California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) System

The metal mesh is because large glass panels lead to panicky injured birds; I can't tell if there are intentions to have those be open for cross breezes or be closed against rain. I've been in stations with glass shelters in Europe where they put stickers of bird silhouettes on the panels to ensure that live birds see the glass and don't hit it.

If the designers are being subtle, they want to provide respite but not shelter on the platforms.

Why does it have to be glass? My house isn't a glass box. And I'm not seeing any glass in those renderings.

And you won't be getting much respite from pouring rains at these stations.

Glass provides visibility, which is desirable in public safety, but not necessarily in private. Shelter in rain would encourage vagrancy, which given how shitty public health services are the USA, can only be discouraged by public space owners through design, and I'm sure the authority does not want these stations to become homeless shelters.

Doesn't seem to be an issue in New Jersey. We even have heated waiting rooms on the platforms.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/sanfrancisc ... r-viaduct/

California High-Speed Rail Authority heralds competition of massive Cedar Viaduct

FRESNO -- After years of artist renderings, the California High-Speed Rail Authority finally has a concrete symbol of the work being done building the line through the Central Valley.

It's called the Cedar Viaduct and the 3,700-foot viaduct will take trains travelling at 200-plus mph over State Route 99, Cedar and North avenues in Fresno.

"At almost three-quarters of a mile long, the Cedar Viaduct is one of our largest and most visible structures across the alignment and one of the significant achievements to date on the program," said Central Valley Regional Director Garth Fernandez.
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I would prefer to be celebrating rails being laid and catenary wires being hung over the rails.
Celebrating completion of a non-working viaduct to date seems desperate!

"Chugging Along". CAHSR to select train set manufacturers: Popular Science

Favorites? My money is on Siemens, but don't count out Alstom.

A high-speed rail line in California is chugging along towards 2030 debut

The state's High-Speed Rail Authority will soon begin accepting proposals from electric train manufacturers ahead of a proposed 2030 debut.

California authorities will begin accepting electric train manufacturers’ Request for Qualifications proposals (RFQs) by the end of the year, the latest stage of the state’s long-gestating, high-speed rail line. Although voters approved initial funding back in 2008, the decades’ long project has since encountered repeated setbacks and financial issues. Construction sites finally began making headway in 2015, and nearly 422 miles between the Los Angeles Basin and the Bay Area have since been “environmentally cleared for the project,” the Los Angeles Times recently reported.

Once selected and constructed, the high-speed trains would be tested at maximum speed of 242 mph while traversing a 171-mile starter segment connecting Central Valley’s Bakersfield and Merced. Rail authorities will select the final manufacturer during the first quarter of 2024, with an eye to debut a pair of functioning prototypes by 2028 for trials. According to the High-Speed Rail Authority’s announcement, whoever is chosen to provide the train cars will also agree to oversee train set maintenance for 30 years.
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Sgt. Smith, I think there is much to suggest "the bloom is off the Rose" insofar as Siemens goes.

None of their equipment deliveries in North America have been without flaws - and as I found out first hand last month, there are issues as well "over there".

We have enough people around here who "do this stuff for a living" and who have reported maintenance issues with the ACS-64 fleet. There are further reports around here of the "friction" between (English speaking, but still as a second language) Siemens "tech reps" and Amtrak mechanical forces. The latter can only adversely affect keeping the fleet in "available for service" standing.

At this time, the Venture passenger car procurement spread over some five local rail passenger agencies can only be considered another fiasco. The largest local agency (California) to my knowledge has yet to see a revenue wheel turn (stand corrected if need be; I don't get out that way - not a boycott; just no reason). While these cars are in revenue service for the several Midwest agencies using them, for some reason, neither the Food Service cars are in service, not are the Business Class being used as intended. I have no idea as how these matters are being resolved.

Now to "over there"; as I've reported over at Mr. Benton's Worldwide Forum, the days of setting your watch by the departure of a German train are in the past. I rode Siemens ICE high speed trains Munich-Nurenberg. While the Northward train left Munich "more or less" on time, and arrived same at Nurenberg, it really was only an "Acela HSR experience". True, on the Ingolstadt-Nurenberg segment, 259kmh was reached, the other segments were just normal speed of maybe 130kmh. The return made "Amtrak shine" when a train ahead had a mechanical issue (I was having Dinner in the Diner when the German announcement was made; the English speaking of sorts - nice looking young girl might I say, and who got a nice tip from me - waitress said to me "a train ahead has broken down") resulting in some half hour late arrival at Munich Hbf and my missing my intended connection back to Salzburg.

Was all of the above survivable? Of course, as there are trains through the evening Munich-Salzburg. I rode a Stadtler Bavarian Regional in place of a Euro City back which featured "hot cars" in the record breaking temps the Continent has experienced this past Summer.

All told, this less than stellar experience on home rails, makes me very skeptical about Amtrak's (Local agencies as well?) procurement of the Aeres equipment. There is some mighty exocitic stuff (the battery powered engines) in there, and all I can see is "boondoggle warning ahead".

Finally, after this blast of mine against Siemens, the next time "Doc" gives me a "ticket to ride the MRI Express", as I go in, I'd just as soon see "The General's" initials up there.

I'm glad to see progress toward acquiring the trainsets. Hopefully CAHSR train specs are not much different from an off-the-shelf ICE, which I believe have run reliably for years. It would be nice to avoid US-market customizations that result in the snafus as Mr. GBN notes.

How is that going to be possible when the trains are going to need to run with existing rolling stock in the cities at the ends of the line?

lensovet wrote: ↑Tue Sep 05, 2023 9:25 am How is that going to be possible when the trains are going to need to run with existing rolling stock in the cities at the ends of the line?

Using the FRA's Alternate Compliance Regulations. Which would require new commuter trains sets along with HSR trainsets over share tracks. If using dedicated tracks in the same corridor, easting rules will allow going to the same station, just using different platforms, with the same trains.
Let's review a few examples:
Caltrain using alternate compliance commuter train sets and CHSR using the same tracks and maybe the same platforms.
Amtrak on the NEC sharing FRA regular compliance rules with Acela (and Acela 2) trainsets sharing the same tracks and platforms at many stations. In the first case Acela met the FRA regular crash rules, in the second case they will use the new alternate compliance rules.
Texas Central will not be sharing tracks or platforms with existing trains.

And like all other higher than 125 mph max speed trains, running with their bespoke rules. Even Acela had bespoke rules to operate under.

In LA, if Metrolink does not replace their existing rolling stock, CHSR could enter the station on dedicated tracks and with dedicated platforms. Through running trains do not need to have access to every platform. Even at New York Penn, LIRR, NJT, and Amtrak do not share every platform, although they do share tracks entering the station.

However they decide to do it, there may be a way to do it, never-the-less, there will be a way to do it.

I'm not asking about hypothetical examples, i'm talking about the specifics of this particular system.

There is no room in LA to provide a dedicated set of tracks, much less a set of dedicated platforms (???). Metrolink's most recent locomotives are just 2 years old and their passenger coaches are about a decade old. Who's funding this alternate fleet?

There's always room for more tracks. Go up.

That's true, the project has lots of headroom in the budget to start building multiple levels of tracks.

Oh wait.