
High-Speed Rail’s Central Valley Segment Is Not Stranded - tysonzni
https://sf.streetsblog.org/2019/02/14/high-speed-rails-central-valley-segment-is-not-stranded/
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mimixco
It is absolutely stranded and "train to nowhere" is a wonderful phrase I wish
I'd thought of myself.

No one is going to take Amtrak's poor, slow trains to Merced, then ride high
speed rail to Bakersfield, then get back on a slow Amtrak train to reach their
final destination. Nor will they drive to those stranded stations just to
connect by HSR. People will just drive (or fly!) the entire way.

What this author fails to point out is that America's Interstate Highway
system is unique in the world and has led us to a road-based transportation
system like no other. That's not a bad thing. Europe and Asia never had an
interstate and trains make a lot more sense there.

The other factor is that airline travel is cheap and readily available in
California. No one is going to goof around connecting through the "train to
nowhere" when you could take a point-to-point trip on any airline between
several airports. In LA, you've got LAX, Glendale, Burbank, and Ontario. In
Silicon Valley, you've got SFO, Oakland, Sacramento, and SJC. If you look at
the timetables for those connections, you could choose flights on 30 minute
increments. If you took the "high speed" train to nowhere, who knows when the
heck you'd arrive.

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masonic
"Now here’s the same type of train as in the above photo, but on a dedicated
HSR line in Germany, where it goes nearly 200 mph."

A train with diesel locomotives running at 50MPH is not "the same type of
train" as an electric train running at 200MPH. Using even nearly-identical
rolling stock is not what defines the "train".

"They’ll feel a slight bump during the Merced stop as a diesel locomotive is
coupled to the front."

Well, that, plus the 30+ minute delay each way.

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towaway1138
Always thought streetsblog was a bit daft, but they've outdone themselves
here.

