Economic benefits of High Speed Trains in U.S. Cities

[fredfredburger1213]

No offense to anyone but I don't want high speed rail in America. i am a huge fan of amtrak and rail travel but moving at 200+ mph takes away one of the major luxuries of rail travel which is to slow down and see the scenery. Of course i would would like small corridors like california or florida and I have traveled on the Northeast Corridor multiple times, but real train travel is relaxing in the lounge car, eating real food in a classic dining car, and getting rocked to sleep by the rails

[DDunker51]

Maglev might have advantages, but it's NOT here today. Standard railroads ARE here. Let's improve and expand what we have TODAY, and we can build maglev (or Star Trek Teletransporters, or whatever) TOMORROW. We live in TODAY. Let's take care of TODAY! That means, TRAINS, Baby!

[oliverchen0]

US should build a national Maglev transportation system.

[milofonbil]

@oliverchen0 Maglev is unfortunatly not that energy efficient and has really not left the research labs. When oil runs out soon, we will be dependent on renewable energy.

Iron wheels on iron rails is very low friction already. What we really need to do is to separate slower freight traffic from passenger traffic. Build dedicated passenger rails using cement ties and continuous rail. Eliminate grade crossings and improve in cab signaling so that the trains can travel faster.

[truekiwijoker]

Even the North-Eastern Acela service with its not-so-fast 250 kph (150 mph) has made an impact so imagine what 300 kph+ (180mph+) could mean? sure the actual transit time can't beat aircraft, but the trains deliver you to the CBD (if not, close) instead of driving out to some airport in the middle of nowhere where you wait for typically an hour.

Any way you look at it; High speed rail > short haul fights.

[zachgre1]

I think that the governor of Florida should ask the people not him self. He is not the king of the state. He represents the people .If the state says no that is fine by vote.

[aloisgault]

Nice advertisement. I do not see the info I expect to see in the internet about this stuff. Just another cheerleader soundbyte like you see on news at 11........

[TVgeinus90sSim]

No-brainer note to Republicans and Obama: If states wish to not have funding for high-speed rail or even Maglev (which I agree could help high-speed infastructure), then have the states work with the federal government to have the states work a deal with a corporation to fund for it all. They do not need to re-direct what could help Florida over to a state that would benefit from this even more.

[CommunityBuildersSB]

High-speed rail is such a no-brainer.  And, we'd have it in the United States by now if so many of our federal and state politicians weren't in the pockets of the oil industry.

[JElyons100]

I am sick of tire that US government keeps talking about building the high speed rails that are never going to happen. This will not going to happen but maybe 2050 or so since they are falling behind. The traffics in anywhere are getting worse......

[Greg10164]

Skip High Speed Rail! Go straight to Maglev technology, it's better, faster, by the time you have built your slow speed rail, maglev will have people traveling from Europe to China in an hour. Forget your high speed rail, maglev is the future.

[JElyons100]

@Greg10164 ...... I agree with you...... Building the Maglev is a great idea.....

[BostonUrbEx]

@Greg10164 Maglev does not have a good cost-benefit ratio. Maglev costs significantly more for only slightly better speeds. With the strides rail companies are making, conventional rail will be at pace with maglev soon. The only way maglev would be better is if we put in inside a vacuum sealed tunnel are removed all the air. That's an incredible amount of money required, even more than regular maglev which is already expensive.

[claton95]

@Greg10164 holy shit I just googled that shit. 361 mph

[hans2406]

Well, quite simple. Who owns the roads? The Government. Who owns the waterways, rivers & canals? The Government. Can you please explain to me why that would not be the case with rail lines? The govenrment owns the lines, and users pay for using the lines. In most European countries this division of ownership and right to use should guarantee an open market for exploitation of rail services. Remains the question if this really is the case or it is beneficial for travellers, or shareholders only.

[gibb1991]

@hans2406 That's actually not the case in the United States. Almost all rail lines in America are privately built, owned, and operated with no government interference. The US government owns only a few lines, including our Northeast Corridor.

[gotflava1]

Yes lets go the way of Europe. Last time I checked, Europe was on fire with riots and talks of revolution. Look this is a great way for Democrats to grow their union base and tax citizens more. Furthermore, one simple plain fact remains: WE DONT HAVE THE MONEY. We are just trying to tackle the interest on our debt. Then you have the govt talking about more spending. When will it stop? We could have had high speed rail a long time ago SEE AMTRAK. And they are still running in the red.

[ChineseAtheist]

Europe has much less debts than the US. They always have riots in France/Greece. It is part of their culture.

The panic at the financial markets was not based on fundamentals, but crazy media/rating agencies/...

[Kanoki989]

@ChineseAtheist Actually, Europe has more debt than the USA.

[hans2406]

@gotflava1 Revolutions, on fire, riots? It is quite clear you do not live in Europe, nor have you got any idea to look beyond Fox. Try BBC, DW or TV5 if you want to know what is really happening in Europe. Do not make the mistake that what is going on in Greece, for example, is the norm in Europe. In countries that made a mess of their finances, there are problems, the other countries are quite ok. But you might be right, maybe the US is to blame for the financial crisis in the world?

[skullcrusher301]

@hans2406 one thing what that other guy said, WHO SAID THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO BUILD IT!?!?! I know the Union Pacific Railroad is building high speed railway tracks near my home. Im an american and I think HSR is a good idea, but Im a republican and i dont like most fox they are very one sided.

[stardust1111]

It seems the Mayors were on board, but what happened to these new Republican Governors? Why are they so against modernization of our infrastructure? Kasich of Ohio rejected federal money for high speed rail and now FL's idiot Gov Rick Scott is rejecting the money. If we had had this attitude back in the 60's, we would have never made to into space and to the moon. The Orlando- Tampa train would create about 24,000 jobs too, which we need!!!

[ymhktravel]

I doubt high speed rail will become reality in USA. Republicans in Congress will veto it and avg americans who have not travelled out of america to Europe and Asia to experience their high speed trains will see any need for it. At the moment, it just seems to be a lot of talk and more talk, partisan bickering and no concrete action taken. While the rest of middle east, europe and asia are upgrading or laying their high speed railway lines, with less talk and more action.

[TAMARLANE]

@ymhktravel Behind the scenes, waiting in the wings, is China. This high speed rail scam is tailor made for China They want some guarantees for the money they have loaning us, you know, the interest on the money that has been building all those beautiful cities in China, well anyway, China wants to have some real estate, some right of way in America. And China would like to own the high speed rail systems for profits for 100 years. Obama is game.

[hans2406]

@ymhktravel I am afraid it might come to that. It would not be the first time in the US, or in other countries, the oil companies or car manufacturers decided to buy rail lines and close them to boost sales of cars and oil products. However, it might be very much in anybodies interest, whatever the political beliefs, to choose for high speed rail. Economic benifits on the lont term are huge. Or can be if the politoco's decide to get their a*** in gear and do something for the country.

[acdcno]

wow USA final woke up, about time they brought this to the state.Europe Canada, Asian country have this for over 15 25 maybe 40 years and now they think of this. way to go USA, USA should of had this before any country, why because it's the biggest land, like Russia, but now they have to waste the money on war, finally they spend our tax money for use.

[reckocp]

@acdcno Canada doesn't have high speed rail, dumbass.

[usflyer2008]

ohmss, we differ in politics (dyed in the wool democrat here) but like you, I'm all about high speed rail in the US. I've used the Acela from Boaton to D.C. numerous times and love it - the stations, the trains themselves are so much better than current airline transport (and I'm a former airline pilot/current bizjet Captain) We are so far behind europe and asia in this, it's shameful. The ability to move people & products quickly & safely are keys to any economy. We need this...i vote YES!

[othinell]

YES!!!!!!

[HotForCooking]

Our highway system was designed in the 1950's at a time when men dreamed of Dick Tracey watches, jet packs, and fancy things of the future. I think they would have expected a high speed train network by 2010. I rode the Siemens' trains in China and I can tell you that you definitely feel like you are in the future when you ride them. Much more comfortable than planes and so smooth that you hardly know you're moving at 350km/hour. You can walk around or have a business meeting!

Nice Video!

[tommag82]

what a bunch of horse shit

[gibb1991]

@tommag82 Says you but says not that billions upon billions of passengers that high speed rail systems have carried and the private investors and companies that have put their time and money into such systems. Great choice of foul language by the way.

[MrEiriku]

@tommag82 yes. and you llike to eat it

[tommag82]

@MrEiriku What are you 4 years old?

[gibb1991]

@WheelsRCool Sorry, but it already is. The Acela Express between D.C.-NYC-Boston makes quite a large profit at about $41 per passenger. It covers its operations, employees, and its share (between freight and regional services) of track and wire costs.

[metalkev00]

These trains are a complete rip off!

[MrEiriku]

@metalkev00 youre a rip off

[MrEiriku]

@metalkev00 give me a blowjob bitch

[MrEiriku]

@metalkev00 your mom is a rip off

[bonds911]

obama and villaraigosa top minority that care for all people vote D

[ohmss069]

Great! Now if the Party of No would get the f@$# out of the way, we could get started!

[gibb1991]

@ohmss069 Ummm...yeah, hi. I'm a Republican who supports high speed rail. Let's avoid the slander against others who think differently. It's precisely what landed the USA in the place we are now.

[mquiroz90]

this is very cool soon too trains will hover and be solar and have solar train tracks

[sideslide23]

Caltrain is being bankrupt and they would be out of business, unless they get High speed train going, Caltrain would die, and We would have to rely on Greyhound buses. Caltrain has partner with HSR because it will give caltrain the grade separation, and electrification of the caltrain instead of diesel operation and rail expansoin to Dumbartion which replace the old dumbarton railbridge. Unless High speed rails comes, Caltrain will be dead.

[daconqueror101]

And who is going to pay for all these massive jobs? And how come in Europe they still have traffic problems even with subways? Oh wait, those are the questions we are not supposed to ask. The day people invest money in privatized and efficient high speed rail, I will support it. Until then, Amtrak will burn away all the money. And btw, high speed rail is not over 100 mph, it's over 300 mph, proving that this is just a fancy name for the same old same old.

[gibb1991]

@daconqueror101 I agree. Private investors need to be running these systems at 200+ mph, not Amtrak at a piddly 110 mph. Those private, true HSR companies produce profits, big ones, and allow the lines to pay themselves off. Just like France's SNCF.

[DarkTemplarKain]

@daconqueror101 hmmm, a stellar argument, but from the research i found, high speed rails diverts a lot of traffic from roads, making them more accessible and transferring materials efficienctly by minimizing congestion, CSX would be ideal for transporting in bulk across long distances, and bullet trains for travel are ideal, but that does not mean we abandon road, sea and air, if we want to solve traffic problems we would have to maximize all of their capabilities. maybe even pedestrian too.

[sailaroundtheworld04]

and bike

[DarkTemplarKain]

@daconqueror101 as for the privatizing part, i am in full agreement with you. The most the government could do is just subsidize the initial cost to kick start it but after that let the market take control of the high speed rail. After all, rule of thumb in society, some things are better left for public, and some things are better left for private.

[Makemyday242]

@daconqueror101 an high speed train does not stop everywhere,they only go to big cities,from Brussels to londen,Londen to paris,Paris to Madrid etc,

[MrCC444]

@Makemyday242

Thats not true, for expamble the ICE from Berlin Ostbahnhof to Stuttgart Hbf stops at Berlin Hbf, Berlin Spandau, Brauschweig , Hildesheim , Göttingen , Kassel-Wilhelmhöhe, Fulda, Hanau, Frankfurt (Main) Hbf and Mannheim. The only big cities are Berlin, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. The others are not so big.

[truekiwijoker]

@Makemyday242 *cough* bullshit...

[chargermopar]

This would have to be a whole lot faster to make any difference. In a bankrupt nation that only wants to spend on war and imprisonment, this will never happen. High-tech is not going to matter when all the manufacturing jobs have been outsourced. More likely is a return to horse and buggy.

[heartlessvietboy]

Economic benefits of high speed trains in US Cities will be incomprehensible.

[DarkTemplarKain]

it seems that the main discontent for railroads is speed, which high speed rail would eliminate as a form of upgrade for the system. Concrete railroad ties which are becoming more commonly used, over 10% of existing rails in the U.S. as a matter of fact and still growing, will make the ride safer and more reliable, and very comfortable. The bullet trains are built for electricity making it clean and low noise and cost efficient with tickets 75% cheaper than air and speeds of 220mph.

[DarkTemplarKain]

Now for fun facts about railroads, according to surveys on news stations like CBS and such, they are very reliable on the time scale, always on time as a matter of fact, they are not affected by weather conditions far greater than other modes of transport. They are comfortable rides that never have to stop since they will have food cars and restrooms on board while a designated driver is on duty. They are much more safe to ride on compared to road, air, and sea.

[DarkTemplarKain]

lol wow, the people arguing against this love to NOT use facts. High Speed Rail a waste of money? allow me to provide statistics, according to the texas institute of transportation, our highways are so congested we lose over 6 billion dollars in economic logistics and 7 billion gallons of gas from idle engines both business and individual level, sorta explains why gas prices are so jacked up eh? Trains won't eliminate roads for the record, it will loosen up congestion so both will run better.

[jsb06g]

America is so far behind the rest of developed and developing nations it is not even funny. In 30 years we will have a national high speed rail system that moves people from city to city at 150 mph. In 10 years China will have a Maglev train system that moves people at 300-400 mph. embarrassing to say the least.

[repfreedomforce]

This technology looks ancient!  Inform yourself about Evacuated Transport Tubes, and ET3 "Space travel on Earth". Search for it on YouTube. Compared to ETT, "High Speed Rail" looks slow and wasteful. Seriously, we can do better than this!

[Makemyday242]

@repfreedomforce No you can't,first of all you can't efford it not with $13,624,352,674,172.79 of debt ! your county has been pushing for HSR for years!

[Suchorski321]

WHOO HOOO High speed rail hope it is as good as amtrak :D

[Makemyday242]

@Suchorski321 haha no offense dude,but in Europe and china people make fun of Amtrak :P

[sailaroundtheworld04]

. . . . and people here in the U.S.

[redarrowhead2]

I guarantee you this will have to be done eventually, but now is simply not the time. Installing high speed trains all over America will cost billions, money we do not have right now. New toys are nice, but not in a fiscal crisis.

[dragonsder]

Seems like we really can't afford this at the moment.

[HaloLovingFanatic]

This is a good idea, but they've been pushing for trains in Cali for awhile, problem is, no one wants a loud train going through their neighborhood. Basically, most people think, "Its a good idea, but not in my backyard." I mean, we had a train track running through my town, and it went all the way to the bay area, problem was, people tired of the noise and landslides up north caused them to close... They say the will comeback but I never see work on them. ANYWHERE.

[redarrowhead2]

@HaloLovingFanatic I don't think the trains are very loud. The old trains in Manhattan today are loud, but those trains do not look like they create a lot of noise. I do not think that will be a major issue.

[HaloLovingFanatic]

@redarrowhead2 Maybe not, but when the train tracks used to run a good, 4 blocks from my house, I could hear the trains. Which is I dont really appreciate. Who knows, they may bring in new ones instead of old ones. But then again, why not just walk?

[MrCC444]

@redarrowhead2

Yes, they are not very loud.

[lporangecounty]

This will be an expensive boondoogle. The Federal Government already subsidizes Amtrak in the billions. This will be no different.

[milowent]

@lporangecounty who pays for the roads you drive on? highways are the biggest welfare mama in the country, the economics are skewed to the point where the economically optimal choices have been thrown off.

[lporangecounty]

@milowent If one were to look at the dollar/user ratio comparing passenger rail vs roads we could see quite large difference. If the public dollar has to be spent, its better spent improving roads.

[milowent]

@lporangecounty but passenger counts are lower for rail because roads have been subsidized for so long and skewed the entire way suburbs have been developed to date, not to mention the pollution externalities of roads. that's not to say that fixing the non-market driven result we have ended up with will be easy.

[MrEiriku]

@lporangecounty youre a boondoogle

[MrEiriku]

@lporangecounty youre a bitch

[simplered21]

This has to be the way, petroleum will be expensive.

By the way, the term 'gas' has to change to something more substantive-wise.

We consider it as just 'gas' and tend to not pay enough to attention as it is an expensive commodity.

[FrankisEcoHarper]

do it!!!

[DarkTemplarKain]

i looked deeply into high speed rails, a plane trip from chicago to detroit according to expedia costs 200 dollars, one way for 1 hour and 15 minutes. A train ride right now costs 30 on the Amtrak wolverine but takes way too long, 5 and a half hours, but with a replacement of high speed rail, time will be cut down to size. 150 mph spanning less than 250 miles would make it a 2 hour trip, saving an average american time and money.

[GeneralRdot09]

@DarkTemplarKain Good research Bro you guys are behind the rest of the world and you got the space to do it.

[gibb1991]

@DarkTemplarKain Thank god, somebody who has actually done their research. And yes, it makes total sense in America, espescially in the Midwest, South, and West Coast where cities are bunched together at distances similar to European cities. And we have the space to reach speeds of 150-250 mph over long stretches. True high speed rail with private owners/operators has also proven to be very profitable, unlike most of Amtrak's network.