Posted by Seth on May 23, 2012 under News | 
Just how do the multitude of trains crossing the East River in NYC deal with navigating the labyrinth of tracks? Turns out some guy named Harold is responsible for it all. From the NY Times this week:
For decades, a standard response to delays and disruptions on passenger trains in New York City has been to blame it on Harold.
That would be the Harold Interlocking, a century-old intersection of 14 train tracks in Queens, where hundreds of trains traveling between Pennsylvania Station and points east and north are sorted out each day. The central role it plays in the life of the city is invisible to almost all New Yorkers. At least until something goes awry.
Then it could be poor Harold’s fault. Harold was incriminated again this week when officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that connecting the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal would take six years longer and almost $2 billion more than originally estimated. Harold again was the culprit. Tunneling beneath it and rearranging the spaghetti-like web of overhead wires and other equipment there is proving more daunting than expected, they said.
As for who Harold really is, no one knows. Poor guy.
Posted by Seth on February 22, 2012 under Trip Reports |
Break out the bunting and the balloons: it is time for a birthday party! In this case the birthday was of Istanbul‘s Tünel transit system, second oldest subway system in the world. The system is now 137 years old and, while it has seen a number of upgrades over the years, it is still more or less providing the same service as it did when it was put into service.
The Tünel connects the waterfront of Galeta to the commercial district of Taksim up on the hill. The elevation difference isn’t huge – about 60 meters – but at the time the Tünel was built there was only one narrow road connecting the two areas handling around 40,000 pedestrians daily. Something better was needed and it was delivered in January 1875, with a tunnel built into the hill and trolley cars carrying passengers up and down the hill.
The current iteration is only slightly different from the original. The original was two parallel tracks; the current version is a single track with a passing section in the middle of the run. Also, the original was (obviously) not powered by electricity. That was changed about 100 years into the life of the Tünel and the current system is electrified and climate controlled.
For the anniversary celebration the Tünel was decked out in ribbons and balloons. It was quite festive, though I was a day late for the actual party. And, while there are now many more roads connecting the two ends of the Tünel line, the funicular is still in business as part of the Istanbul mass transit network and it continues to carry folks up and down the hill every few minutes of the day.
It is a quick ride and not particularly amazing, other than that it saves walking up the big hill and the history of the tunnel is pretty impressive. I make sure to give it a ride every time I’m in town. There is another, newer funicular on the other side of Taksim Square but it doesn’t have the same history as the Tünel.
Posted by Seth on April 8, 2011 under Trip Reports |
There are two things I concern myself with on every airport arrival: cash and transportation. Getting some money in the local currency – preferably from an ATM machine – and finding my way into town or to my hotel – preferably on public transit – are key. Unfortunately for visitors, these tasks are not nearly as easy as they should be at South Africa‘s international gateway airport.
Sure, it looks easy enough. Just like most every other airport in the world there are money changers right outside the customs call when you arrive. But unlike most airports those money changers do not have ATMs attached. Indeed, there are no ATMs at all to be found on the arrivals level in the airport. The money change facilities all advertise “ATM Services” but you’re still almost certain to get hosed on the exchange rate. No thanks.
The key to getting cash is to head upstairs. More or less directly above the doors from which one exits customs there are ATM machines from a number of banks available. This is a WAY better deal than changing money with the folks on the ground floor and is well worth the escalator ride. It also happens to give a nice view of the arrivals hall, which is rather pretty.
Next up is finding your way into town. For me that meant a ride to Sandton on the Gautrain rail system. Finding the train platform is pretty easy – just keep heading up and follow the signs to the train.
A round-trip fare from the airport to Sandton is 200 Rand (~$30 USD at time of writing). In addition, you have to purchase the smart card that the train system uses for fare collection and debit for an extra 10 Rand. This souvenir is yours to keep. Check out the attached video for the step-by-step instructions in this video for making the purchase.
The trains are pretty new and quite a comfortable ride. As we rolled through the farms surrounding the airport, speeding past the traffic jams, I was quite happy that the Gautrain option existed. At only 25 minutes or so each way to Sandton, with several trains each hour it really is the best way to get between the airport and town.
You’ll be in Nelson Mandela Square (and likely just as disappointed by it as I was) in no time.
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Posted by Seth on March 9, 2011 under News, TSA |
It is a bit complicated to fire someone that does not really work for you. Just ask Cosmo Kramer about getting fired from a job: "I don’t even really work here!" To which the boss replied, "That’s what makes this so hard." So when Amtrak‘s Police Chief John O’Connor caught wind of an apparent rogue screening checkpoint set up by the TSA at the Amtrak station in Savannah, Georgia, firing them was all that much more difficult. But that didn’t stop the Chief. Amtrak stations are currently off limits to TSA personnel until "a firm agreement can be drawn up to prevent the TSA from taking actions that the chief said were illegal and clearly contrary to Amtrak policy."
Apparently a TSA Visible Intermodal Protection and Response ("VIPR") team showed up at the Savannah Amtrak station, posted a note that anyone entering the building was subject to search and then proceeded to make good on that promise. Skipping over the fact that one can apparently board or depart trains in Savannah without ever entering the station, it is not clear who authorized or even requested the search. It is clear, however, that the actions were not in compliance with Amtrak’s policy regarding security.
“When I saw it, I didn’t believe it was real,” O’Connor said. When it developed that the posting on an anti-TSA blog was not a joke, “I hit the ceiling.”
The TSA’s comment on the event is, typically, a non-comment that avoids the issue. They actually come close to suggesting that they might have done something wrong, but do not go so far as to acknowledge that the VIPR action apparently violates Amtrak policies.
However, after looking into it further, we learned that this particular VIPR operation should have ended by the time these folks were coming through the station since no more trains were leaving the station. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused for those passengers.
Chief O’Connor is on record as believing that the TSA’s intrusive searches are excessive for his organization’s needs and possibly unconstitutional. The VIPR searches in Savannah affected all passengers, not a random sampling as Amtrak policy dictates. The VIPR searches also included the "wanding" of passengers and isolation of "sterile" and "non-sterile" environments, a policy that Amtrak does not implement at any of their stations.
It looks like the TSA has once again messed up. Not really much of a surprise there, but certainly depressing. Watch the video. And cry a little. Next time the TSA agent groping you at the airport suggests that you have other options if you do not want to fly, remember that you really do not.
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Posted by Seth on December 27, 2010 under Trip Reports |
I have to say, with a smidgen of disappointment, that our experience on the train from Casablanca to Marrakesh was quite different from that of Graham Nash. Indeed, there were no ”Ducks and pigs and chickens” on the train. Then again, the reference to folks blowing smoke rings, though likely supposed to be a reference to the experience once in Marrakesh, was somewhat appropriate as folks gathered in the vestibules at the end of the train cars for most of the four hour ride to smoke cigarettes.
The ride was smooth, quick and quite reasonably priced (140/90 dirhams in 1st/2nd class). About 4 hours after boarding at Gare Casa Voyageurs in Casablanca we were pulling into the incredibly beautiful new train station in the Guéliz neighborhood of Marrakesh.
I spent most of the ride staring out the windows or otherwise enjoying the view. At one point another passenger noted that the train was a bit stuffy so he wanted some fresh air. Easiest way to do that was to simply open up the doors while we were rolling. Sure, probably not the absolute safest thing to do, but getting a clear view out of the beauty as we rolled past was worth the risk. Plus, I survived just fine, so it must’ve been plenty safe, right??
Rolling through the countryside – a mix of lush green farm land and ochre red clay soils – made for some phenomenal vistas. Ditto for the little snippets of life that rolled by. Whether shepherds and their flocks, folks on a bike or the kids who threw a rock at the train and freaked me out when it hit the window I was leaning against, it was all wonderful to watch passing by.
A snack car passed through the train once during the run with some food for sale. Given our 1pm departure from Casablanca and the almost 4 hour ride I was definitely up for a snack. I probably should’ve packed my own. The food wasn’t bad in that it didn’t cause me any discomfort or otherwise make me ill. But that doesn’t mean it was good. The chicken sandwich was boiled chicken, pulled from the bone and a handful stuffed into a loaf of bread. I think there was some lettuce in it somewhere but it was about as flavorless as the chicken was. Definitely not something I’d hope to eat again but also not so bad that I regretted the decision.
And then there were the folks hanging out in the vestibule with their cigarettes. Definitely an entertaining crew. Most were younger men on holidays or going to visit family in Marrakesh. Some of the train crew joined them at one point, lighting up directly under the signs warning of rather significant fines for smoking on the trains. There were a some others as well, including a few young women who the boys enjoyed flirting with. Best I can figure from the mix of languages involved in the conversations (Arabic, French and English, all at the same time) is that one of the guys got a date with one of the women out of the deal, though I’m not 100% sure. Either way, it was quite the enjoyable side-bar to help pass the time as we rolled along.
Overall, I’d say that the Marrakesh Express experience, while definitely a bit different that the mid-60s version, is a wonderful one.
Read more of my Marrakesh adventures here!
Posted by Seth on May 10, 2010 under News, Trip Reports |
I certainly understand Amtrak’s efforts to promote rail ridership in the United States. Even if the offerings are relatively poor compared to many other countries, it is important to keep awareness up and try to attract more riders. For the third year now, Amtrak has run a National Train Day promotion, with events around the country to promote their services.
The festivities this year started in New York City a day prior to the actual event, with Taye Diggs launching a kick-off party for the weekend. Also present was the crew from the Cake Boss show on TLC. They were filming an episode for the show based on the fact that there was an enormous cake display set up in New York’s Pennsylvania Station. They had a model train set and a “city” made of cakes. There were about 30 buildings and roughly 3000 pounds of cake making up the model, not to mention two trains running on different levels in the model. I didn’t stick around for free cupcakes, mostly because the TLC folks apparently weren’t happy with the initial crowd reaction to the cake unveiling so they were going to take the shot again.
Next up on the schedule was actually riding the rails. We were in Philadelphia this weekend and decided to ride the rails rather than a bus this time a round. Between rush hour travel and the general comfort factor that Amtrak offers, plus a pretty good sale on advance purchase fares, the train just made more sense. Given the 6:30pm departure time and uncertain dinner schedule on arrival in Philadelphia, we decided to go for a bit of a picnic on the train. A block of cheese, some pretzel crisps and a bottle of champagne, decanted into water bottles made for quite the enjoyable ride. The pressure in one of the bottles of bubbly built up enough that it sounded like a firecracker going off when I opened the bottle on the train, but no one really seemed to mind too much in the end. And apparently consumption of private-stock alcohol isn’t permitted in the train on a regular basis but we didn’t have any troubles. All in all, a quite enjoyable commute down to Philadelphia.
The third bit of National Train Day that we celebrated was in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, part of the main celebration event. It was a zoo. There were way more people out and about celebrating than I expected to see. We actually got shut out of a few of the exhibits – most notably the antique rolling stock – because the lines were too long. Still, it was nice to see so many avid train buffs taking advantage of the things Amtrak had on offer. Not quite as much history of the rails as I would have liked to see, but I can understand them trying to celebrate the future of rail travel more than its past. After all, that’s what is going to help them ensure their existence.
And, finally, for your foaming pleasure, a short video of part of my ride from Newark to New York earlier in the day. I was riding in the space between two of the cars and poked the camera out through the gap between the heavy rubber pads that separate the cars from each other.
Posted by Seth on September 4, 2009 under Trip Reports |
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| A quick stop for breakfast in Seoul |
The routing I took to get to the Philippines offered me either a 3 hour or a 16 hour layover in Seoul, Korea. Given the opportunity to add another country to my list and to wander around town for a few hours, how could I possibly say no? I couldn’t. And even though it meant a 4am arrival at the airport in Korea and waiting around a bit for things to open up and get started early on a Sunday morning I definitely got to experience a bit of Korean hospitality, transportation, food and drink.
The 4am arrival into Incheon airport caused a few problems right from the get-go. The lounge was open so I got to take a quick shower but other than that there was nothing. Even the food options available in the lounge that early pretty much sucked. On the plus side there was plenty of Hite beer available so I had one of those to start off the day and then headed out to see the city. Sortof. I had to wait about 45 minutes for the left luggage facility to open up so I could leave a bag there. I probably could have just left it in the club but with a laptop and other things inside that didn’t seem like a good idea. There are free lockers airside at Incheon – just ask for a key at the information desk near the base of the two spokes in the terminal – but those weren’t open until even later in the day. Instead I sprung for the $5 fee, dropped off my bag and headed into town.
Most folks heading into Seoul from the airport take the bus. There are a few companies offering airport limousine bus service that seems pretty nice. There are some traffic implications to consider with the bus (though not much at 6am on a Sunday) and they offer direct service to many different hotels around town. Since I wasn’t headed to a hotel and since i had no bags I opted for a different trip. I took the train in. Taking the train means riding on a dedicated link from Incheon to Gimpo (the other airport in town, similar to Narita and Handea in Tokyo) and then switching there to the local subway system. The total transit time was just over an hour which is about as good as the buses can do at their best, and the train is much more consistent, but it depends on not needing to be at a particular hotel to really work out well. It also meant that I got another mass transit card for my collection. That is quickly becoming one of my favorite souvenirs to bring home from my travels.
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| A shopper and fishmonger surveying the day’s offerings |
Just after 7:30am I finally made it to the first stop on my tour schedule: Noryangjin Fish Market. The fish market is Seoul’s largest and even on a Sunday morning there was plenty of activity. Not so much with the wholesalers working (at least not that I saw) and even some of the retail folks took the day off, but there was plenty going on inside. The biggest disappointment for me was that all of the restaurants around the market appeared to be closed; that definitely put a crimp in my dining plans for the day. Still, wandering amongst the stalls and seeing the vast spread of fish available is always a fun time. It didn’t seem quite as vast as the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, but it was close and still plenty fun.
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| The romance of train travel |
Following the time in the market I still wanted to wander around town a bit but I was thwarted by a bit of rain. Rather that deal with that I chose to hop on the train – the KTX Bullet Train – and go for a little ride. The trains are reasonably cheap and phenomenally fast. I paid ~$30 for a return ticket with one way in first class and the other in coach for a ride of about an hour each way. That hour had me over 200 kilometers away from Seoul and our top speed was just over 300km/h. The first class car was much nicer and quieter than the coach one and the whole train had WiFi (but I didn’t have a laptop to try it out). The ride was fast and quiet. I truly wish that the United States could figure out how to implement something similar, even if only in limited geographic areas. I know that it will not likely happen in my lifetime, but I can dream.
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| Some of the traditional hanok buildings |
A couple hours after leaving on the train I was back in Seoul and the rain had cleared up, leaving me with no excuses not to wander about a bit more. And wander I did. I was fortunate to have come across a guide that Hanok Girl has put together for some walking tours of the Gahoi-dong neighborhood in central Seoul. The neighborhood includes several old homes and guest houses – a traditional Bukchon hanok village – many of which are now owned by the government and which have been restored to their former glory. The juxtaposition of the old and new adjacent to each other right in the heart of the city, with the old being preserved as a reminder of years gone by, is quite impressive. And the walking tours that Hanok Girl provides are great. I did tour #2 and it was pretty much exactly as the website said it would be.
At that point I was pretty much exhausted so it was back to the airport to collect my bags and head off for the flight to Manila. There are plenty of things I didn’t get to see in Seoul so I’ll have to go back at some point, but for a quick introduction I think I did pretty well. And I’m intrigued enough to want to go back which is a good thing.
Posted by Seth on August 25, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Forgetting for a minute that travel today was dictated by work (only the second time this year!) and that I was actually busy the entire day, it really was a great day to be out and about. Today’s trip was a quick one – a day trip from New York City to Washington, DC – but it was also two great travel experiences wrapped around a relatively normal work day.
The day started on the train out to JFK and a quick(-ish) flight down to Washington. Yeah, I flew out of JFK. LaGuardia has the shuttle flights, and I intended to fly US Airways to extend the expiration date on my miles there, but I put off booking the flights and by the time I got around to actually doing it the appropriately timed flights from LaGuardia were way too expensive. So I booked out of JFK instead. I was somewhat hoping to fly on American Airlines and catch a new airplane type, the ERJ-135 or –140, but again the fares were too expensive. So I booked on Delta and a CRJ-900 and accepted the relatively crappy seat 16-A that I was able to get during the booking and check-in process (one in the same since I was within 24 hours of the flight time).
The plane turned out to be pretty much empty – I think only one of the pairs of seats had two people in it – so I was able to self upgrade to the exit row seat 13-D. The seat is pretty much the same as the first class seats on that flight in terms of legroom, and I don’t really need the extra width, so as far as I’m concerned I got the good seat on the cheap. The in-flight “service” was questionable – the thought that a 40 minute flight is too short for beverage service is rather laughable considering that from LaGuardia I can have two drinks in that time and that half the plane was asleep – but I was (eventually) able to get a cup of water to enjoy with the yogurt that I liberated from the SkyClub at JFK so it wasn’t all bad, just mostly. But I was flying, and that makes up for a myriad of sins.
The flight was a first for me: my first JFK-DCA segment. Sure, it isn’t particularly exotic like the random flights to Korea and back that I’ll get next week, but it is still a new line of my version of a map of the world and that is always a good thing. Plus it meant getting to watch the climb-out from JFK which is one of my favorites.
And then, about 40 minutes later, I was on the ground at Washington National Airport. Another 20 minutes on the Metro and I was in the office putting out fires and smacking vendors around which is always a good time. Eight hours later and I was headed out of the office and over to Union Station to catch a train back up to NYC. Always a train in the evening. The actual time in transit when using public transportation to and from the stations is the same and the train back to NYC is WAY more reliable in terms of timing. Plus it means a few hours of open bar when sitting up front rather than racing to down two beers on the Shuttle flights. And I’ve done my best to ensure that I drink my fill. It is a bit annoying that the Amtrak lounges have no booze available – even if I wanted to pay for it – but such is life. The fact that the attendant just offered me a double so I’d stop asking for refills is a win in my book.
At the end of the day (which is rapidly approaching, as the sky grows dark outside the train windows) I’m reasonably convinced that pretty much everything went right today. I was out traveling, I wasn’t particularly delayed at either end of my trip and my total travel time round trip was about as good as it could be. Oh, and I had plenty of vodka on the ride home. All in all, a good day. These are the type of business travel days that I remember fondly when I think back to my days as a road warrior travel guy.
Posted by Seth on August 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Amtrak’s Guest Rewards program is sortof a “Little Engine that Could” in the loyalty marketplace. They certainly don’t need to have a program – most of their customers are not folks who have a choice in their train travel needs – but it is nice of them to offer it and it certainly helps them compete in the NE Corridor area from Washington, DC to Boston, the area where they are the closest to profitable. I actually was involved in a focus group many years ago to help them define and improve the program (some of the benefits discussed even made it into production!) so I have a special place in my heart for AGR.
It also happens to be a program with some very useful rewards to be had. Earning points is pretty straightforward and the redemption rates on train travel are pretty decent, other than the Acela trips. And they do run their fair share of promotions throughout the year, but the one I received notice of today was particularly intriguing. They are about to sign up their 2,000,000th member into the AGR program. And to celebrate they are giving away 2,000,000 points. Rather than a contest or a lottery or some other means, they are just giving them to all their members who ride a train next week. Every AGR member who rides a train on Thursday, August 20th will simply split the 2,000,000 points equally. Obviously that is a bad deal if everyone rides the train that day – one measly bonus point – but I think that the odds are significantly against such a likelihood. Amtrak only sees about 28MM riders annually – about 80,000 daily – and there is no way they are all members of AGR.
I don’t know just how many points each AGR member riding next week will earn on this promo, but I am strongly considering finding a cheap train out of NY Penn for a quick ride in the morning, just to find out. Registration is required in advance of the ride.
Posted by Seth on July 6, 2009 under Uncategorized |
One thing that Europe doesn’t struggle with is castles to tour. From the heart of Prague to the chateaux in France to the ridiculous number of fortified structures in the Irish countryside, there seems to always be a castle available when you’re looking for something historical to see. Denmark is no different with well preserved castles all over the country. There are a few right in and around Copenhagen that make for great visits when in the area. One of these is Kronborg Castle at Helsingør, home of the King, Queen and – in Shakespeare’s mind – Hamlet.
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| The courtyard of Kronborg Castle |
Hamlet does not really exist in history so claiming that the castle is his home is rather off. But there definitely is a royal castle there and it setting works quite well for telling the tale. Plus, it makes for good business with drawing tourists to the site. The Danes have readily adopted Hamlet into their lore and are happy to tell his tale in Helsingør as long as you’re willing to show up.
Helsingør is about 40 kilometers north of Copenhagen, an easy ride of about 55 minutes on the train from one city center to the other. The castle Kronborg is just a short walk outside of downtown Helsingør and is easily accessible to take a tour or simply to wander around the grounds and bask in the glow of royalty. In fact, large parts of the castle grounds do not have any access controls or admission charges. There were a large number of folks simply taking advantage of the well groomed lawns as a site for their picnics and other summer fun. Certainly it is possible to get a good feel for the castle this way, but to truly experience it takes buying in for at least one of the three tours that they offer.
Of the three tours offered the most enjoyable and focused on the history of the castle is that of the Royal Apartments. As it would seem, the tour covers the residential areas of the castle including the royal chambers, guest facilities and the great hall that is still used even today for some royal events. It is also available to rent if you’re throwing a party, though I have no idea just how ridiculous the rates are. There are occasional guided tours of the Royal Apartments and we were fortunate enough to stumble onto one. Having explanations of the history certainly was better than simply walking through the rooms and seeing old furniture and whatnot.
There are plenty of placards around if a guided tour doesn’t seem to be in the cards, but the guided tour is definitely recommended. Taking the guided tour exposes you to such details as the fact that King Christian IV had “seven children by his first wife, eleven by his second wife and five on the loose.” So maybe half the fun of the guided tour is the translations but it was still rather useful information about the history of the castle.
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| A close-up of one of the tapestries. The level of detail is truly amazing. |
The highlight for me of the Royal Apartments tour was the tapestries. They are incredibly detailed and ridiculously large. Some took four years to produce while others were made with threads of silk, silver and gold (that one is rather smaller). The fact that 500 years later they still show much of the same vibrancy and color is truly impressive.
Another impressive bit from the Royal Apartments was the globes they had on display. There are a couple that are about 500 years old and are not completely accurate but certainly give a great insight into how the sailors of that era navigated. Even with the less that perfect maps they seemed to do a pretty good job.
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| One of the 500 year old globes that they had on display. Truly amazing! |
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| Looking down on the courtyard from the tower in the Maritime Museum. |
Looking out through one of the leaded glass windows in the tower stairs. |
In addition to the Royal Apartments there are two other sections of the castle that require a paid admission. One is the maritime museum. There is a bit of older history there but most of that museum seems to be a display of random models of ships. They are pretty neat but not all that compelling, particularly as many of them are from the modern shipping era. But the Maritime Museum tour does include access to one of the towers of Kronborg. I’m actually convinced that the only reason to pay for admission to the Maritime Museum is to gain access to that tower – the views from up top are pretty amazing. That, or you’re a big fan of Maersk and their history as a shipping company.
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| The statue of Holger, the basis of the Casements tour. |
The other – and most strange – tour available at the castle is of the Casements. The Casements are essentially the damp, dank, dark basement of the castle. The folks running the show have purposefully kept the casements dark. As in black-out level. I actually used the flash on my camera to light up various areas along the way or I don’t think I would have been able to make it through. Of course they are happy to sell you a flashlight/torch as you enter the basement but it is very, very dark without a light. More than just dark, it is really rather strange. The entire area is set up as a tribute to the legend of Holger the Dane. The walls contain messages written in silver paint that tell the story of Holger, a great defender of Danish life and tradition. Still, without a light it is almost impossible to figure out what the hell is going on or otherwise enjoy the exhibit. Even with a light it still seems a rather strange way to experience the Casements, an area that has housed hundreds of soldiers at various times throughout history.
Beyond the Kronborg Castle there is really little else to recommend Helsingør. There is the church and a few other shops. And there is their single largest industry – selling booze to Swedes who come across to save money on the taxes. But otherwise Helsingør is pretty much just the town that holds Kronborg. Not a bad thing by any stretch, but don’t plan on seeing a lot of other things during the visit unless you head over to Sweden, too.
Note: This post is showing up a couple days later than it actually happened because I’m off in the middle of nowhere enjoying the fjords but didn’t want to leave the blog empty all week.
Posted by Seth on April 21, 2009 under News |
The dream of high-speed rail transit in the USA has been unrealized for years. Even with the Acela service in the north-east there just isn’t anything comparable to a true high-speed service available. And that is truly unfortunate as there are regions that could benefit from such service. It almost certainly would not work nation-wide – the United States is just too large – but there are areas where it could make sense. It looks like the US government is going to tease us a bit more on this front with the latest version of the economic stimulus bill that has been proposed. It includes $5 billion for infrastructure development and maybe $8 billion more of additional rail developments.
So why am I calling it a tease? Well…
First up, there are ten different routes/regions being defined:
- A California line from the San Francisco Bay Area south to San Diego via Sacramento and Los Angeles.
- A corridor linking Eugene and Portland, Ore., with Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver.
- A South Central network linking Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Little Rock.
- A Gulf Coast line from Houston to Atlanta via New Orleans, Mobile and Birmingham.
- A Midwest network based at Chicago with high-speed lines to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville.
- Florida Corridor service linking Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
- A Southeast Corridor from Washington D.C. to Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Columbia, Atlanta, Macon, Savannah and Jacksonville.
- A Pennsylvania line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh via Harrisburg.
- New York State high-speed rail connecting New York City to Albany and Buffalo.
- A New England project linking Boston, Montreal, Portland, Springfield, New Haven and Albany.
Of these ten, only a couple rally seem viable to me. I think that the California line, the Chicago hub and maybe the New England and South Florida lines could work. The others are pipe dreams at best. But if you want to actually get funding for a project in the US government you have to include spending in states where it will not actually work, just to secure the money for the places that actually have a chance to succeed. That’s why Amtrak is still operating in forty-something states.
And, for reasons that are beyond comprehension to me, the most likely viable corridor for success is missing. There is nothing listed there for the Boston – New York City – Washington, DC corridor. Sure, there is already Acela on that route, but that can hardly be considered high-speed rail. It operates on shared track with the rest of the train traffic in the region meaning that it runs at the slow speeds in areas where commuter rail is operating. That is an impossible solution for true high-speed rail. If they are thinking that Acela is successful enough that we don’t need to improve it then the rest of the projects are doomed to failure as the benchmark is being set way too low.
Finally, the money involved in the proposals – $13 billion – really isn’t enough to make anything happen. Yeah, it is a big number. There are a whole lot of zeros involved. But capital infrastructure projects are ridiculously expensive, especially for something like high speed rail. The most recent major project to be near completion is the Beijing – Shanghai line in China. It is ~1,400 kilometers (~870 miles) of track and the capital cost is about the same as what has been proposed in the United States for a vastly greater scoped project. The island nation of Taiwan invested more in their high-speed network to cover an area smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined. Just acquiring right-of-ways to build track is going to be obscenely expensive in the USA.
I love the idea of investing in infrastructure, especially in mass transit infrastructure. But if we’re going to do it we should actually invest enough money to accomplish something and focus the efforts in a place where it can succeed. But the United States government doesn’t do that sort of thing, so I guess we’re stuck with what we’ve got.
