[emersonbiggins]

We will use coal and nuclear for power generation simply because it is much cheaper than windmills or hydro in a setup cost way. For transportation we will use biodiesel and I kid you not, you don't need much land at all to get alot of oil from palm, palm is 5 times more efficent crop than anyother in producing oil.

Also, we will be getting rid of all politics, vested interests, a decades-old national consensus trance, the general psychology of previous investment and general rule of law.

Can't have the former, without the latter.

[Graeme]

Not sure whether this is the right place to put this so here goes:

Gov. Brown looks to global warming fees to pay for high-speed rail

With a lower price tag and speedier plan to start zipping bullet trains up and down California, Gov. Jerry Brown's ambitious new high-speed rail proposal is still wobbly on one vital ingredient: billions and billions of dollars.
The state still has no guarantee on where it will come up with about 80 percent of the funding needed for a project that high-speed rail leaders announced Monday will cost at least $68 billion. But bullet train backers are now touting a new wild card that could provide a major contribution courtesy of the state's big polluters.
Anywhere from $2 billion to $14 billion a year could be in play for high-speed rail, thanks to a new proposal to use money from a pollution auction established by the state's landmark global warming law.
The money -- expected to start flowing to the state in November, when it begins selling permits that allow industry to emit greenhouse gases -- could either be a brilliant savior for the cash-strapped rail project or a disappointing enigma that disappears under legal scrutiny and opposition from businesses.
At a news conference Monday in Fresno, rail leaders did little to play up the new funding possibility, nor did they return calls seeking more detail. But critics said it is likely to set off a massive legal showdown between business interests and the state.

insidebayarea

[ralfy]

Multiple sources of energy will have to be used. The most important thing to consider is that electric trains will likely be used to transport critical goods, with diesels and others as back ups, etc.

[Timo]

BNSF is actually doing some research into fuel cell locomotives here where i live. They started this project even before Buffett bought it. Don't ask me if i've seen one, though. My office window looks out over their yards, and as far as i can tell, one loco looks just the same as all the other locos down there. They may not even have any functioning operational fuel cell engines yet.

[sparky]

.
the three gorges dam in China is producing 20.000 MW ,
they didn't think the price of concrete was a problem

Why is the Grand Canyon " out politically "
the ecology is nothing very flash
it's pretty hard to change geology but not so tough to change the politics
it would provide water and power for the South West and be a job boost for ten years at least
it could be a new Tennessee Valley Authority

The only real problem is ..is there enough water flowing in the catchment area ?

[vtsnowedin]

There is this set of data bases for the Colorado river and dam system.
http://lakemead.water-data.com/
Switch to lake Powell to see what is upstream waiting to be released through the canyon. It is better then it was a couple of years ago but they could use a couple of wet or snowy years in the high Rockies to refill both reservoirs. Not much opportunity for increased hydro production.
As to the trains electric or not I think what may actually happen as oil prices rise and stay high is a gradual doubling of the freight ton miles moved by rail. This would be taking freight out of trucks and moving it by rail over existing lines with a few slightly expanded or refurbished lines.
As we often hear touted a diesel powered train can move a ton of freight 400 miles while a diesel tractor trailer unit can only move it 145 or so. This would save about half the fuel we are using now in the trucks and reduce wear and tear on the highway system.
I don't think we will get much further ahead on that as the railroads will raise freight rates as high as they can which will dampen enthusiasm for a more complete or rapid switch over. Also continued high oil prices will depress the economy and reduce the total that needs to be shipped.

[Quinny]

Our new trams in Blackpool seem to have just started operating. They look great and I intend using them in future.

[sparky]

.
vtsnowedin , Thanks for the link , this looks like it ,
further spending would not be warranted .

electric trains are fine , they have and are used extensively and are economically efficient
there is plenty of urban railways , underground , tramways and even trolley buses
( that's buses with electric propulsion and overhead wires )
those systems are very good in high density environment
they have decades of proven operation , past experience and tech is available

[vtsnowedin]

.
vtsnowedin , Thanks for the link , this looks like it ,
further spending would not be warranted .

electric trains are fine , they have and are used extensively and are economically efficient
there is plenty of urban railways , underground , tramways and even trolley buses
( that's buses with electric propulsion and overhead wires )
those systems are very good in high density environment
they have decades of proven operation , past experience and tech is available

Yes to all of that but electrifying rail lines that do not already have the power feeds in place is a costly proposition and I doubt that a significant amount of new electric lines will be created before we are well down the backside of the curve. Moving people in towards city centers where jobs and housing are within walking distance of each other will be a cheaper option then trying to provide electrified commuter rail to far flung suburbs.
And perhaps I am talking about what is likely considering human nature and you are proposing what we should do from a pure economical standpoint. Two entirely different things of course.

[Plantagenet]

California trains to nowhere.

High Speed rail in CA now planned to terminate outside city centers

The CA high speed train network is now planned to stop in the exurbs, where "high speed" passengers will transfer to existing low speed mass transit to go into the cities.

Sheesh----have they never been to Europe to see how a high speed train system should be built?


Typical city center train station in Germany

[lpetrich]

More like they're seeing what they can build with as little money as possible.

European high-speed trains routinely use existing tracks in urban areas, so what the CHSRA wants to do is rather routine in Europe.


Looking over the world, high-speed-rail progress has been very patchy and spastic, something which suggests political whim. This is likely because of the high capital cost of HSR lines, meaning that it likely takes a lot of political will to round up the necessary amounts of money.

But nonetheless, progress has been remarkable. France, Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China now have systems that span much of their nations, with more on the way. Germany is much more patchy, and the UK and Australia have done hardly anything.

Most US HSR is likely to be incremental improvements, and rather patchy ones at that. North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, and Washington State have been going ahead with lots of improvements, even if that cannot be said of some of their neighboring states. The fate of would-be systems in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida also suggests political whim.


Turning from intercity HSR to urban rail, one finds the same problem of capital cost, and one finds the same sort of patchy development. Political whim seems evident here also. At least the US, some cities may start building urban-rail systems years ahead of some neighboring similar cities. For rapid-transit and light-rail systems primarily for urban areas:
San Diego: 1981, Los Angeles: 1990
San Francisco: old, San Jose, Sacramento: 1987, Oakland: none
Portland, OR: 1986, Seattle: 2009
Pittsburgh, Cleveland: old, Cincinnati: under construction, Columbus, Detroit: none
St. Louis: 1986, Kansas City: none
Philadelphia: old, DC: 1976, Baltimore: 1983
Houston: 2004, Dallas: 1996, (Austin: 2010)
Miami: 1984, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville: none

[Plantagenet]

Most US HSR is likely to be incremental improvements, and rather patchy ones at that. North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, and Washington State have been going ahead with lots of improvements...

I like your post, but you don't seem to know the basic facts about US HSR.

There are no "incremental improvements" to HSR going on anywhere in the USA, because there is no HSR anywhere in the USA.

[lpetrich]

Most US HSR is likely to be incremental improvements, and rather patchy ones at that. North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, and Washington State have been going ahead with lots of improvements...

I like your post, but you don't seem to know the basic facts about US HSR.

There are no "incremental improvements" to HSR going on anywhere in the USA, because there is no HSR anywhere in the USA.

That's a matter of definition. Most of this work aims at speeds of 110 mph (177 km/h) or 125 mph (201 km/s), while part of the Northeast Corridor is due to get upgraded to 160 mph (257 km/s). That's rather moderate-speed by the standards of Europe and east Asia, I will concede.

[Plantagenet]

Most of this work aims at speeds of 110 mph (177 km/h) or 125 mph (201 km/s), while part of the Northeast Corridor is due to get upgraded to 160 mph (257 km/s).

Plans for upgrades and HSR service in the US have been around for decades. Its great that such "work aims at speeds of 110 mph." However little actual progress has been made. After decades of such planning, there currently there is no--zero---nada HSR service in the US between any of the major cities.

There are short stretches of track along the ACELA corridor between DC and Boston where trains can attain high speeds (ca. 200 km/hr) for short distances in a couple of spots, but then they slow to a crawl again. Proposed HSR transit elsewhere in the US is the same. For instance, here's a recent news story from Michigan about whats going on with their proposed HSR route: Problematically, though, track conditions and safety concerns led Norfolk Southern to recently downgrade speeds on that Kalamazoo-Dearborn stretch to 25-30 mph from the 79 mph trains had been traveling.

The only way to get high speed rail in the USA is to build actual high speed rail intercity lines. Dithering over plans and making incremental improvements to a short stretch of track here and there isn't going to get it done.

[Plantagenet]

West Side light rail route opens for service in LA----WAY TO GO, LA!!!!!

West side line open in LA

It will take a few more years to finish the route and extend it past USC and out to its eventual terminus near the beach in Santa Monica.

[lpetrich]

Another addition to Los Angeles's growing rail-transit network. Its present rail-transit era started in 1990, with its Blue Line between downtown LA and Long Beach. Since then, LA has built lines to Hollywood, Pasadena, East LA, LAX, and surrounding suburbs, with more on the way.

There's a line being built from Pasadena to Montclair, and some others in various stages of planning, like a Crenshaw-Blvd. one, an East-LA extension further eastward, a Regional Connector in a downtown tunnel, and an extension of the LA Subway westward under Wilshire Blvd.

[Graeme]

200 MPH Houston-Dallas Bullet Train Planned

A 200 mph Houston-Dallas bullet train is being planned by a private company called Texas Central Railway. The company’s CEO is Richard Lawless, who lived in Tokyo when he was a C.I.A officer in the 1980s and rode the Shinkansen bullet train. This train covers about 300 miles between Tokyo and Osaka averaging well over 100 mph for each trip.

Currently, the Texas bullet train project is gradually shaping up, with an environmental impact study under way. It has been very quietly progressing over the last four years or so. A website for Texas Central Rail says the plan is to have a high-speed rail route that is competitive with flying and faster than driving.

When we hear of monumental plans such as this one, we may tend to think of government subsidies and the cost to taxpayers. This project is completely set up to be funded by private interests. The cost has been estimated at around $10 billion.

Japan’s JR Central railway is one of the Texas company’s backers, so there is more than Lawless’s own Japanese rail riding experience and vision that is connected to Japan. How long will it take to create a Texas bullet train?It might be by 2021 at the earliest that the Houston-Dallas high-speed route is up and running.

cleantechnica

[Subjectivist]

RESTON, Va. – Metrorail, the nation's second busiest rapid transit system, grew 10 percent larger today with five new stations and new direct rail service between the Washington region's two largest employment centers, all as a result of the opening of the Silver Line's first phase. The new rail line is the largest expansion of Metrorail — and the first time a new color has been added to the Metro map — since the Green Line opened in 1991.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles joined federal, state and local officials for the grand opening ceremony at Wiehle-Reston East Station this morning followed by an inaugural train ride. More than 500 people attended the event, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Frank Wolf, Rep. Jim Moran, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Metro Board of Directors and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors.

Rail service to the five new stations – McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East – began at noon with the departure of an inaugural train from Wiehle-Reston East Station in Fairfax County, Va., bound for Largo Town Center in Prince George's County, Md. Along the way, Silver Line trains connect Fairfax County with popular destinations in Arlington County and Downtown DC, serving a total of 28 stations.

As one of the largest capital construction projects in the United States, the Silver Line has national significance. The Dulles Corridor is home to several of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region's most dynamic and rapidly growing activity centers, including Tysons Corner (Virginia’s largest employment center), the Reston-Herndon area (Virginia’s second largest employment concentration), Dulles International Airport and the emerging activity centers in eastern Loudoun County. Silver Line trains will provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service that reduces travel time between the Dulles corridor and Downtown D.C., expands the reach of the existing regional rail system, offers a viable alternative to automobile travel and supports future development.

[Tanada]

RESTON, Va. – Metrorail, the nation's second busiest rapid transit system, grew 10 percent larger today with five new stations and new direct rail service between the Washington region's two largest employment centers, all as a result of the opening of the Silver Line's first phase. The new rail line is the largest expansion of Metrorail — and the first time a new color has been added to the Metro map — since the Green Line opened in 1991.

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles joined federal, state and local officials for the grand opening ceremony at Wiehle-Reston East Station this morning followed by an inaugural train ride. More than 500 people attended the event, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray, Rep. Gerry Connolly, Rep. Frank Wolf, Rep. Jim Moran, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Metro Board of Directors and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors.

Rail service to the five new stations – McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East – began at noon with the departure of an inaugural train from Wiehle-Reston East Station in Fairfax County, Va., bound for Largo Town Center in Prince George's County, Md. Along the way, Silver Line trains connect Fairfax County with popular destinations in Arlington County and Downtown DC, serving a total of 28 stations.

As one of the largest capital construction projects in the United States, the Silver Line has national significance. The Dulles Corridor is home to several of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region's most dynamic and rapidly growing activity centers, including Tysons Corner (Virginia’s largest employment center), the Reston-Herndon area (Virginia’s second largest employment concentration), Dulles International Airport and the emerging activity centers in eastern Loudoun County. Silver Line trains will provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service that reduces travel time between the Dulles corridor and Downtown D.C., expands the reach of the existing regional rail system, offers a viable alternative to automobile travel and supports future development.

About bloody time! I planned my trip to D.C. last fall in early spring with the intention of exploring the new line while there. By the time I went the project was in its 4th or 5th delay. For a system that was at one time supposed to be up and running in time for the 2012 general election to finally open 18 months later is a clear testament to Government Efficiency. The Silver line was planned as an option in 1976 when they started building the Metrorail system, it was one of those "shovel ready projects" we used to hear so much about in 2009 when construction began. Other than politics why would it take 5 years and 4 months to complete an 11 mile chunk of transit railroad and 5 new stations? In the 1909 era it would have been done in six to twelve months.