understand American lifestyle. Japanese HSR was built equivalent to 9 billions modern US dollars. California HSR is at least 5 time more.

  • Yes, but that $US9 billion was back in 1964 and has not been adjusted for inflation. And I am an American, btw. The problem is that we don't consider the future, we only consider about now. We don't consider future generations. Instant gratification won't happen with anything. But HSR is the cheapest and best way to solve our transportation infrastructure problems.

  • 9 billions was adjusted for inflation. According to a study by

    republicans transportation house gov Media File Testimony Rail 4-19-07-Matsumoto pdf

    The cost of the bullet train is 380 billion 1959 yen, which is equivalent to 9 billions current US dollars.

  • And please stop comparing HSR to metros and the current Amtrak system. That's rediculous. And where America does have HSR (even though it's a pathetic excuse for HSR) it is very popular. HSR carries more passengers than all the airlines combined between D.C. and Boston at 64%. It's a build it and they will come deal.

  • @gibb1991

    Japanese has been subsidizing rail system and taxing airline. JAL's flight from Tokyo and Ozaka cost more per miles. LA to SF is equivalent in milage, yet the ticket price is much cheaper. Japanese subsidizing the rail system is one of the reason why JAL went bankrupt.

  • Japan Rail used to be subsidized. It privatized in 1986 and broke away from government msubsidies.

  • *subsidies

  • @gibb1991

    I don't know about if Japan Rail still get government subsidy, but Japanese airlines were and are getting punished by Japanese government. Tokyo to Kyoto is about the same distance as SF to LA. The price of flight over there is a little bit more expensive. On the other hand, Tokyo to Kyoto bullet train cost about 120, which is the same as the price of Southwest flying between SF to LA. This shows that Japanese government try to prevent free competition by regulating airline.

  • @Civsuccess2 That's odd, because I thought Japan Airlines had been privatised decades ago and set their own prices? Perhaps the reasons why their prices are so similar to the train, is that if they charged significantly more they'd scare what little of the air route's traffic onto the train completely. Just like the Madrid to Saville lines and the private startup airliners, they had to drop prices to fight the competing new railway or become obsolete.

  • Odds right? Consider this landing fee.

    Ranking of top 12 highest airport landing fees in 2004

    1. Tokyo Narita - 8777 US dollars

    3. Osaka Kansai - 7643 US dollars

    How is Japanese airline suppose to compete again train when the Japanese government is imposing heavy heavy fees for using airplane?

    This why Japanese airlines are big losers due to government regulation.

    Japan subsidize train industry by imposing heavy tax on Japanese airliners.

  • @Civsuccess2 Those airports are in the highest demand, the land prices are very expensive, its passing those costs on. Are they really going to set a tax policy affecting thousands of routes just to put the screws on five or six? Why not create a tax for exactly that? I see no evidence the charge is artificial, or purely for the purpose you have concluded.

    The fees are set by the Airport Management. It's privatised. The government doesn't figure in, private enterprise sets its own rates.

  • You know that LAX is not even on the list. Don't even give me the "land price" excuse. There's plenty of lands to land. The square miles used on train is enough to cover the area of an airport by many times.

    Airport is government property. Of course the fees are set by government or instructed by government.

    Oh, do you know that most Japanese airliner choose Korea as the transfer route instead of Japan? That is how bad the airliner consider landing on Japan.