As an employee of a major airline, I probably shouldn’t like this idea. However, as an environmentalist, opponent of traffic jams and the hassles (sorry, boss!) of airline travel, I see some benefit in high-speed rail.
My experience with trains involves not high-speed rail but slower commuter rail in major cities – London, Paris, Washington, Dallas, New York, and Chicago. I was always impressed by how many people these subway and light rail systems could move around. Jenny and I have taken the Trinity Railway Express to downtown Fort Worth and the American Airlines Center many times to avoid traffic and parking hassles.
Admittedly, I don’t know much about high-speed rail. I know they are popular and very successful in Europe and Japan. In terms of carrying a person or pound of cargo a given distance, they use less fuel and produce fewer emissions than a car, truck, or plane. Sure, even a high-speed train is much slower than a jet. However, if you account for the chance of flight delays and the extra time and trouble you spend at the airport prior to the flight, the difference in overall travel time drops.
Leaders in Texas have discussed a high-speed train network to link Dallas, Houston, and Austin at various times. It appears to finally have a chance of success thanks to significant private investment. Southwest campaigned strongly against the idea in the early 1990s for obvious reasons. You won’t see me campaigning against my employer, but I think the idea is at least worth considering.
Check out this article in Time for details about high-speed rail possibilities in the U.S., particularly in Florida.
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I love the idea of high speed rail. But if I took a train from Houston to Dallas … (like for example a Grey Hound bus) I am basically going from a very bad part of Houston to who know where in Dallas … how do I then cross the 20+ miles of no public transportation to my destination.
This stuff works well in London, NYC etc … cause once you get off the commuter / long distance train you are not in a transportation wasteland.
Texas should focus on fixing public transportation not this kind of high gloss gimmicks.
I hear you, Robert. Without a high level of local commuter rail coverage like you see in New York or London, a high-speed rail network across Texas becomes much less useful. DART is sloooooowly building a light-rail line in Dallas County with a few extensions into other counties. However, it will be decades before the area has sufficient coverage to make it useful for much of the population. They can't build faster due to lack of funding. They can't fund it with ticket sales alone because there aren't enough lines to convince a large enough portion of the population to use it.
A new stop is scheduled to open across from SWA headquarters and Love Field. Eventually that line will run to Carrollton along I-35, and a second line will branch off to DFW airport along 114. However, I won't use it much because they aren't planning a stop near my house any time soon. Even when they open the DFW station in late 2013 (maybe), I'm not sure how easy it will be to reach, or even whether they'll offer parking there. It might be only for DFW passengers.
I think part of the problem is how spread out Texas cities are. The population density is lower than the cities that have excellent light rail systems, making it both more difficult to cover the entire area and less cost-effective due to the lower revenue potential. We also love our cars and trucks and the control they give us over our transportation.
It is incredible that a modern industrial nation like ours doesn't have coast to coast high speed rail service. It is proven technology in countries like Japan and European nations. Some argue that the cost is prohibitive. There is some truth to that, and likely part of the cost would require participation by the federal government. Still, it should be a vital part of this nation's transportation system. Where are our visionaries? I would support a high speed train network in Texas as a beginning. Granddaddy
I agree, our lack of HSR does make us seem a bit old-fashioned compared to some other areas. I think funding is a huge part of it, both the lack of political interest in funding such a huge project and its mind-boggling cost. Japan and Europe are more densely populated than the US, especially the Great Plains and the Western US outside the major cities. Some estimates for the cost of HSR range from $30 million per mile up to $100 million per mile of track. I think the article estimated up to $1 trillion for a nationwide network. It would take a huge amount of ridership to earn back even a portion of those costs. For many possible lines, (Chicago to the Pacific NW, for example), I don't think it's possible. The government would have to fund a large portion of it. Without a few smaller-scale success stories, such as Florida or Texas, I think it will be decades before we see HSR on a large scale in America.
You're right. I agree………Granddaddy