An Orient Express For The 21st Century?

According to the Beijing Times, Chinese engineers are proposing to build a high speed rail link from China to the United States. The route would start in Beijing and travel through Russia to a tunnel under the Bering Strait, then continue across Alaska and Canada to the West Coast. Travelling at speeds up to 300 mph, this new Orient Express would whisk passengers in climate controlled comfort from one continent to the next in about 2 days time.

Why would someone choose to take the train when they can fly in half the time? That’s an excellent question. My guess is the trip would be far more comfortable for passengers, who would be free to move about, eat real meals and sleep in actual beds instead of being squashed into an aluminum tube snacking on pretzels for hours on end.

Honestly, flying today has become something most people dread – something that must be endured rather than enjoyed. Crowded airports and long lay overs take a lot of the fun out of air travel. The comfort and convenience of train travel would likely appeal to many who would gladly arrive fresh and rested instead of sleep deprived and frazzled.

China has acquired a lot of expertise at building large infrastructure projects at home as the Chinese economy has exploded over the past 20 years. Lately, Chinese companies like China Railway Construction Corporation and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSEC) have been exporting their prowess to the Middle East and Africa, often outbidding US and European contractors for the largest contracts.

China certainly has the engineering prowess to design and complete a transcontinental railroad. Its engineers say they have already had exploratory talks with all the governments along the proposed route. But their knowledge and skill may not be enough to conquer the political cross currents in the US, where even a seemingly simple idea like a high speed rail link from Los Angeles to San Francisco threatens to be derailed by partisan bickering.

So don’t expect to board the train for Beijing at your local Amtrak station any time soon.

Source: The Beijing Times via Al Jazeera

Maglev Train Proposal Promises 15 Minute Ride From Baltimore To D.C.

With President Obama failing to launch a national high-speed rail network, it may take some outside help to jumpstart our HSR ambitions. Japan has stepped in offering to provide half of the loans required to build a 37-mile maglev train between Baltimore and our national capital, Washington D.C. The saddest part? How happy officials are to have the help.

Even though the journey covers less than 40 miles, the current rail network takes more than an hour to make the trip between the two cities. In most cases, it’s quicker to drive, though finding (and paying for) a parking spot is a headache, nevermind the infamous Beltway traffic. Even so, Americans deserve a better train network, and thanks to Japan, we may get it.

The rail system is estimated to cost about $8 billion, and the Japanese government is willing to provide low-interest loans to cover half the cost, about $4 billion. Of course there is an ulterior motive here, and Japan hopes to showcase its “Super-Maglev” train system, which connects the country with high-speed trains at fairly affordable prices. America’s only other high-speed rail project in California is currently facing a number of issues, including a lack of funding, and Republican governors colluded to put a halt to Obama’s MidWest ambitions, putting the U.S. back at square one. This isn’t the first offer of outside help America has had from countries where high-speed rail is both popular and profitable, and it’s about time we swallowed our pride and got some help getting this thing going.

The system proposed by the Japanese government could cut the trip down from an hour to just 15 minutes, saving passengers a ton of time, while providing a real-world example that high-speed rail can work in the United States. Haters gonna hate, but with Japan offering the split the cost on a small-but-important showcase project, perhaps this can restart our nation’s hope for a genuine high-speed rail network.

Just don’t hold your breath.

Source: The Telegraph

California High Speed Rail: All Aboard!

California’s high speed rail project has gotten the green light to begin even with many political obstacles still on the table.

The overseeing board of the California high speed rail project has said that the first 65 mile stretch of rail between Fresno and Merced will be exempt from the requirement that railway construction first obtain prior approval from the federal board.

The reason for this decision to skip the federal board approval was in part caused by a massive lobbying campaign to get the high speed rail construction under way. In other words, JOBS JOBS JOBS! In short this is a massive win for labor unions and long term this decision will reduce the time for citizens in California to can have access to a high speed rail system.

Given that the California high speed rail project has $3.5 billion in funding from tax payers’ dollars there are of course objectors to the decision. The concerns range from environmental impact to god old dollars and cents. A recent bill from by the transportation subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee has actually proposed allocating no funds for the California high speed rail project through the bill in 2014. Well, as it turns out the California high speed rail project was not expecting any further funding in 2014 anyhow so that’s obviously just political grandstanding.

As for the environmental concerns, they are still valid. Environmental impact reports have shown that an estimated eleven endangered species would be affected by the overall California high speed rail project. Massive emissions from diesel powered heavy equipment used to lay the track would pollute the air. Dozens of rivers, canals and wetlands fed from the peaks of the Sierra Nevada would be crossed and could create other complex issues.

The issue here is this would be from the overall California high speed rail project. Thankfully that means there is time to deal and fix these possible issues in an environmentally friendly way while still moving forward with the advancement of American high speed rail.

Source: sacbee.com