> The most sweeping rail plan in Minnesota history envisions ...
Best US transport planning I've heard lately, but ...
> "It's an exciting time because I think the public is ready for trains," ...
> Passenger rail, largely erased from the American landscape 40 years
> ago, is undergoing a resurgence in popularity as billions of federal
> dollars come available.
Sounds good.
I'm in China, where an extensive network of high-speed trains is already running and massive upgrades are under way. It is really useful.
Description: http://wikitravel.org/en/High-speed_rail_in_China
> ...
> "They're not your grandfathers' trains anymore,"... new high-speed
> trains -- defined by national standards at 110 mph -- that ...
What? Europe, Japan & China all have much faster trains. Why so slow?
> Rochester's advantage is that trains could run as fast as 150 mph,
> he said, while trains along the "river route" would run no faster than
> 110 mph ...
Newest Chinese lines hit 250 mph. The slowest on the network, like Nanjing to Shanghai, are around 160 mph top speed; those already have upgrades under construction.
Should the US be considering buying some Chinese technology here? Or talking to Bombardier, Kawasaki & Ascom, where the Chinese got it.