Sitting between the power cars are the passenger vehicles, which use Alstom’s Tiltronix technology to run faster through curves by tilting their bodies, much like a MotoGP rider does. The locomotives at each end – known as power cars – are close relatives of the next generation TGV-M trains, scheduled to debut in France in 2024. This year, Amtrak plans to introduce its new generation Avelia Liberty trains to replace the life-expired Acelas on the NEC.Ĭapable of reaching 220 mph (although they’ll be limited to 160 mph on the NEC), the trains will bring Alstom’s latest high-speed rail technology to North America. Maximum speeds elsewhere are closer to 100 mph on congested tracks shared with commuter and freight trains. Only Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor has trains that can travel at speeds approaching those of the 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph) TGV and Shinkansen.Įven here, Amtrak Acela trains currently max out at 150 mph – and only in short bursts. “High-speed rail is not the solution for everything, but it has its place.” “We need to do a better job of articulating the benefits of high-speed rail – high-quality jobs, economic stimulus, better connectivity than airlines – and that will help us to build bipartisan support,” he adds. Scott Sherin, CCO of Alstom's US division
High-speed rail is not the solution for everything, but it has its place. Sherin points out that other public services such as highways and airports are “massively subsidized,” so there shouldn’t be an issue with doing the same for rail. As an industry, we’re maturing, and we’re ready to take the next step. “But now there’s a huge impetus to get things moving – it’s a time of optimism. “Every president since Ronald Reagan has talked about the pressing need to improve infrastructure across the USA, but they’ve always had other, bigger priorities to deal with,” says Scott Sherin, chief commercial officer of train builder Alstom’s US division.
#Us highspeed rail plus
There are also big plans to bring passenger trains back to many more cities across the nation – providing fast, sustainable travel to cities and regions that have not seen a passenger train for decades.Īdd to this the success of the privately funded Brightline operation in Florida, which has been given the green light to build a $10 billion high-speed rail link between Los Angeles and Las Vegas by 2027, plus schemes in California, Texas and the proposed Cascadia route linking Portland, Oregon, with Seattle and Vancouver, and the United States at last appears to be on the cusp of a passenger rail revolution.Īmtrak plans to introduce its new generation Avelia Liberty trains to replace the Acelas, pictured, on the NEC later this year. Some of this will be invested in repairing Amtrak’s crumbling Northeast Corridor (NEC) linking Boston, New York and Washington. US President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill includes an unprecedented $170 billion for improving railroads. Powerful airline, oil and auto industry lobbies in Washington have spent millions maintaining that superiority, but their position is weakening in the face of environmental concerns and worsening congestion. Passenger rail seems to have been a very low priority for US lawmakers. In the decades since that traumatic retrenchment, US freight railroads have largely flourished.
#Us highspeed rail movie
Vantuono, editor-in-chief of Railway Age, North America’s oldest railroad industry publication.Ĭars and airliners have dominated long-distance travel in the United States since the 1950s, rapidly usurping a network of luxurious passenger trains with evocative names such as “The Empire Builder,” “Super Chief” and “Silver Comet.”ĭeserted by Hollywood movie stars and business travelers, famous railroads such as the New York Central were largely bankrupt by the early 1970s, handing over their loss-making trains to Amtrak, the national passenger train operator founded in 1971. They are hopelessly stuck with a highway and airline mindset,” says William C. “Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. They are hopelessly stuck with a highway and airline mindset. Many Americans have no concept of high-speed rail and fail to see its value. Meanwhile, the United States has just 375 route-miles of track cleared for operation at more than 100 mph. Americans are still almost entirely reliant on congested highways or the headache-inducing stress of an airport and airline network prone to meltdowns.Ĭhina has built around 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) of dedicated high-speed railways since 2008 and plans to top 43,000 miles (70,000 kilometers) by 2035. Issei Kato/Reutersīut it’s a revolution that has so far bypassed the United States. Passengers prepare to board a Shinkansen bullet train in Kyoto, Japan.
0 kommentar(er)
