Central Japan Railway Co. wants to help Texas build a bullet train from Dallas to Houston by 2021.
39 replies, posted
[QUOTE]NEW YORK – Texas Central Railway, a privately funded project aimed at bringing high-speed rail travel to the Lone Star State, hopes to revolutionize the U.S. transportation system by partnering with Central Japan Railway Co. to build a bullet train line between Dallas and Houston by 2021.
“If we could get this line built from Dallas to Houston, I think everyone in America would want the kind of high-speed rail we would have,” former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and senior adviser for TCR Thomas Schieffer said in a recent interview. “It has transformed Japan and I think it can transform the United States.”
The almost 400-km route will run through relatively flat land, which TCR says makes JR Tokai’s N700-I shinkansen ideal for whisking passengers between the two cities in around 90 minutes at speeds up to 322 kph. The company hopes to run one train every 30 minutes and increase the frequency as demand grows.
In Japan, the N700 series trains for the Nozomi bullet train service link Tokyo and Osaka in less than 2½ hours. Japan’s two major metropolises, roughly 400 km apart as the crow flies, are connected by a track that stretches just over 510 km.[/QUOTE]
Ya Texas probably will be a fine place to build this sice they have no zoning laws and flat land, but the places that really need this like a link between Chicago and the east coast will probably never see it
I remember hearing about this awhile back before I went to college at Dallas. Good to see actual news about it.
Good luck and have fun. Nobody's going to use it.
[QUOTE=TestECull;45587754]Good luck and have fun. Nobody's going to use it.[/QUOTE]
You may not find a use for it, but I am sure that people working in business will find it very useful. I wish this project started a whole lot sooner. I would have loved to use it to commute back home to Houston on the weekend while I was at college.
There's something familiar about that date, 2021
[QUOTE=TestECull;45587754]Good luck and have fun. Nobody's going to use it.[/QUOTE]
i know your dead end job as manager of your local mcdonalds doesn't require much travel, but there's a shitload of people who's jobs demand loads of travel between nearby metropolis's. This could really change the face of the modern workplace if it spreads across the country, allowing for substantially more people to have jobs that require some extra travelling while not having to uproot themselves often.
[QUOTE=Sableye;45587717]Ya Texas probably will be a fine place to build this sice they have no zoning laws and flat land, but the places that really need this like a link between Chicago and the east coast will probably never see it[/QUOTE]
A Chicago to New York bullet train sounds like a great idea, though it'd need to be an underground tunnel rather than an above-ground track going over those gnarly hills. (or am I thinking of Maine?)
[QUOTE=TestECull;45587754]Good luck and have fun. Nobody's going to use it.[/QUOTE]
Me, my sister, and her boyfriend, and his cousin, had to take a train from Downtown Chicago to the end of the line near Gurnee, because it was the quickest way to get to Six Flags without dealing with traffic.
People still use trains :v:
[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;45588052]Me, my sister, and her boyfriend, and his cousin, had to take a train from Downtown Chicago to the end of the line near Gurnee, because it was the quickest way to get to Six Flags without dealing with traffic.
People still use trains :v:[/QUOTE]
Which line? North Central actually ends at Antioch (where I live). I used to take the train back and forth on weekends for the short time I went to school in Chicago.
But yeah, from personal experience a LOT of people use trains daily, and making them even faster and connecting major cities can only be beneficial to the people who use them.
[QUOTE=Dalndox;45588107]Which line? North Central actually ends at Antioch (where I live). I used to take the train back and forth on weekends for the short time I went to school in Chicago.
But yeah, from personal experience a LOT of people use trains daily, and making them even faster and connecting major cities can only be beneficial to the people who use them.[/QUOTE]
Not sure, all I knew was that it ended in a small town that was nearby Gurnee where we wanted to go, and we just took a cab from that town.
Speaking of Trains, loadse of people take the "El" all over the City.
You probably ended up in Waukegan (sorry) or Lake Villa. Antioch is about 15-20 minutes north of Gurnee.
[QUOTE=No Party Hats;45588024]i know your dead end job as manager of your local mcdonalds doesn't require much travel, but there's a shitload of people who's jobs demand loads of travel between nearby metropolis's. This could really change the face of the modern workplace if it spreads across the country, allowing for substantially more people to have jobs that require some extra travelling while not having to uproot themselves often.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Datsun;45587810]You may not find a use for it, but I am sure that people working in business will find it very useful. I wish this project started a whole lot sooner. I would have loved to use it to commute back home to Houston on the weekend while I was at college.[/QUOTE]
The thing which will doom this to disuse is the same thing that nearly killed Amtrak and totally fucked over passenger rail service in the US in the 1950s. A combination of the interstate system and the cheap-as-fuck commuter air travel doomed passenger rail to a life of inner-city subways and tramways 60 years ago. These two things have only gotten better since. There just isn't a market for a bullet train in this country, and they're so ridiculously expensive to build that nobody will fund them. The rail network doesn't even support them, it's built around freight so you're not getting more than 70 or 80 MPH out of a train without building entirely new lines to run them on. It's simply not viable in the US, people will either drive(Cheaper, more convenient) or fly (Faster).
[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;45588052]Me, my sister, and her boyfriend, and his cousin, had to take a train from Downtown Chicago to the end of the line near Gurnee, because it was the quickest way to get to Six Flags without dealing with traffic.
People still use trains :v:[/QUOTE]
A few people do but there just isn't enough of a market for them in this country. Maybe, just maybe, people will use it to make a statement against the TSA and get them disbanded, but even then there's just not enough of a market for a bullet train in the US to make it financially viable. If it does get built it's going to be a huge black hole for cash.
I think it was Waukegan now that you mention the name.
[QUOTE=proch;45587993]There's something familiar about that date, 2021[/QUOTE]
Everything bad.
The Astral Gate Accident, Dead Rising 3, robots dream about sheep and Skynet Judgement Day
I'd think New York would definitely have to be in line to receive a bullet train network
[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;45588169]I think it was Waukegan now that you mention the name.[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry.
[QUOTE=TestECull;45588166]The thing which will doom this to disuse is the same thing that nearly killed Amtrak and totally fucked over passenger rail service in the US in the 1950s. A combination of the interstate system and the cheap-as-fuck commuter air travel doomed passenger rail to a life of inner-city subways and tramways 60 years ago. These two things have only gotten better since. There just isn't a market for a bullet train in this country, and they're so ridiculously expensive to build that nobody will fund them. The rail network doesn't even support them, it's built around freight so you're not getting more than 70 or 80 MPH out of a train without building entirely new lines to run them on. It's simply not viable in the US, people will either drive(Cheaper, more convenient) or fly (Faster).
[/QUOTE]
It's the year 2014, not 1950. Air Travel is not as cheap as it was in the past (Estimated Southwest Round Trip from Houston to Dallas is $436.70). For comparison, it costs me about $90 if I drive myself. The only real benefit a plane has over my car is time. If a train is competitively/reasonably priced, I'd say it do good in the market. It's also a privately funded project. It's a big investment and hopefully it will be a big payoff.
Hopefully if this is to be built, it may change the hindsight currently ingrained in infrastructure engineers across the country who think that rail travel is unfeasible when in truth it's probably the best way to go when moving lots of passengers more safely and efficiently interstate. It could mean the Keystone Corridor could get the overhaul it desperately needs, thus extending the North Eastern Corridor.
I'd say this would have to have been in planning for a long time, JR Central were very eager to showcase their efforts in both construction & operation of the railway system but also their running stock, with home-grown ingenuity to boot. Backed up with their extensive service record of 50 years since "64, it's a well thought out decision by the company.
It could help efforts for CAHSR & the PNWRC (Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor), even though a controversial topic on it's own. But it probably all comes down to feasibility, cost p/mile (or km) and local support.
About damn time the US get bullet trains. They are lagging behind rest of the world.
[QUOTE=Datsun;45588380]It's the year 2014, not 1950. Air Travel is not as cheap as it was in the past (Estimated Southwest Round Trip from Houston to Dallas is $436.70). For comparison, it costs me about $90 if I drive myself. The only real benefit a plane has over my car is time. If a train is competitively/reasonably priced, I'd say it do good in the market. It's also a privately funded project. It's a big investment and hopefully it will be a big payoff.[/QUOTE]
I know in Japan when I would travel from Sendai to Tokyo it would take roughly an hour and a half to do 230 miles all for the price of $120. In the bullet trains you get loads of leg room (the seat in front can be fully relinced without intruding your space), super smooth ride, and really the convenience of the speed.
If we get this by JR can we also get Japan's efficiency on being on time?
[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;45588279]Why feel sorry? :v:[/QUOTE]
Waukegan used to be a beautiful town around the 50s or so, during the time Jack Benny was on the air, but not anymore. It's basically considered the worst area of Lake County. I feel bad for anyone who has to drive through that area.
[QUOTE=PN_Redux;45588797]I know in Japan when I would travel from Sendai to Tokyo it would take roughly an hour and a half to do 230 miles all for the price of $120. In the bullet trains you get loads of leg room (the seat in front can be fully relinced without intruding your space), super smooth ride, and really the convenience of the speed.
If we get this by JR can we also get Japan's efficiency on being on time?[/QUOTE]
I sure hope so. I read some other articles about the train and some say it will have a 1.5 Hour minute travel time.
[QUOTE=TestECull;45588166]The thing which will doom this to disuse is the same thing that nearly killed Amtrak and totally fucked over passenger rail service in the US in the 1950s. A combination of the interstate system and the cheap-as-fuck commuter air travel doomed passenger rail to a life of inner-city subways and tramways 60 years ago. These two things have only gotten better since. There just isn't a market for a bullet train in this country, and they're so ridiculously expensive to build that nobody will fund them. The rail network doesn't even support them, it's built around freight so you're not getting more than 70 or 80 MPH out of a train without building entirely new lines to run them on. It's simply not viable in the US, people will either drive(Cheaper, more convenient) or fly (Faster).
A few people do but there just isn't enough of a market for them in this country. Maybe, just maybe, people will use it to make a statement against the TSA and get them disbanded, but even then there's just not enough of a market for a bullet train in the US to make it financially viable. If it does get built it's going to be a huge black hole for cash.[/QUOTE]
You have it backwards. It's not that trains are uncommon in the US because people won't use them, it's that people don't use them because they're uncommon. When you do find them, they're run by companies like Amtrak, AKA garbage, overpriced travel.
Great. More traffic and construction in Houston. Just what that city needs.
[QUOTE=Dalndox;45588824]Waukegan used to be a beautiful town around the 50s or so, during the time Jack Benny was on the air, but not anymore. It's basically considered the worst area of Lake County. I feel bad for anyone who has to drive through that area.[/QUOTE]
Honestly it looked ok to me when I came through.
I mean besides the creepy taxi driver we got.
[QUOTE=outlawpickle;45589569]Great. More traffic and construction in Houston. Just what that city needs.[/QUOTE]
Cities gotta grow.
[QUOTE=MR-X;45589598]Cities gotta grow.[/QUOTE]
Last time I was in Houston my only memories were parking lots they called highways and so much construction I couldn't even admire the city itself.
Maybe I'm just biased because Austin and San Antonio are where my Texan heart lies.
[QUOTE=TestECull;45588166]A few people do but there just isn't enough of a market for them in this country. Maybe, just maybe, people will use it to make a statement against the TSA and get them disbanded, but even then there's just not enough of a market for a bullet train in the US to make it financially viable. If it does get built it's going to be a huge black hole for cash.[/QUOTE]Or people will use it for city-to-city commuting, which is what the fucking train is for. This is not going to replace cars and the highway system in the USA, no fucking way trains will ever be able to do that, but it will fill the gap between car commuting and short domestic flights.
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