High-speed rail incompatible with current tracks

by John Seiler | December 15, 2014 8:32 am

One reason the American South lost the Civil War was it had numerous incompatible railroad track systems[1], requiring supplies to be unloaded, then loaded again, for each different segment. By contrast, the Northern rail networks were more uniform, although not completely so.

That’s turning out to be a problem with the North-South California high-speed rail program. The Times reported[2]:

“California’s bullet train officials begin to lay plans for the system’s Los Angeles segment, a major technical issue is coming under close scrutiny: incompatibility between the sleek, high-speed electric trains and the region’s older, diesel-powered commuter rail network.

“The state’s plan for initial passenger service calls for high-speed trains to shuttle between Merced and Burbank by 2022, a first leg of a $68-billion line that eventually is expected to link Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“Under the current design, Los Angeles-bound passengers pulling into Burbank, at least in the early years of operation, would have to transfer to a diesel-powered commuter train on another platform for the final 13-mile trip to downtown’s Union Station.”

It’s hard to see how walking is “high-speed.”

Perhaps it could be advertised as a rail trip and a fitness workout.

Source URL: https://calwatchdog.com/2014/12/15/high-speed-rail-incompatible-with-current-tracks/

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