Map of Potential High Speed Rail Built by Stimulus

[GG]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/map-of-potential-high-spe_n_167804.html

Check out the Y in Oklahoma and Texas.

[GG]

Here is a better map

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/High-Speed_Rail_Corridor_Designations.png

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by unreliablesource

Here is a better map
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/High-Speed_Rail_Corridor_Designations.png

Connect the Tulsa leg to St. Louis and you gotter made.

[HazMatCFO]

Good start.

Although I wonder if the Airline, Big Oil and Automotive lobbyists will get their bite at the apple to whine about this and put up a fight.  

[YoungTulsan]

Don't get your hopes up.  In the corner of the map it says 3/13/01

[Neptune]

Yes, the map showing the corridors is not new.

Whats new, is that the Stimulus Package includes $8 Billion for developing these corridors.  Seems, at this point, to be a relatively aggressive use of capital, with probably more to come.

If this administration truly makes headway on bringing high speed rail, even if it doesn't make it to Tulsa yet, the impact would be huge.  I hope they stay aggressive on this issue.  Aggressive to a point where his successor would have to be insane not to carry on.

Also, if Tulsa does manage to get high-speed rail, it would behoove us to consider creating some limited light rail infrastructure.

[Neptune]

http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/203

"As of January 2002, the FRA has designated ten high-speed corridors under section 1010 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and Section 1103(c) of the Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). Designation allows a corridor to receive specially targeted funding for highway-rail grade crossing safety improvements, and recognizes the corridor as a potential center of HSR activity. These designated corridors are shown on the map at the beginning of this document and are listed below, generally from Southwest to Northeast. California Corridor"

[cannon_fodder]

Is "high speed" ever defined?

I know there are other non-high speed plans n the works - there is also a plan to have rail from Chicago to Dubuque Iowa and perhaps on to Waterloo Iowa.  Not present on the map.  Though, speaking with a person involved with the project (on the lobbying side) he said the drive time from Dubuque to Chicago is 3.5 hours.  The rail estimated time is 5 hours - working on getting that down to 4.

Anyway... I hope we get off the car craze.  I'm as guilty as the next person, but can recognize the costs associated with our car addiction.

[edit]
"High speed" in Japan and Europe means 125mph,  in the United States "high speed" will mean 90 mph.  Most trains in Europe now operate much faster, near 180.  Japan has similar speeds over larger distances.  We get a 25% discount on speed AND get to cover about 4 times the distance between points.  Yay!  

I assume that represents how fast a train can travel on existing lines.  Kinda a cop out, but it's a start.[/edit]

[GG]

It would be a fun trip to take a train from here to San Antonio to hang out on the River Walk.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by unreliablesource

It would be a fun trip to take a train from here to San Antonio to hang out on the River Walk.

Maybe, but I would want to have more destinations than Texas on the plate to get excited about it.

[TURobY]

quote:Originally posted by patric


Maybe, but I would want to have more destinations than Texas on the plate to get excited about it.

There's Little Rock, so does Arkansas not count for you? LOL

[Nik]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

Is "high speed" ever defined?

I know there are other non-high speed plans n the works - there is also a plan to have rail from Chicago to Dubuque Iowa and perhaps on to Waterloo Iowa.  Not present on the map.  Though, speaking with a person involved with the project (on the lobbying side) he said the drive time from Dubuque to Chicago is 3.5 hours.  The rail estimated time is 5 hours - working on getting that down to 4.

Anyway... I hope we get off the car craze.  I'm as guilty as the next person, but can recognize the costs associated with our car addiction.

[edit]
"High speed" in Japan and Europe means 125mph,  in the United States "high speed" will mean 90 mph.  Most trains in Europe now operate much faster, near 180.  Japan has similar speeds over larger distances.  We get a 25% discount on speed AND get to cover about 4 times the distance between points.  Yay!  

I assume that represents how fast a train can travel on existing lines.  Kinda a cop out, but it's a start.[/edit]

Following the link above to the DOT website, some of the corridors give an estimated speed. There is not one for the South Central corridor, but for the Gulf Coast and Chicago corridor its 110 so I would image ours would be about the same.

[shadows]

Since Japan has pioneered the high speed railroads and transportation systems they will be in line to be the contractors in these high speed routes.  And of course the local citizens don't want to do manual labor, but to wave college degrees, so the Mexican Americans will be able to continue to send those billions of dollars of the stimulus package to their home lands.

Do you know who the contractor for the improvements on the AA center was?  
Have you ever read the agreement between AA and the city? (they seem to have their own stimulus package) The stimulus will have world wide effects.

[AVERAGE JOE]

Odd that they wouldn't connect Dallas and Houston with high speed rail. Two of the 10 largest cities in the country.

[Neptune]

quote:Originally posted by AVERAGE JOE

Odd that they wouldn't connect Dallas and Houston with high speed rail. Two of the 10 largest cities in the country.

Except for the OKC to Tulsa extension, they all seem to be along existing lines, mostly Amtrak.