Comments on: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: “Amtrak runs in the fog” http://www.elliott.org/blog/transportation-secretary-ray-lahood-amtrak-runs-in-the-fog/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kathleen Eaton http://www.elliott.org/blog/transportation-secretary-ray-lahood-amtrak-runs-in-the-fog/comment-page-1/#comment-28868 Kathleen Eaton Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:24:26 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9961#comment-28868 Sure Eric is correct about how things go but there is a solution. Rail and bus lines in their day included express and local transportation. If high speed rail can get started by acquiring ownership of the tracks so that they can run when they need to and without stops to allow freight trains through first, local service can follow and both needs will be served. Sure Eric is correct about how things go but there is a solution. Rail and bus lines in their day included express and local transportation. If high speed rail can get started by acquiring ownership of the tracks so that they can run when they need to and without stops to allow freight trains through first, local service can follow and both needs will be served.

]]> By: Eric http://www.elliott.org/blog/transportation-secretary-ray-lahood-amtrak-runs-in-the-fog/comment-page-1/#comment-28805 Eric Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:41:47 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9961#comment-28805 High speed rail will never happen in America, and here's why. Ignoring for the moment that we don't have the money to build such a system, in order to be practical, a high speed rail line needs to be a point-to-point system, with as few stops along the way as possible. Only major (and I stress the word major) cities would be served by the line. This is because a high speed rail line needs long, uninterrupted runs in order to achieve its efficiency. However, this is not the way it will happen. Every stinkin' congressman, whose district a high speed rail ink crosses, is going to demand a stop in HIS district before he'll vote for it. So a whole boatload of podunk towns, which don't have any need for a stop on a high speed rail line, are going to get one. The end result will be that the "high speed" rail line won't be appreciably faster than the rail service we have now. More expensive? Yes. Faster? No. High speed rail will never happen in America, and here’s why. Ignoring for the moment that we don’t have the money to build such a system, in order to be practical, a high speed rail line needs to be a point-to-point system, with as few stops along the way as possible. Only major (and I stress the word major) cities would be served by the line. This is because a high speed rail line needs long, uninterrupted runs in order to achieve its efficiency.

However, this is not the way it will happen. Every stinkin’ congressman, whose district a high speed rail ink crosses, is going to demand a stop in HIS district before he’ll vote for it. So a whole boatload of podunk towns, which don’t have any need for a stop on a high speed rail line, are going to get one. The end result will be that the “high speed” rail line won’t be appreciably faster than the rail service we have now. More expensive? Yes. Faster? No.

]]> By: Ames http://www.elliott.org/blog/transportation-secretary-ray-lahood-amtrak-runs-in-the-fog/comment-page-1/#comment-28794 Ames Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:51:13 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9961#comment-28794 That was a good job and I like the fact that high speed trains are in the plans. I had planned to attend a conference in San Francisco last year and plotted the train ride from New Hampshire. For a variety of reasons I did not get to do this but if I were willing to spend three days and about $1000, I could walk from my house to the local train station, transfer from train to train including a sleeper compartment through the middle of the country and walk to the convention center in San Francisco. Certainly an alternate to flying but it takes a lot of time and it is very expensive. That was a good job and I like the fact that high speed trains are in the plans. I had planned to attend a conference in San Francisco last year and plotted the train ride from New Hampshire. For a variety of reasons I did not get to do this but if I were willing to spend three days and about $1000, I could walk from my house to the local train station, transfer from train to train including a sleeper compartment through the middle of the country and walk to the convention center in San Francisco. Certainly an alternate to flying but it takes a lot of time and it is very expensive.

]]> By: Brian C http://www.elliott.org/blog/transportation-secretary-ray-lahood-amtrak-runs-in-the-fog/comment-page-1/#comment-28791 Brian C Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:17:33 +0000 http://www.elliott.org/?p=9961#comment-28791 We should definitely take a page from the Europeans, Japanese, and even Chinese. High speed rail should the future, particularly in the Midwest centered around Chicago, the West Coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles. If I had a choice between taking a train, driving, or flying, I would take the train. I can show up 2 minutes before my train leaves, and still make it. I don't have to disrobe to get through security, and I don't have load up on coffee to stay awake for the trip. You get dropped off in the heart of the city instead of 20 miles away. It doesn't make much sense for a New York-Los Angeles trip, but it makes a lot of sense for Cleveland-Chicago or San Francisco-Los Angeles. We should definitely take a page from the Europeans, Japanese, and even Chinese. High speed rail should the future, particularly in the Midwest centered around Chicago, the West Coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

If I had a choice between taking a train, driving, or flying, I would take the train. I can show up 2 minutes before my train leaves, and still make it. I don’t have to disrobe to get through security, and I don’t have load up on coffee to stay awake for the trip. You get dropped off in the heart of the city instead of 20 miles away.

It doesn’t make much sense for a New York-Los Angeles trip, but it makes a lot of sense for Cleveland-Chicago or San Francisco-Los Angeles.

]]>