tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post9153473442297486227..comments2023-10-30T09:03:07.163-07:00Comments on California High Speed Rail Blog: Spain's Transport Minister Makes Progressive Case for HSRRobert Cruickshankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06906581839066570472noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-63322648890943543702009-09-30T13:50:53.882-07:002009-09-30T13:50:53.882-07:00The risk of the Grapevine alignment is well worth ...<i>The risk of the Grapevine alignment is well worth it.</i><br /><br />So you assert. How many dozens of papers in geology have you published that make your "I believe so" assertions valuable?Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-6994801144065469422009-09-30T12:49:12.903-07:002009-09-30T12:49:12.903-07:00doesnt palmdale only add like 10 minutes to the tr...doesnt palmdale only add like 10 minutes to the trip while at the same ime brining service to 500,000 in LA county while also making for a good future connection to vegas and making for faster thruway connections to points south and east ( currently division of rail has thruway service implemented as an important part of statewide connections to the high desert, inland empire and coachella valley and bring HSR to PMD would be a very big improvement to service to these areas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-16200805444830780382009-09-30T09:36:06.465-07:002009-09-30T09:36:06.465-07:00The risk of the Grapevine alignment is well worth ...The risk of the Grapevine alignment is well worth it. Itr is manifestly more direct, even for the CV.<br /><br />The entire hsr project is risky. It may very well turn out to be a great disappointment. The Tehachapis detour just adds to the risk of failure.<br /><br />Now that brings up a question for the more abjective bloggers: what will the impact on the hsr concept if the CHSRA bombs? Are politicized projects doomed to underwhelm?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-44640676781902804552009-09-30T00:22:51.907-07:002009-09-30T00:22:51.907-07:00So you have to cross the San Andreas on the surfac...<i>So you have to cross the San Andreas on the surface. I guess the Tehachapis quake of 1952 didn't happen.</i><br /><br />With the Tehachapis, you have to cross faults at grade, too. However, it is easier to do so, since the mountains have gentler slopes due to the detour. That's why when the engineers took a map and programmed it with the parameters "cross fault lines at grade" and "don't exceed a 3.5% slope," they got hundreds of available options for the Tehachapis, and just one for the Grapevine.<br /><br />The problem now is geological risk. If one option for the Tehachapis doesn't work out due to geological intangibles, such as unknown fault lines or unstable rock formations, then it's easy to pick another. If the one option for the Grapevine doesn't work out, then it's either back to the Tehachapis (which requires a new EIR) or a huge cost overrun trying to mitigate the option's problems.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-16738641433343633622009-09-29T23:21:07.637-07:002009-09-29T23:21:07.637-07:00anon - you missed the point - either place is...anon - you missed the point - either place is subject to earthquakes - its a matter of crossing on the surface in an accessible way versus crossing in a deep tunnel with no access.<br /><br />Either location can and will be damaged, but which is easier to fix and or escape from?<br /><br />do you even read what people post?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-59022273258976914412009-09-29T20:28:55.398-07:002009-09-29T20:28:55.398-07:00So you have to cross the San Andreas on the surfac...So you have to cross the San Andreas on the surface. I guess the Tehachapis quake of 1952 didn't happen.<br /><br />Wouldn't it be karma for Bechtel, Kopp & co. if the Tehachapis detour is trashed by a quake while the Grapevine remains relatively unscathed? Payback for BART, Big Dig, etc., etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-37573964148285802382009-09-29T17:21:36.238-07:002009-09-29T17:21:36.238-07:00Anon, the small-government countries of Europe, al...Anon, the small-government countries of Europe, all of which were hailed by right-wing thinktanks - Ireland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia - are already in depression territory, and are doing much worse than Spain. Back in 2006, Cato and Heritage and the AEI were crowing about the low taxes and lax financial regulations of Ireland and the Baltic states; they say nothing about them today.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-20010494737706616802009-09-29T16:29:42.493-07:002009-09-29T16:29:42.493-07:00LOL, the wonderful Socialist Utopia Spain that is ...LOL, the wonderful Socialist Utopia Spain that is about to be the 1st major European country to fall into Depression territory of 25% unemployment after their massive spending spree and overbuilding?<br /><br />I guess authors of frenzied Bolshevik screeds don't have time to read the fine print. "Who cares about cause and effect? Trains will save the Motherland!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-27292115435030330872009-09-29T14:02:44.884-07:002009-09-29T14:02:44.884-07:00Jim: you're right, and in addition, when there...Jim: you're right, and in addition, when there's a derailment, you'd rather have easy access to the accident site. A tunnel under the Grapevine would have to come with multiple emergency shafts to mitigate this, raising construction costs.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-46268714194930949172009-09-29T13:13:49.769-07:002009-09-29T13:13:49.769-07:00My non technical understanding of crossing the fau...My non technical understanding of crossing the fault is like this..<br /><br />first, the land on either side of the san andreas is moving - very slowly - but moving, and anything that crosses it, roads, fences, creeks, tracks, gradually gets moved out of alignment.<br /><br />when you cross it on the surface you can easily see, access, and correct this process as needed.<br /><br />If you run a tunnel through the moving plates,<br /><br />you can not access, see or correct the mis-alignment without re aligning the tunnel versus re aligning the track on the surface.<br /><br />Also in the even of an earthquake in the immediate area where the ground movement can snap the alignment seriously out of whack all at once, ( right place right time) you can clearly see and correct the problems verus having a deep tunnel snap under a mountain. <br /><br />And while high tech solutions and detectors are designed to shut the system down quickly at the first hint of seismic activity, in the off chance you are in a train that is crossing a sudden rupture point, you'd much rather derail on the surface where you at least have a chance to escape, than smack into the side of a mis aligned tunnel in the dark under a shaking mountain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-31371958240513977852009-09-29T12:16:29.916-07:002009-09-29T12:16:29.916-07:00The technical difficulties of mining the Grapevine...<i>The technical difficulties of mining the Grapevine are being inflated. Call for an opinion from an experienced base tunnel builder such as Herrennecht & Co. as to how to go about building it. The Saint Gotthard is easier than the Grapevine?</i><br /><br />They did get an opinion from experienced tunnel builders. Unlike in Switzerland, in California there are earthquakes, which means that they have to cross fault lines at grade instead of in tunnel.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-38996390251880617842009-09-29T11:21:16.930-07:002009-09-29T11:21:16.930-07:00The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are si...<i>The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are simply not at all convincing.</i><br /><br />I agree, as long as you change your wording to:<br /><br />The arguments <i>for</i> I-5 and the Grapevine are simply not at all convincing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-2412696407929586172009-09-29T10:33:04.089-07:002009-09-29T10:33:04.089-07:00Why worry about a detour? In reality add the extra...<i>Why worry about a detour? In reality add the extra mileage and the extra stops and a half hour extra running time SF-LA is more likely. Fatal</i><br /><br />more likely wishful thinking on your part. this sounds just like right wing delay tactics.<br /><br />The strategy is tired.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-47770932380270640642009-09-29T10:30:40.785-07:002009-09-29T10:30:40.785-07:00The San Joaquin Valley market is being touted as b...<i>The San Joaquin Valley market is being touted as being crucial. Not so - the CV is impoverished and auto-centric and is likely to remain so</i><br /><br />Thats a load of crap. You don' know anything about the central valley expect your own stereotypes.<br /><br />The valley had and continued to fight for more, rail service long before the ccpa and surfliner service started.<br /><br />And the valley patrons are the most loyal to rail service.<br /><br />And the valley is no more car-centric than the rest of the state. In fact valley residents are the ones who are most excited about high speed rail because they have the most to gain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-52206375312401159142009-09-29T10:08:27.761-07:002009-09-29T10:08:27.761-07:00Here's why arguments against I-5 and the Grape...Here's why arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are not convincing:<br /><br />The technical difficulties of mining the Grapevine are being inflated. Call for an opinion from an experienced base tunnel builder such as Herrennecht & Co. as to how to go about building it. The Saint Gotthard is easier than the Grapevine? I am going to believe that from an outfit that built BART to Indian gauge?<br /><br />The San Joaquin Valley market is being touted as being crucial. Not so - the CV is impoverished and auto-centric and is likely to remain so.<br /><br />The Bay Area and LA-San Diego with their 30 million residents can't or won't support express hsr? Balderdash.<br /><br />The UP can be brought to heel? Questionable.<br /><br />Who needs cheap ROW along I-5? Incredibly short-sighted.<br /><br />Why worry about a detour? In reality add the extra mileage and the extra stops and a half hour extra running time SF-LA is more likely. Fatal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-45933191068935529822009-09-28T23:46:53.996-07:002009-09-28T23:46:53.996-07:00The arguments against the current hsr plan
( sugg...The arguments against the current hsr plan <br />( suggesting "hey lets start over cuz we are concerned and X will be better")<br /><br />are exactly like the arguments against reforming health care.<br /><br />( we want to do it but let's not do it that way, or so fast)<br /><br />Its a stall tactic. Drag the process out and mire it in delays if you can't find the public support to stop it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-34852132254001214222009-09-28T23:24:58.202-07:002009-09-28T23:24:58.202-07:00The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are si...<i>The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are simply not at all convincing.</i><br /><br />Care to elaborate why?Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-24271073019954561962009-09-28T23:18:43.423-07:002009-09-28T23:18:43.423-07:00@rafael - Rafael said...
This just in:
The Chine...@rafael - Rafael said...<br /><i>This just in:<br /><br />The Chinese JV of Canada's Bombardier has landed a $4 billion order for 80 Zefiro 380 trains, averaging 14 cars each.</i><br /><br />I like that design... I'm not sure about the interior though. I don't like that 2-3 seating and the interior seems a little dull. They need to step it up a but more to match the alstom agv interiors.<br /><br />but the outside looks good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-47700019589945830792009-09-28T23:18:06.789-07:002009-09-28T23:18:06.789-07:00The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are si...The arguments against I-5 and the Grapevine are simply not at all convincing. This project needs to break out of the mould. The San Joaquin market is being oversold and can be tapped anyway from branches to the I-5 backbone.<br /><br />The current Bechtel concept of hsr will still be very pricey and yet thoroughly mediocre. Lose the 150 year old rr route.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-30642135229090805422009-09-28T22:10:11.345-07:002009-09-28T22:10:11.345-07:00The line is designed really poorly, too. There'...The line is designed really poorly, too. There's one trunk line with all the cities (except London) on spurs - so no trains will be able to serve London-Birmingham-Manchester, only London-Birmingham, Birmingham-Manchester, or London-Manchester. The government has also dropped its previous support for a line that would connect the East Coast and West Coast Main Lines, preferring to just serve the West Coast area.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-64146425254810942902009-09-28T17:50:01.292-07:002009-09-28T17:50:01.292-07:00What public opinion can do!
Last year Gordon Brown...What public opinion can do!<br />Last year Gordon Brown said HSR's environmental benefits were "far from obvious" and electrification of the railways was an unnecessary expense.<br />Then, the opening of HS1 and London-Paris in 2h15 changed everything. Every northern city in the UK started clamouring for their line. They say without it there will be a hyper-developped triangle, the London-Paris-Brussels region, while the North of England risks becoming a forgotten backwater.<br />Gordon Brown will probably lose the next election but that will change nothing as the conservative leader supports HS2 even more than he does.<br />From what I've read about it, the line will be built in stages, in order to have trains running as soon as possible. The English call it "build as you go".Andre Perettinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-89257258146362307162009-09-28T17:25:33.577-07:002009-09-28T17:25:33.577-07:00Toys..are you really that bored of a person?? nobo...Toys..are you really that bored of a person?? nobody cares what you post as its all dribble and its always the same lame brain thoughtsNOstupidtoytrucksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-23681780630419034912009-09-28T16:19:05.518-07:002009-09-28T16:19:05.518-07:00More news from overseas:
In an effort to close th...More news from overseas:<br /><br />In an effort to close the gap with the opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls ahead of the general election, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided to back a GBP 20 billion plan to extend <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/sep/22/gordon-brown-high-speed-rail" rel="nofollow">HSR to the north of England</a> after all. Scottish MPs want the line extended all the way to Edinburgh and Glasgow.<br /><br />Today's policy reversal means a formal project for some variation of HS2 is now virtually guaranteed to happen.Rafaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05471957286484454765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-48382864341810791432009-09-28T16:01:28.641-07:002009-09-28T16:01:28.641-07:00@ Andre Peretti -
I'm well aware Bombardier&#...@ Andre Peretti -<br /><br />I'm well aware Bombardier's trains division in based in Germany. So what, the company HQ is still in Canada so that's where most of the profits go. For all intents and purposes, it is rightly perceived as a Canada-based multinational.Rafaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05471957286484454765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263762637946594105.post-60700753961450570122009-09-28T15:41:56.718-07:002009-09-28T15:41:56.718-07:00@Rafael
"this order will firmly establish Can...@Rafael<br />"this order will firmly establish Canada as the ninth nation with the know-how to design and manufacture trains capable of commercial operation at speeds at or above 300km/h (186mph)."<br /><br />The trouble is that Bombardier Transportation, contrary to its aviation branch, is a European firm headquartered in Berlin with plants in every European country. None of the trains it sells worldwide are designed or made in Canada, except some FRA-compliant rolling stock.<br /><br />When Bombardier outbid Alstom on a €4.5 billion contract with the SNCF, Alstom wanted to sue, arguing that the protected American market enabled Bombardier to dump its trains in Europe. They quickly dropped the lawsuit for an obvious reason: Bombardier's market in North America was too small to have any influence on its business with the SNCF.<br />French workers didn't lose anything in the deal as the 600 trainsets are built in Bombardier's French plant in Crespin. That's one of Bombardier's strengths: they are at home in any country they do business with. It's even more true in France. No language barrier, and Bombardier Transportation's president is André Navarri, a Frenchman and ex-Alstom top executive. When the SNCF decides to replace its ageing TGV fleet, Alstom had better look out.Andre Perettinoreply@blogger.com