Would You Take a Bullet Train from Anaheim to Las Vegas?... Brightline West

[Misted Compass]

The main difference between the two projects is that CAHSR is aiming to be perfect (220mph for the majority of the route, connecting many cities rather than just LA/SF) while Brightline is aiming to get it done quick (186mph in a few segments, skipping populated areas like Barstow and central Victorville).

While that's probably part of the inherent nature of a ballot-supported project vs. an independently developed one, rail doesn't need to be perfect for people to ride it. Amtrak's Borealis train takes 7 hours to get from Chicago to Minneapolis and sees a single train per day, yet its ridership far exceeded what was predicted (205k vs 124k in the first year).

 

[chadwpalm]

The YouTuber Lucid Stew has been mentioned earlier in this thread with some of his CG rendered videos. He's done a few videos over the past few months with lots more information on the CAHSR and Brightline projects. He recently did his second drive with drone footage along the initial operating section with up to date footage on all the construction so far. Worth subscribing to if you want to keep up with these projects or are just a general railfan.

Lucid Stew

High speed rail in the United States by drone, dashcam, and Unreal Engine 5. I have 5 series in progress: 1) Stew's News. The U.S. HSR news of each month in one presentation. Uploaded the first of the month. 2)FRA HSR Corridors. The Federal Railroad Administration has designated 10 HSR...

www.youtube.com

 

[TP2000]

Totally disagree, the environmental studies were completed in 2023, the soil studies are more or less done, the financing is essentially done (something CAHSR can’t say), the right of way is acquired (something CAHSR can’t say)… they are in the end stages of the bureaucratic red tape to actually begin construction, which is unfortunately 50% of building anything in America. None of the other proposals ever got beyond the talking stage, Brightline has actually finished all the tedious pre-construction bureaucracy and has finally reached the shovels in the ground stage.

Exactly.

Here's a Brightline construction update from the Victorville press a week ago. I can confirm from my recent drive down I-15 that all of this work is actually happening in both Nevada and California.

Brightline West adds more work sites in High Desert for high-speed rail project

Brightline West has added field investigation work sites in the High Desert in preparation for its Las Vegas to California high-speed rail project.

www.vvdailypress.com

 

[TP2000]

The main difference between the two projects is that CAHSR is aiming to be perfect (220mph for the majority of the route, connecting many cities rather than just LA/SF) while Brightline is aiming to get it done quick (186mph in a few segments, skipping populated areas like Barstow and central Victorville).

While that's probably part of the inherent nature of a ballot-supported project vs. an independently developed one, rail doesn't need to be perfect for people to ride it. Amtrak's Borealis train takes 7 hours to get from Chicago to Minneapolis and sees a single train per day, yet its ridership far exceeded what was predicted (205k vs 124k in the first year).

I heard the Borealis got off to a great start! Good news!

Am I right in thinking before the Borealis, the only Amtrak route between those two cities was the Empire Builder? Seems like a slam dunk idea to add a second train between Chicago and Minneapolis. I'm assuming it's the same route as the Emprire Builder, just a different time of day?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Had they just built it along the obvious roads, like Brightline is doing, it would probably be open already.

Universal was instrumental in seriously stalling the Brightline extension to Tampa by years because they chose the politically wrong road to follow.

 

[truecoat]

I heard the Borealis got off to a great start! Good news!

Am I right in thinking before the Borealis, the only Amtrak route between those two cities was the Empire Builder? Seems like a slam dunk idea to add a second train between Chicago and Minneapolis. I'm assuming it's the same route as the Emprire Builder, just a different time of day?

Yeah, the empire goes a few hours earlier from Minneapolis to Chicago.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yeah, the empire goes a few hours earlier from Minneapolis to Chicago.

It’s also an Amtrak Midwest route so it receives funding from the states it serves.

 

[TP2000]

I've got family arriving tonight, so for the past 24 hours I've been running some errands to get the house stocked up for fun, fun, fun! And I was down in Little Italy and had to wait for a passing Pacific Surfliner twice in the past day.

Oof! The Pacific Surfliner fleet is looking really ragged and worn out! They clearly haven't painted the cars in years, and they have a ragtag consist of 1990's Surfliner and Amtrak Superliner, or an even uglier consist of Horizon and very old Amfleet cars with no rhyme or reason to the livery or appearance. I hope the interiors are at least a bit better, but the last time I rode a Surfliner pre-Covid the interiors of the Business Class coaches were looking very tired.

And to think, if California just spent a tiny fraction of the $15 Billion they've spent on bullet train viaducts around Fresno, they could have replaced and upgraded the entire Pacific Surfliner fleet! Throw in another Billion or two, and they could have rebuilt at least a dozen key crossings and alignments and barriers between LA and SD and gotten the Surfliner up to the 110mph speed limits even the old 1990's cars are designed to handle.

110mph is only half the speed of a bullet train, to be sure. But you could have done it for a small fraction of the $15 Billion they've spent in the past 15 years in the Central Valley with absolutely nothing to show for it. Idiots!

 

[TP2000]

I just checked, and the relatively new Viewliner cars that Amtrak uses back East are designed for passenger use up to 125mph. They are routinely doing 110mph on many Midwest and East Coast lines and train services.



The current maximum speed for the Surfliner is mostly 79mph, and that's limited by the track and hokey crossing equipment, and not the rolling stock. I believe the only time the Surfliner gets close to 90mph is during the stretch through Camp Pendleton.

Spend a Billion on track upgrades from LA Union Station to SD's Santa Fe Depot, plus another one Billion on new rolling stock and updated stations designed for 21st century passenger needs, and you've got a train that shaves at least an hour off of the 3+ hour LA to San Diego timetable! You'd open up entirely new markets there, and get more Californians interested in modern rail travel. You could have two versions; a Local that stops at all the current Surfliner stops, and an Express that only stops at Anaheim ARTIC and Oceanside between LA and San Diego. I'd imagine the Express could do that trip in just under 2 hours.

Heck, even the old Santa Fe San Diegans used to routinely do 100mph back in the 1940's and 50's, using steam locomotives and 1940's track and car technology. This is all such a huge example of governmental failure, waste, and incompetence!

A 1950's San Diegan of the Santa Fe Railroad rocketing past Del Mar at 100mph! Only a few more minutes to San Diego!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I just checked, and the relatively new Viewliner cars that Amtrak uses back East are designed for passenger use up to 125mph.

The older budd built amfleets can do 125 (and regularly do on the northeast and keystone corridors).

I think the surfliners are rated for 110 but the superliners are at 100.

Just getting the majority of the track up to 79 or 90 makes a huge difference.

 

[DLR92]

I think not just Uber, but private car ownership could be outdated, soon-ish.

It will help me to succeed in one of my secret life goals: to go a lifetime without ever having a driver’s license, like David Attenborough, and still having a job and traveling the world.

I can only hope! Cars do not represent freedom. It a luxury, and a money pit. You have to spend on gas, maintenance, cleaning. Wear and tear. And majority of cars do NOT hold their value.

 

[Parteecia]

I can only hope! Cars do not represent freedom. It a luxury, and a money pit. You have to spend on gas, maintenance, cleaning. Wear and tear. And majority of cars do NOT hold their value.

1. Luxury: Depends on where you live and where you need to go. I was thrilled when more train lines were built locally then realized I would have to spend several hours to go the 24 miles to work that took an hour to drive on a bad day.

2. Value: Who buys a car for investment value? Of course they depreciate. I get mine to use. 31 years and still running. I think I'm getting my money's worth.

3. Don't represent freedom?! Tell that to anyone whose car is in the shop and they suddenly think of a million places they need to go, right now.

 

[Parteecia]

Genuine question for people who only use public transportation: what do you do if you're sick? When my boyfriend was getting cancer treatment some of the centers were 40 miles away.

It took a lot of effort just to get him to and in the truck parked in front. Thankfully all of the hospitals have a dropoff at the door. I can't imagine taking someone who is that weak to the station, up/down stairs, through crowds, making transfers etc.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Genuine question for people who only use public transportation: what do you do if you're sick? When my boyfriend was getting cancer treatment some of the centers were 40 miles away.

It took a lot of effort just to get him to and in the truck parked in front. Thankfully all of the hospitals have a dropoff at the door. I can't imagine taking someone who is that weak to the station, up/down stairs, through crowds, making transfers etc.

Places with strong transit haven’t banned cars, and most have a lot of traffic. They just haven’t (or stopped) spent billions making everything in the built environment all about them and their convenience. It’s not cars or no cars as so many try to make it out to be. It’s walking, buses, trains and cars versus pretty much only cars.

Those outside the US have a good chance of having access to medical transportation as a provided service.

 

[Parteecia]

Places with strong transit haven’t banned cars, and most have a lot of traffic. They just haven’t (or stopped) spent billions making everything in the built environment all about them and their convenience. It’s not cars or no cars as so many try to make it out to be. It’s walking, buses, trains and cars versus pretty much only cars.

Those outside the US have a good chance of having access to medical transportation as a provided service.

I appreciate your response but I meant more of a right now and personal basis. It sounds like some people here don't drive. I was wondering how they handle these kinds of situations.

 

[truecoat]

I just checked, and the relatively new Viewliner cars that Amtrak uses back East are designed for passenger use up to 125mph. They are routinely doing 110mph on many Midwest and East Coast lines and train services.



The current maximum speed for the Surfliner is mostly 79mph, and that's limited by the track and hokey crossing equipment, and not the rolling stock. I believe the only time the Surfliner gets close to 90mph is during the stretch through Camp Pendleton.

Spend a Billion on track upgrades from LA Union Station to SD's Santa Fe Depot, plus another one Billion on new rolling stock and updated stations designed for 21st century passenger needs, and you've got a train that shaves at least an hour off of the 3+ hour LA to San Diego timetable! You'd open up entirely new markets there, and get more Californians interested in modern rail travel. You could have two versions; a Local that stops at all the current Surfliner stops, and an Express that only stops at Anaheim ARTIC and Oceanside between LA and San Diego. I'd imagine the Express could do that trip in just under 2 hours.

Heck, even the old Santa Fe San Diegans used to routinely do 100mph back in the 1940's and 50's, using steam locomotives and 1940's track and car technology. This is all such a huge example of governmental failure, waste, and incompetence!

A 1950's San Diegan of the Santa Fe Railroad rocketing past Del Mar at 100mph! Only a few more minutes to San Diego!

One of the problems with Amtrak lines is that they use rails owned by other companies. They have to yield for freight in some places, and without a dedicated track, you can't hit these high speeds.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Genuine question for people who only use public transportation: what do you do if you're sick? When my boyfriend was getting cancer treatment some of the centers were 40 miles away.

It took a lot of effort just to get him to and in the truck parked in front. Thankfully all of the hospitals have a dropoff at the door. I can't imagine taking someone who is that weak to the station, up/down stairs, through crowds, making transfers etc.

I haven’t personally used them but see non-emergency medical transports outside the cancer center all the time, ranging from private ambulances that can accommodate gurneys to minivans with wheel chair ramps to your typical Uber and Lyfts.

Most covered by insurance.

I love the freedom that comes from my car but there’s a surprising amount of options now with Uber/lyft and the more specialized services.

 

[DLR92]

I faced cancer for almost 3 years. I couldn’t help but felt annoyed every month required multiple trips to see specialist at City of Hope with a car. My drive is an hour and half to main campus in Daurte. To know there is direct metro close by made me envious of locals who would wish to use metrolink.

 

[TP2000]

Those outside the US have a good chance of having access to medical transportation as a provided service.

Those inside the US (AKA "Americans") have an even better chance of having access to medical transportation as a free service.

In fact, the poorest Americans who are on Medicaid (Or Medi-Cal, as it's called for some Disneyland AP'ers) automatically get free transportation to all doctor's visits, routine appointments, and certainly in emergencies.

https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/medi-cal/Pages/Transportation.aspx

Since almost all working class and above Americans have at least one car in their household, they don't need to worry if they aren't on the ultra low-income Medicare plan as they can drive themselves to their annual check-up. Or have a spouse or family member or friend drive their car for them to the doctor or clinic, if they're very sick.

 

[TP2000]

I haven’t personally used them but see non-emergency medical transports outside the cancer center all the time, ranging from private ambulances that can accommodate gurneys to minivans with wheel chair ramps to your typical Uber and Lyfts.

Most covered by insurance.

I love the freedom that comes from my car but there’s a surprising amount of options now with Uber/lyft and the more specialized services.

Exactly.

Private health insurance covers transportation to/from routine doctor's appointments or health check-ups for those who have no car or have no driver's license. Even Medicaid, the lowest common denominator of health insurance available to poor Americans, offers free transportation via Uber or taxi to a scheduled doctor's appointment or health check-up, or full reimbursement for emergency transportation to a clinic or hospital.

Those who have no car are at risk at limiting their ability to travel, to be sure, but in the USA even free Medicaid covers free Taxi/Uber transportation to your doctor's office for a visit, or emergency service to a clinic or hospital if things are dire.

"Medicaid covers rides for eligible individuals to and from the doctor’s office, the hospital, or another medical office for Medicaid-approved care. This coverage is called “non-emergency medical transportation,” because it does not involve a medical emergency. Medicaid may give you a ride if you do not have a car that works or do not have a driver’s license. You may also be able to get a ride if you have a physical or mental disability or are unable to travel or wait for a ride alone."

https://www.cms.gov/medicare-medicaid-coordination/fraud-prevention/medicaid-integrity-education/downloads/nemt-factsheet.pdf