Railroad Forums
Moderator: CRail
frequentflyer wrote:I think this development accelerates the Victorville to LA link with CHSR. I would not doubt it if this team has met with California state congressmen, and the California DC caucus to get some fed money by hook or by crook into getting through the Gabriel mountains by throwing money at UP and BNSF or making their own line to San Bernadino and connecting with BNSF or UP to downtown.I don't think the Brightline folks will spend nearly $11 Bullion for the tunnels between Victorville and San Bernardino, nor between Palmdale and Los Angeles. The 187 miles or so in the high desert between Victorville and Las Vegas is projected to cost around $7 Billion. CHSR latest projected costs for the Burbank to Palmdale section of the route, only 40 miles or so in length, is $10.6 Billion. No, the government subsidized CHSR is going to have to pick up those high tunneling costs.
electricron wrote:I don't think the Brightline folks will spend nearly $11 Bullion for the tunnels between Victorville and San Bernardino, nor between Palmdale and Los Angeles. The 187 miles or so in the high desert between Victorville and Las Vegas is projected to cost around $7 Billion. CHSR latest projected costs for the Burbank to Palmdale section of the route, only 40 miles or so in length, is $10.6 Billion. No, the government subsidized CHSR is going to have to pick up those high tunneling costs.Maybe Brightline is looking at adding tracks to the railroad line Metrolink uses between Burbank and Palmdale, or adding another track between Victorville and San Bernardino, and running at 60-79 mph speeds from either Palmdale or Victorville into Los Angeles. Adding another hour or two to the overall hour and a half trip time to Las Vegas from Victorville. Taking twice as much time over 80 miles as they will take over 187 miles...
electricron wrote:If they're going to use 125 mph max speed trains, that increases those chances. If they're still looking at using faster than 125 mph HSR trains, which need to run over their own dedicated corridor - or make significant changes to the existing corridors - that decreases those chances.The Vegas train will most likely use the same equipment as the Florida train. 125 mph is fast enough and cheaper than trying to go 150 mph or more. Brightline have shown to be smart people and I are sure they know stopping at Victorville is a dead end, so I would not be surprised they already have a plan in place to get to downtown LA. Adding capacity to UP and BNSF tracks is a win win for both sides.
Caltrain owns the corridor into San Francisco, UP and BNSF owns the rail corridors into Los Angeles. They will not be as compromising as Caltrain was in allowing electric catenary wires over them.
The problem going to Victorville via San Bernardino from Los Angeles is running significantly more passenger trains through the existing tunnels, and very high costs to build a new corridor with private financing.
The problem going to Victorville via Palmdale from Los Angeles is running new HSR trains on existing tracks, and the unknown time period when the new CHSR tunnels will be built - if it ever gets built - becuase of its huge costs to build.
By the time Brightline has trains running to Las Vegas from Victorville, it'll probably be fast approaching $10 Billion in capital costs - operating costs - and Station costs. Construction on 38 acres can in Las Vegas can consume money fast - but no where near as fast as tunnels in California.
As part of the project, Brightline is acquiring 38 acres adjacent to the Las Vegas strip for construction of the Las Vegas rail station and mixed-use development.Was this parcel in Vegas already something XpressWest had acquired? Because "the project" is ambiguous (is "the project" less than, greater than, or equal to XpressWest or what Brightline is going to make of it?) It almost reads like XpressWest might have optioned the parcel and now Brightline is acquiring it.
Jadebenn wrote:Class I experience? I mean, the FEC is certainly Class I in operation, but it's still a Class II as far as the FRA's concerned. And RailAmerica was a Class III if I remember correctly.Went through some of the management bios online. The General Counsel is an ex-Canadian National exec who was formerly the GC of the Illinois Central; the Senior VP-Tech was on Amtrak; the Chief Transportation Officer, a Frenchman, spent 20 years at SNCF and Keolis; and both the Chief Mechanical Officer and the Director of Safety & Security came from NJ Transit.
Granted, your point still stands. If nothing else, I think the FEC is well-known enough in the industry to catch the giants' attention.
frequentflyer wrote:Maybe Brightline is looking at adding tracks to the railroad line Metrolink uses between Burbank and Palmdale, or adding another track between Victorville and San Bernardino, and running at 60-79 mph speeds from either Palmdale or Victorville into Los Angeles. Adding another hour or two to the overall hour and a half trip time to Las Vegas from Victorville. Taking twice as much time over 80 miles as they will take over 187 miles....The question is, would switching to Diesel equipment require new environmental studies, or at least an update to the record? There are some sensitive areas the ROW will be going through.
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The Vegas train will most likely use the same equipment as the Florida train. 125 mph is fast enough and cheaper than trying to go 150 mph or more. Brightline have shown to be smart people and I are sure they know stopping at Victorville is a dead end, so I would not be surprised they already have a plan in place to get to downtown LA. Adding capacity to UP and BNSF tracks is a win win for both sides.
It's California, nothing is cheap.
bretton88 wrote:The question is, would switching to Diesel equipment require new environmental studies, or at least an update to the record? There are some sensitive areas the ROW will be going through.Where? If they're building in the median of I-15 they skirt the north and west sides of the Mojave National Preserve. For what it's worth the UP's ex-Los Angeles & Salt Lake goes right through the middle of the preserve.
David Benton wrote:I don't think diesels do more than 125 mph anywhere in the world. With the heavier equipment in the USA , it would be even more impractical .True. I think 150 mph is *possible* with high-speed diesel prime movers, and has been accomplished repeatedly with turbine-powered trains, but there’s a reason electrification is seen as the standard for HSR. When I say “different power car” I mean electric, under potential future catenary LV-Victorville.
