France: New High-Speed Trains! (USA: Way Behind!)
Amtrak is proud of their speed demon, the Acela Express, that cruises the Northeast Corridor at speeds "up to 150 miles per hour." That "up to 150 miles per hour" should include an asterisk indicating the average speed between D.C. and Boston is 72 mph. See, the train's max speed is contingent on track conditions, which change mile to mile. In fact, the high speed of 150 mph can only be hit over 18 miles in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. On the other hand, between NY State Line and New Haven, CT, the track limits the train to 75 miles per hour. Some high-speed there. It's a moron of the oxy caliber. It's like Johnny Lead Foot trying to convince people he's a caretaker in a Zen rock garden.
Actually, when I last took the Acela up to Boston, it stalled at every turn because the track was wet. THE TRAIN STALLED EVERY TIME WE TOOK A TURN BECAUSE THE TRACK WAS WET. WET! No one could ever have anticipated rain in the desert of Connecticut. We arrived in Boston two and a half hours late.
Europe and Japan have high speed trains down, and it starts with the
track. The first thing is that the tracks need to be straight, and
since some of Amtrak's tracks were laid over a hundred years ago,
they... aren't. In addition, when high speed trains take a turn, they
tilt into it so they can maintain their velocity. Go figure: Amtrak's
tracks aren't deep enough to allow the train to tilt. In fact, that
stretch between NY state and New Haven where velocity is limited to 75,
the tracks are so close together the train can't tilt at all or it'd
dip into oncoming traffic.
I haven't seen Amtrak upgrading tracks to accommodate faster speeds. Meanwhile, Spain (which already has a large amount of high-speed track) is constantly upgrading with the goal of having 4,300 miles of high-speed track in 2020 so that ALL provincial cities are no farther than 3 hours from Madrid and 4 from Barcelona. That is foresight! Spain, by the way, is just a bit larger than California. Also, the 373 mile trip between Madrid and Barcelona takes two and a half hours, averaging 149 miles per hour. That's Boston to NYC in 1.5 hours.
Now, let's talk about France. They just developed a new train, the AGV, that can go up to 223mph on tracks that let it go up to... 223 mph. They are expecting 600 mile trips to take 3 hours, which starts getting into airplane territory! Brilliant!
These trains have a major design change from their predecessors, the TVG (which is the standard design for current-generation high-speed trains). Instead of having motor cars at the front and back of the train, the new AGV incorporate the engines under the passenger cars. Brilliant! Not only is this the sassiest thing, ever, but it makes the train lighter and 30% more efficient than the TVG. In addition, those two engine cars of the TVG are replaced by engine-concealing passenger cars, so it can carry more passengers (up to 700).
I'd like Amtrak to buy some of these trains, but what would be the point? It'd be like putting a jet engine on a skate board. The rest of the world? Have at it. Italy's already ordered 25 of these trains. * tear *
The AGV? HAWT action [hot ak-shuh
n].
Amtrak?
I haven't seen Amtrak upgrading tracks to accommodate faster speeds. Meanwhile, Spain (which already has a large amount of high-speed track) is constantly upgrading with the goal of having 4,300 miles of high-speed track in 2020 so that ALL provincial cities are no farther than 3 hours from Madrid and 4 from Barcelona. That is foresight! Spain, by the way, is just a bit larger than California. Also, the 373 mile trip between Madrid and Barcelona takes two and a half hours, averaging 149 miles per hour. That's Boston to NYC in 1.5 hours.
Now, let's talk about France. They just developed a new train, the AGV, that can go up to 223mph on tracks that let it go up to... 223 mph. They are expecting 600 mile trips to take 3 hours, which starts getting into airplane territory! Brilliant!
These trains have a major design change from their predecessors, the TVG (which is the standard design for current-generation high-speed trains). Instead of having motor cars at the front and back of the train, the new AGV incorporate the engines under the passenger cars. Brilliant! Not only is this the sassiest thing, ever, but it makes the train lighter and 30% more efficient than the TVG. In addition, those two engine cars of the TVG are replaced by engine-concealing passenger cars, so it can carry more passengers (up to 700).
I'd like Amtrak to buy some of these trains, but what would be the point? It'd be like putting a jet engine on a skate board. The rest of the world? Have at it. Italy's already ordered 25 of these trains. * tear *
The AGV? HAWT action [hot ak-shuh
n].Amtrak?
Well, sir, there's nothing on earth...
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail!
What'd I say?
Ned Flanders: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: What's it called?
Patty+Selma: Monorail!
Lyle Lanley: That's right! Monorail!