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Chinese operator orders trains for new intercity service in Sweden
I’m not sure why the California HSR folks should pay attention to this. Gothenburg - Stockholm is a conventional, electric line. No high speed. Most of it good for around 100mph, give or take. These FLIRTs are a regional train that is being modified to work for long distance (considering that the entire distance is 3-4 hours, depending on the number of stops). Not remotely the same as what’s being planned in California or operating on high speed lines in Europe.
Why can’t we open up the Northeast Corridor to competition like this?
Maybe if we didn’t subsidize the competition, or provided private operators subsidized right of way (as we do for the competition and Sweden is apparently doing for passenger rail), privately operated passenger trains could come back. Then this debate about Amtrak subsidies could go away!
California HSR officials, are you paying attention to this?
Wake up AMERICA!!! ESPECIALLY CONGRESS!!! The rest of the world is leaving the United States in their DUST!!!
America goes socialist while the rest of the world is privatizing. If somebody would have told this to the Greatest Generation back in 1946, at best, they would have laughed at the joke. At worst, none of them would have believed America going socialist. You have to admit, Amtrak is run like the Post Office or any other government agency. Poor service, job protection rackets, and large pensions are the priorities. All this courtesy of the Most Worthless Generation, Baby Boomers. I can say that because technically, I am at the trailing end of that group.
The biggest reason for Amtrak even existing is government regulations of the railroads before Staggers. Without all those regulations, the railroads could have shut down the money losing branch lines and set prices to what the market would bear. Instead, government dictated prices and trucks had a field day while mainline passenger and freight service deteriorated due to reduced maintenance. End result was Penn Central, Conrail before Staggers, Rock Island, and the Milwaukee. With quite a few others heading in that direction at various speeds.
Good old Jay Walder. Former MTA head, now heading up projects like this.
Wait for the first wreck, Svenskas. These ain’t Volvos youse be getting, just re-cycled “C-ration” cans. Skol!
It seems that commentators are not really satisfied with AMTRAK Services in the Northeast Corridor. Privatization seems to be the solution and the future. But I do not think railways work the same way like buses or airlines. Far distance traffic on railways in Europe is supposed not to be government-funded and so theoretically the tax-payer does not have to pay for this service. What is supported is the infrastucture. That means that railway undertakings have to pay a kind of toll to use the tracks and this toll does not necessarily cover the costs. But the costs would be the same regardless if the railway undertaking running the long distance traffic is private or government owned. The next step: The number of possible trains is limited depending on the amount of traffic. So there are generally two choices: Like in Britain there is a main railway undertaking running long distance trains on specific lines for a special number of years. If it does not work out the government can order the service from another railway undertaking. The other way is to allow competing trains on the same line. That means depending on the line that the number of trains is limited. So competing railway companies have to negotiate how the would run their trains. If they do not get any agreement a regulator has to decide how many trains every company can run and at which schedule. With the beginning competition it would mean that company 1 which served first has possibly to cut back to allow competition. Maybe in USA it would be not so critical as most trains do not have free access and have to be reserved anyway. But in Europe there are many countries where the freedom of railway travel is provided. Having the ticket you catch the next train. It does not work with competition as you have to have the right ticket for the right company. So there is not really an advantage of more trains on the line if you cannot really use them all.
There is another thing. One commentator critisized government owned services for secure jo