Can we call them 1 megameter/hour trains?
China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
351–360 of 503 posts
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#352Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I hate the fact that an autocratic and repulsive Government The Chinese government is much more autocratic yet it obviously does a much better job in building infrastructure The problem with the US government is lobbyism. It does not work for itself, it does not work for the people, it works for big corporations and lawyers.
I also think that the people with influence, money and power have created a parallel world that almost has no overlap with the world most other people live in. They live in different areas, go to different schools, have different doctors or can afford the billing insanity in health care, have different career opportunities, don’t use the same air travel, have their incomes rise all the time. They probably really thin…
What makes you think wealthy Chinese don't live in a separate reality too?
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#353Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's because they mostly avoided mountains on their high speed routes. The Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen mostly follow the coastline and the Tohoku Shinkansen mostly goes through a valley. There are lines that do bore through mountain ranges, but nothing to the extent of several hundred miles as would be required for a line through the California coastal range.
Except the one they're building now... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C5%AB%C5%8D_Shinkansen "About 90% of the 286-kilometre (178 mi) line to Nagoya will be built underground or through tunnels"
As someone who loves tunnels, I'm going to write myself a note to try this line when I make my first trip to Japan.
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#354Earlier quoted context omitted.
My father in law can fly from Los Angeles to San Jose in an hour for $150 round trip. Not sure why we need to lay tracks all over the land when we have flying machines.
In Europe, it's just starting to be regarded as anti-social to fly. Enough so that it's noticable in increased train travel and decreased air travel: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/flygska... Not clear yet if this is the early stage of a global trend, and even it it is, it may take a long time to have an effect in the US, where there are fewer good alternatives.
If this is taken to its logical conclusion, everyone should drive. Trains are not more efficient than a the average car when measured in passenger mile per gallon equivalent. And trains are much less efficient when compared to a high MPG cars like a Prius.
Whats the matter with the Europeans? Don't they care about the environment?
https://theicct.org/blogs/staff/planes-trains-and-automobile...
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#355Earlier quoted context omitted.
Been to China many times actually. I wouldn't call Shanghai sprawl in the American sense. Yes it is huge, but what matters is that driving isn't a quick way to get around the city (there are no quick ways to get around the city, just like NYC) so you don't end up needing a car to live or travel. Agreed though that the Acela cooridor is the most reasonable place for the US to invest in high speed rail
I commute by train to New Haven on the same tracks that Acela uses. The existing track corridor in New England is not appropriate for true high-speed train service. That really requires new right-of-ways, which would be extremely expensive in the Northeast. There are currently plans for the next version of Acela but it is more about replacing aging equipment than any true speed upgrade. The Acela trains are almost 20…
People in China that lose their homes to infrastructure projects do get compensated for it.
I think the bigger advantage for China is that the decision to run the track on some alignment doesn’t get litigated and re-litigated for years before construction is allowed to begin.
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#356Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m under the impression that the US public want cars not trains and even the current tech celebrity’s vision is to have self driving cars that work together as if they are train carriages and go in a tunnel as if they are metro train carriages. In the rest of the world, people are fine with ride sharing.
People want cars not trains because current trains are such an awful experience. This wouldn't necessarily be the case if trains were improved to the standards of some other countries.
Yep! pee seats for starters, no bathrooms (hence the pee seats), not grocery shopping friendly (load up the old trunk), weed smell (I think this is more of a 2009 and later issue at least in the West), and then there's the spooky people, knife attackers, the guy that keeps sneezing, late arrivals, early departures (miss the train?)... anyhoo. I think I just about killed it.
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#357So, as someone that lived in New York for 6 years and California for 6 years, stories like this are incredibly depressing. The US is the world's largest economy and should be the shining example of amazing infrastructure, high-tech, green cities, and forward thinking policies. California is an especially egregious example in terms of infrastructure investment: If California was a country it would be the world's fifth…
I get that rail could be a lot better in the US, but I took a journey there by rail and was really impressed. Clean, prompt and easy. My benchmark is New Zealand so keep that in mind.
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Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#358Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with your sentiments overall, so don't take my "it's not all gloom and doom" comment as a disagreement... But there are people out there trying! The project from Texas Central Railways is looking like a sooner bet than California's line, for a number of reasons. An example of a reason is lower price, stemming from geography. The route doesn't require building tunnels through mountains and the like. Although e…
I travel from Dallas to Houston every week for work and have been following this closely. Often after a run of crummy trips by air due to delays and other common air travel issues I take an executive charter bus just to take a break. All the while dreaming of what it would be like transiting via maglev at 1kmph
Vonlane by chance? If so, that company is great. I cannot recommend them enough to people. There was a rocky bit in 2016 for them and I am so glad they survived and are growing their routes and times.
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#359Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also think that the people with influence, money and power have created a parallel world that almost has no overlap with the world most other people live in. They live in different areas, go to different schools, have different doctors or can afford the billing insanity in health care, have different career opportunities, don’t use the same air travel, have their incomes rise all the time. They probably really thin…
What makes you think wealthy Chinese don't live in a separate reality too?
I think one of the differences is ability to think long term vs attachment to this quarter’s or this year’s bonus.
Short term thinking is really destructive and limiting.
Re: China laying tracks for 1,000km/h maglev trains
#360So, as someone that lived in New York for 6 years and California for 6 years, stories like this are incredibly depressing. The US is the world's largest economy and should be the shining example of amazing infrastructure, high-tech, green cities, and forward thinking policies. California is an especially egregious example in terms of infrastructure investment: If California was a country it would be the world's fifth…
Hearing this make me quite proud of the UK. Even though we have old Victorian-era infrastructure we still manage to run a decent intercity train system that can get you from Scotland to London in 4 hours or so. Much more pleasant than travelling by plane without the hassle of airport security.
Yes, you even managed to build Crossrail, which is a huge project by European standards. It shows that even within a city of so expensive property, if there is a will, proper infrastructure can be built.