Eug
Senior Member
This is from last year, but I didn't see this posted:
New High Speed Rail: Toronto Montreal corridor
New High Speed Rail: Toronto Montreal corridor
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Rail: Ontario-Quebec High Speed Rail Study
- Thread starter isittimetomoveyet
- Start date
Dan416
Senior Member
lol hilarious and so true
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Solid Snake
Active Member
That one's funny as hell
[video=youtube;uU3Q3A1GPd4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU3Q3A1GPd4&feature=relmfu[/video]
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Haha...that's hilarious. The sad thing is they're even slower than in the 70s. I remember the 3h59m schedules on the Metropolis from Toronto to Montreal. They stretched those out five or six years ago, I think.
smallspy
Senior Member
The 3:59 timetable was introduced in October 1992, and it lasted until 2005 IIRC. Even the much-vaunted Turbo couldn't beat 4:30, which is not far off of what we have now.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Interesting. I didn't know that. I was sure that the Turbo matched that time, and I was also going by Wikipedia but obviously that's not always the most accurate source! Here's what I read:
Anyway, I wonder what happened. What did they do in the early 90s that got the times down, and why couldn't they sustain it?
smallspy
Senior Member
I'm going from the published schedules. CN did want to get the Turbo's trip times down to 4 hours (and even advertised them as such before the train entered service) but were never able to do it.
As for the 3:59 schedules, it was a combination of faster units - the LRCs - and a lot of trackwork and corridor improvements by CN. A lot of the extra track put in at the time was removed by CN over the past 20 years, which is why they are (again) putting in new sections of additional mainline to try and build a bit more capacity into the system. They are also fixing up a lot of track that they have allowed to turn to shit over the past number of years. Parts of the Kingston Subdivision are so bad, in fact, that the 900-series P42s are limited to 90mph on it.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
Dan416
Senior Member
Wait they removed track and are putting it back?? :-/
smallspy
Senior Member
You sound surprised. I guess you don't know CN's M.O.
Dan
Toronto, Ont.
M II A II R II K
Senior Member
Opportunity Cost of Inaction PDF: http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/HPPR-Cost-of-Inaction.pdf
Summary
Studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the European Union (EU), the International Union of Railroads (UIC), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and others, suggest that the actual cost of building and/or improving rail lines is significantly less than the cost per mile of alternatives.
In fact, in many corridors, passenger rail is the only feasible option for adding capacity, given the practical constraints facing aviation and highway expansion.
Passenger rail will benefit public transportation—regional HPPR networks will amplify the agglomeration economies associated with public transportation. Though not specifically enumerated in this paper, we anticipate these impacts will significantly increase net benefits.
The regional opportunity costs are also substantial. Not building HSR in California would cost the state $8.2 billion in foregone benefits over 40 years. The Midwest would forego $11.7 billion over 40 years. The Northeast Corridor would forego $5.5 billion over 40 years. The Pacific Northwest would forego $1.1 billion over 40 years.
This report provides clear evidence that maintaining the status quo will be an increasingly expensive proposition for American taxpayers.
Summary
Studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the European Union (EU), the International Union of Railroads (UIC), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and others, suggest that the actual cost of building and/or improving rail lines is significantly less than the cost per mile of alternatives.
In fact, in many corridors, passenger rail is the only feasible option for adding capacity, given the practical constraints facing aviation and highway expansion.
Passenger rail will benefit public transportation—regional HPPR networks will amplify the agglomeration economies associated with public transportation. Though not specifically enumerated in this paper, we anticipate these impacts will significantly increase net benefits.
The regional opportunity costs are also substantial. Not building HSR in California would cost the state $8.2 billion in foregone benefits over 40 years. The Midwest would forego $11.7 billion over 40 years. The Northeast Corridor would forego $5.5 billion over 40 years. The Pacific Northwest would forego $1.1 billion over 40 years.
This report provides clear evidence that maintaining the status quo will be an increasingly expensive proposition for American taxpayers.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Making a case for high-speed rail
Canada remains the sole G8 country without an example of this super fast and super efficient means of transportation.
“There was a time when we led the world in developing long distance train travel,” Langan said. “This nation could boast some of the most advanced train systems anywhere and there is no reason we cannot do that again.
“All we need is some political will and we can match what Japan has been doing for 50 years at least with its Bullet Train.
“Europe has been doing it almost as long with its vast network of fast electric trains like the TGV and the Eurostar. Spain is joining that list as well as countries as far apart as China and Mexico.
“It’s not as if we lack the capital — it’s just the imagination
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/03/making-a-case-for-high-speed-rail
Canada remains the sole G8 country without an example of this super fast and super efficient means of transportation.
“There was a time when we led the world in developing long distance train travel,” Langan said. “This nation could boast some of the most advanced train systems anywhere and there is no reason we cannot do that again.
“All we need is some political will and we can match what Japan has been doing for 50 years at least with its Bullet Train.
“Europe has been doing it almost as long with its vast network of fast electric trains like the TGV and the Eurostar. Spain is joining that list as well as countries as far apart as China and Mexico.
“It’s not as if we lack the capital — it’s just the imagination
http://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/03/making-a-case-for-high-speed-rail
rbt
Senior Member
Stupid question, where is the high-speed rail in the United States?
I've taken the Boston to Washington trips via New York and it didn't seem any faster than VIA Corridor trains.
Perhaps it's the NY to Philadelphia leg?
I realize NEC, if funded, would be a quite fast but I'm not certain where in the United States trains run over 90mph today.
Mr.Tang
Active Member
Being part of the G8 kind of seems like a totally irrelevant sample here.
pman
Senior Member
Given Canada's low population density, it's not surprising we don't have a high-speed passenger rail network to match Japan or France. We look a lot more like Australia than Europe or California, and last time I checked, there's no bullet train between Melbourne or Sydney. The negative externalities associated with congestion make subsidizing public transit in urban areas a good idea. But why should we use scarce resources to subsidize inter-city passenger rail travel?