Amtrak Acela at Top Speed

[sideslide23]

California is getting a high speed train which will travel faster than amtrak acela, and the California high speed train would exceed 300MPH

[andyjay729]

Given California's terrain and money problems, it'll probably take a very long time to build though.

[davids5a2]

slowly but surely

[trooper40below]

I don't see that happening anytime soon. I do believe California will get exactly the same trains the eastern part of the country has. A train that will go at top speed 150. Since the north east coast is the more busier part of the country they will get the faster trains before California by far.

[FullMentalPanic]

>>trooper40below

I don't quite understand your logic that the Northeast Corridor should dictate what speed California should go. If we can build a 220 mph system, shouldn't we build a 220 mph system? Why should we follow the mistakes of the East coast when we can avoid them, saving time and money altogether? Besides, Acela can't go any faster unless you build an entirely new, very-straight, and high-quality set of tracks (which is exactly what California is gonna do :-) )

[trooper40below]

I wasn't trying to say the east coast will dictate what will happen out west. It can't. But its the busier part of the country where all those cities from Boston, NYC, Philly, Baltimore, and DC and pretty much bunched up together.

You also have to consider the terrain as andyjay said, California along with a lot of the western states have rugged terrains and it would be very difficult to build a train that would exceed 150mph. In the future Cali may get the 150mph train...hopefully.

[FullMentalPanic]

>>trooper

Then I still am left wondering why you're assuming that the best train that California can get is a 150 mph one. The French TGV and the Japanese Shinkansen can easily top 200 mph in routine service, with experimental trainsets topping 350 mph. A 150 mph train is not a good investment for 20 years into the future (expected completion). As for the terrain, trains are more than capable of running at lower speeds in the city/mountain passes and higher speeds in the San Joaquin Valley.

[dsindc]

The problem is that "like before" is gone. L.A. had an excellent streetcar system. The auto industry managed to kill it. Very sad. You're absolutely right about dedicated lines. We HAVE to have them in the Northeast. I think when gas goes back to 2008 prices, and beyond (and it will), cities will have to be re-configured. Sprawl will just not be feasible. That I think will ultimately be an excellent development. We're on the same page, and I hope nothing by the best for California. (cont)

[dsindc]

No that's not true. This train is sometimes referred to as a "high speed tilt train". It was built for quick use, and minor track work. The only thing it requires is rail ties made of concrete (i.e. a bit of modernization. In any case, from my town (DC) to Boston is only 440 miles. Within that stretch 50 millions life and all major cities, D.C., Baltimore, Philly, NYC and Boston ALL have subways, commuter and light rail. Calif. has very litte. So, a train gets you to a city, then what?

[FullMentalPanic]

>>dsindc [part 1]

Tilting trains do indeed allow higher speeds on older not-so-straight track, but even those technologies have their limits. Basic physics will reveal that true high-speed operation requires straight paths because of centripetal force. Another reason why dedicated track is preferred is so trains don't have to share track with slower traffic or freight. Track sharing in CA will mostly be limited to the dense Bay Area peninsula, very small compared to the entire system.

[FullMentalPanic]

>>dsindc [part 2]

"So, a train gets you to a city, then what?"

Seriously?...umm...taxi? bus? rent a car? arrange for a ride ahead of time, like we do before airplane flights?

I really don't understand why my fellow Americans on the East Coast think CA is so undeserving or unfit for high-speed rail. We have a very crowded air corridor between LA-SF, and we have the second most popular Amtrak corridor between San Luis Obispo, LA, and San Diego. We're building this whether you like it or not.

[dsindc]

FullMentalPanic, you make some excellent points. Sadly, most cities outside the Northeast corridor were built for cars. For a significant number of people to use high speed rail in say, L.A. (which has a total area population of 15 million), there will never be enough busses, rental cars, or taxis. A huge advantage to rail is that it can deposit its passengers at terminals in downtown areas. People generally love that. BUT, unlike airports, parking will be prohibitively expensive (cont).

[TahreyUK]

@FullMentalPanic or walk, or take a folding bike, or hop onto a local connecting train... amazing how some people think, isn't it.

however it can be rather inconvenient and difficult to plan your onward trip in an unfamiliar town, even in this age of mobile internet and the like. Had that experience whilst rescuing my broken down motorbike from the next-but-one city recently (took a spare wheel out on train... local bus services were poor and badly signed... so had to pay £££!! for a taxi ride)

[dsindc]

I have noticed here in the D.C. area, development has followed the Metro. A 5 billion extension is being built to Dulles airport. It will go under a huge development (Tysons Corner) has more sq. footage than downtown Denver. O commuter lines do go as far south as Fredericksburg (50 miles), and West Va. ( about 70 miles), and about 800,000 people take the subway each day. So, it CAN be done but it takes a lot of work - especially politically. I love Cali and have family there. Best of luck.

[dsindc]

Oh, by the way, I admit I'm a bit partial to trains. My office is on the 7th floor of a building that overlooks the rail-yards behind Union Station. The windows offer an awesome sight of trains of ALL kinds going in and out every minute. Acela, Amtrak reglionals, commuter trains, and the metro. It's awesome to watch all the activity. We'll hope for the best in California.

[demexii1]

Only if they can convince the FRA to let them go over 150. The Acela can go over 150 but can't due to regulations.

[NLentner]

Pardon Pete4468, my comment was aimed at the builder of the Acela train with all the problems especially the brake disc system it has experienced and being 4" too wide to take advantage of the tilt system. In no way do I want to offend the French and the best train system on the planet. I have been on the Euro-Star London Paris and the TGV as well as the ICE train and they are awesome.

Thanks for your understanding & consideration, I agree with you.

[navymmw]

lol, 150mph is slow. Well not really but I get to go on the maglev in Shanghai :) :) 300MPH!!

[CBass1307]

Mag-lev is not really a train. It is a monorail, which is usually put in a different category. The revenue runs on it are only 220mph ish anyways.

[mj1234321]

Top speed of the Shanghai Transrapid maglev is 430 km/hr, which is 267 mph.

[AmtrakFanNEC927]

its actually a train befor 80km/hr and then it is fast enough to levitate

[cooldit1]

the wheels go up and the maglev levitates, i read that somewhere

[Davidmac08]

yeah, and it's also loosing money.

[tombstonetom]

Did the Chinese release a cost analyst report? I'd like to see that. A Mag-lev is more expensive to build. However, with so few moving parts and so little friction, the long running cost is lower. Building the system is still cheaper than expanding airports or freeways.

[ACLTony]

Talk about neck-break speed! Impressive.

[Lanysb]

Yes! America is on the fast track.

[NLentner]

Are you for real? A road bed, catanary system 60 years old with a second rate french Alston train, this is an insult.

[CBass1307]

The train is not french. It was designed specifically for amtrak and was built in the US, by Bombardier.

[AutisticPsycho]

Although it is TGV inspired. The Acela trainset looks a lot like the TGV Express trainset, except like you said, this has been designed for American rails.

[kjrehberg]

Yes it's the unfortunate problem of having a 200-year-old railroad system.

The train will not go to 150 MPH until it reaches parts of Connecticute and Mass. All other places on the NE Corridor there is not enough clearance to enable the tilting system which allows this train to reach the 150 MPH speed. The trains are 4 inches too wide for those tracks. Oh well.

[pete4468]

French trains are NOT second rate, ALSTOM are second to none. Hitachi are a close second though.

[Leviking1979]

Grande!!! O Acela não tem o glamour do Shinkansen ou dos trens europeus, mas também é espetacular.