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I will concede that I was a bit startled when I saw a simulation of a possible line through Livermore in the Bay Area EIR/EIS. A picture of downtown Livermore at the UP line with four HSR ones just north of them. That made me compose a Livermore version of a famous NIMBY poster from 1839; I don't kn...

Keystone Service +1, Kansas City Mule-1 Only Amtrak electrified line away from Boston-Washington vs. a train that gets tied up in freight traffic Acela Express-10 Adirondack-7 Amtrak Cascades-5 Ann Rutledge-4 Auto Train-6 Blue Water-4 California Zephyr-6 Capitol Corridor-6 Capitol Limited-5 Carl San...

Yes I know. But I couldn't help but marvel at how they were planning to get the tracks through Livermore and Pleasanton, if they had decided on an East Bay route. As to LA - Anaheim, is that LAUS - Anaheim or San Fernando Valley - Anaheim? It's not a great distance, and there aren't a lot of station...

Anaheim - Los Angeles? Complete with electrification? Or just an adding some track and improving the signals? That seems like a rather tiny project compared to all the new construction that they will have to be doing between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I recently read several of the documents in ...

Coast Starlight +1, Hoosier State -1 Acela Express-10 Adirondack-7 Amtrak Cascades-5 Ann Rutledge-5 Auto Train-4 Blue Water-5 California Zephyr-6 Capitol Corridor-6 Capitol Limited-5 Carl Sandburg-5 Carolinian-5 City of New Orleans-6 Coast Starlight-4 Crescent-6 Downeaster-6 Empire Builder-8 Empire ...

I've used Google Maps and Google Earth a lot myself. I rermember once following Sacramento's light-rail lines with Google Maps to see how much is now double-tracked; I've done some following of other rail lines also. Google Earth can display layers showing a variety of features; for example, Primary...

(leak handling...) Let's see, for large vessels, the best practice is nuclear reactor containments, where a 2% leakage rate is about the most they'll accept. Getting THAT requires x-raying EVERY weld, and generally multiple seals and all. Penetrations are fun, too. There is also the problem of how t...

That Roman bit seems like someone's idea of a joke, I'm sure. The most plausible theory I've seen is that it is due to a change in measurement conventions from outside-to-outside to inside-to-inside. Outside-to-outside is close to 5 feet, which is a nice simple number, and outside-to-outside is like...

Capitol Corridor +1, Sunset Limited -1 Acela Express-9 Adirondack-7 Amtrak Cascades-5 Ann Rutledge-5 Auto Train-4 Blue Water-5 California Zephyr-6 Capitol Corridor-6 Capitol Limited-5 Cardinal-ELIMINATED (remove from list in future votes) Carl Sandburg-5 Carolinian-5 City of New Orleans-6 Coast Star...

Coast Starlight +1, Cardinal -1 Acela Express-5 Adirondack-5 Amtrak Cascades-5 Ann Rutledge-5 Auto Train-5 Blue Water-5 California Zephyr-5 Capitol Corridor-5 Capitol Limited-5 Cardinal-4 Carl Sandburg-5 Carolinian-5 City of New Orleans-5 Coast Starlight-6 Crescent-4 Downeaster-5 Empire Builder-5 Em...

Regardless of what kind it is (i.e., HSR, light rail, or commuter rail), in order for a new rail service to succeed, it has to provide a benefit to consumers. In the case of HSR, this means that it'll only do well if it's both faster and more convenient than car travel. For light rail and commuter ...

At least they are starting to build it again. So I'll continue with some other places: New York City AirTrain from Jamaica station northward in the Van Wyck Expwy and Grand Central Pkwy to LaGuardia Airport. Connecting AirTrain to Lower Manhattan, perhaps with the help of the Brooklyn Atlantic Ave. ...

That bond issue is still on the ballot. But it looks so expensive that I'm concerned that it'll be scaled back. My guess is that the Bay Area part will be changed from San Jose - San Francisco to San Jose - Oakland or Emeryville, because the construction is easier. Although much of the SF-SJ ROW can...

A tall, thin vertical rail that sticks into the interior of the vehicle? I can't help but be skeptical about that -- it would be hard to make turns, and the RUF site does not address that question. I think that this sort of vehicle would be more practical: the Bombardier CX-100 , which runs on rubbe...

I broadly agree with geoking66 and Patrick A. But I'd select lines that run in mostly flat areas, because mountains would require some very expensive construction -- lots of viaducts and/or tunnels. So here goes: Portland, ME - NEC - Raleigh - Savannah - Miami, with a Raleigh - Charlotte - Atlanta b...