by Jeff Smith
To add to the discussion, a former railroader's opinion (from someone many of you may know, or know of): The Day
What’s the hurry? High-speed trains are not worth the cost in N.E. Corridor
High-speed train travel is not feasible on the Northeast Corridor. Congress recently approved a $2.45 billion loan package for Amtrak, of which a good portion will be spent on 28 “Generation 2” high-speed trains. Why? The “Generation 1” (Acela Express) high-speed trains only accomplished a fraction of what they were touted to do. There is no reason to expect Generation 2 to be any different. Trains can only travel so fast on the existing roadbed no matter the tilt technology. Generation 1 trains were equipped with the latest tilt system yet could only equal, not exceed, the running time of the 1969 Metroliners between New York and Washington D.C.
The present roadbed with minor deviations dates back to the 1800s, taking a circuitous route to service large population centers and various industries. To attain a true high-speed system on the Northeast Corridor there must be a dedicated and exclusive infrastructure built as straight as the geography will allow. The cost and environmental impact of such an undertaking would be astronomical given the real estate values in that portion of the country.
As far back as the 1950s, when the New Haven Railroad purchased the Talgo trains, and in the 1960s when United Aircraft unveiled it’s state-of-the-art Turbo Train, proponents hailed the “trains of the future.” Since World War II, they’ve all headed to the scrap heap. These trains, including the Acela Express, have proven impractical.
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Amtrak force fed the Acela Express to the traveling public, trumpeting it’s airplane style decor, desktop seating replete with USB ports, WiFi, receptacles for recharging sundry electronic devices, all masking the fact that for the extra cost they did not arrive at their destination much sooner than the Regional Service trains, and the time difference was due mainly to the Acela making less stops than the Regional Service trains. Amtrak’s 30-year and older AEM7 locomotives with Amfleet coaches and an experienced engineer could, if they were allowed, equal Acela Express running time, as did the Metroliners of 1969.
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Joseph McMahon retired from Amtrak after 51 years of service as a locomotive engineer, beginning with the New York-New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1963 and ending with Amtrak in 2014. His area of expertise is the Northeast Corridor between Boston and New York City.
Next stop, Willoughby
~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
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~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
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