|
Any discussion of higher speed rail in the United States must be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Average train speeds have been declining in the US, and overall the major freight railroads struggle in 2006 to make 20 miles per hour when their overall schedules are taken into account. This is down from 23 mph just a few years ago. Individual trains are frequently parked in sidings and at terminals without crews, a function more of crew shortages caused by inadequate staffing, although yard congestion at terminals is also a factor. Freights have been running faster in 2009 but this is mostly due to a downturned economy resulting in fewer, longer trains. Passenger train speeds in the United States are also something of a joke. The first 100+ mph speed record was set by the Empire State Express with a steam engine in 1893. But, it has pretty much been downhill since 1940. Overall train speeds have declined from a high point of 1934, when there was still competition between major carriers for passengers, and when the public image of a railroad company was important to their management teams as a tool of marketing and also to build employee morale. Most people still remember the Burlington Zephyr, which managed a Denver to Chicago trip in 1934, averaging 77.6 mph over 1015 miles in 13 hours and 5 minutes. The Union Pacific also made a memorable run in 1934, going coast to coast from Oakland, California to Grand Central Station New York in 57 hours. Today, Amtrak's well-padded schedules must take into account speed restrictions caused by freight train congestion, FRA-mandated safety regulations for poorly maintained track, and speed limits for urban areas with numerous unprotected crossings. The present fleet of locomotives are capable of more, but for the most part, average passenger train speeds are in the 40's over most routes. Amtrak's diesels can run 110 mph, and the electrics can do 150+ but in the US, rail passenger train speeds have not been a political priority. Many observers claim that government has actually been trying to kill off all remaining passenger train service since the mid-50's when companies like Ford, General Motors, and Firestone gained control of Congress, and pushed rubber-tired vehicles in place of the steel-wheel. A current example is the City of New Orleans, a train that, even at current speeds, is difficult to keep up with in an automobile on adjacent interstate highways over its 926 mile run between Chicago and New Orleans. Taking into account pit stops and refueling, trying to make the run between the cities in less than Amtrak's average 48 mph is hardly recommended. But, remember, back in 1949 when the Illinois Central still ran this train and really cared about it, the average speed was closer to 60 mph. A that time, on two lane roads, cars could barely average what freight trains do today over such distances, more like 20-25 mph. Today, sadly, all of the speed records are held in countries other than the US. In 2001, the French TGV set a record of 197 mph between Calais and Marseilles, which is the fastest non-stop run over 1,000 km. (the metric distance over which such records are recorded). Japan holds the fastest record (1997) for the average speed between starting and ending stations, 152 mph between Osaka and Hakata. The fastest conventional train speed record was also set in France in 1990, 322 mph by the TGV. In the US there are only two spots where significant 100+ mph running is allowed, always for political reasons because now it is the airline companies that control the US Congress. Every time a significant proposal to upgrade a rail corridor seems close to achieving funding, the Southwest Airlines lobby swarms Capitol Hill and kills it. Despite the political winds blowing against it, two sections of the Northeast Corridor have recently been upgraded by Amtrak, one in Connecticut and another in Delaware. Still, even in these areas, only 130 mph running is allowed, and overall speeds between major cities are not significantly faster than when the Pennsy ran its crack Congressional and Metroliner trains in the 1950s and 1960s. Outside of the NEC, Amtrak plans to start some 90-100 mph service over short sections of trackage in Michigan and Illinois. But in 2006 the only actual location that any 100+ running takes place now is for a few miles between New York City and the Albany area, on Amtrak's Empire Service. Elsewhere in the United States, passenger train speeds are federally limited to no more than 79 mph. We'll leave it to you to figure out why. Imagine if you will, the 152 mph average being the norm in the US, as in Japan and France. The City of New Orleans would run between its end points in six hours. The Sunset Limited schedule through Orlando to Tallahassee, Mobile, Biloxi, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Tucson, Phoenix, Palm Springs, and Los Angeles would be performed in 18 hours. The time between such in-between city-pairs as Jacksonville/Tallahassee, New Orleans/Houston Tucson/Phoenix, and Phoenix/Los Angeles would be measured in mere minutes, and faster than comparable airline connections. Happily, recent events have improved the outlook somewhat, although funding is always going to be a problem. California in 2008 adopted its Proposition A, authorizing a high speed corridor between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Also in September 2008 the US Congress authorized study of 11 high speed rail corridors, as well as the further upgrade of the Northeast Corridor. President Bush signed the new law in October 2008, after earlier stating that he would veto it. As of now it is still an unfunded mandate, although during 2009 President Obama said he would put some seed money into it, and lobby firms were starting to rush into HSR like bears raiding an overturned corn hopper car on the BNSF in Montana! Will anything more than a bunch of bluster come out of this? We sure hope so for our grandkids sake! Why is this important to us and our children? Think homeland security and being able to move the most people and freight in the most economical and fastest way possible! Think global warming and the millions of pounds of kerosene spewed into upper levels of the atmosphere over the US by fuel-inefficient jets each day! Think fuel economy, jobs, economic development of rural areas that do not have commercial airports, and consider the convenience of not having to drive to an airport, or having to switch planes in places you don't even care to go to! Is the polar icecap melting because US transportation needs are being mismanaged by government bureaucrats? For what purpose is it being mismanaged, for your benefit, or for the benefit of vested interests? Think about it! |
|||
| HOME | |||