This morning on National Public Radio’s (“NPR”) Morning Edition program at 6:45 AM EST and again in a few minutes at 8:45 AM is a 4 min. 27 sec. report on the above - here’s the lead-in:
“March 4, 2009 ·President Obama’s economic stimulus package includes $8 billion for speeding up train travel. America is far behind other industrial countries in high speed rail. A few years ago, Spain was also behind the curve. But the Spanish network is expanding fast, and the trains are beating planes.”
I thought the report was pretty good.* The Wisconsin governor (name I can’t remember) - who was interviewed while on board one of those trains - mentioned that he wants to establish a high-speed rail network between Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago (that last is a real political “touchstone” these days, I suppose).
Paul North.
*EDIT: I forgot to put in that the report says that although this HSR was established by Spain’s Socialist government, the opposition conservative party also supports it - included was an interview with one of the conservative leaders. [Imagine that !]
Some of us Wisconsin residents have been wondering why our illustrious governor (Doyle) had to spend tax dollars to go for a train ride in another country. Wouldn’t a trip to the northeast corridor have been perhaps as informative, perhaps even more relative. I somehow do not envision Wisconsin getting or even needing something as fancy as what Spain has. Certainly a train like the Acela would be more than adequate for the transportation needs around here.
In addition, if he really wanted to get the nitty-gritty about any type of rail equipment or operations, all he had to do was come on these forums; we’d have told him all (and more) than he needed to know. With people on here like Paul North, RailwayMan, Ed Blysard, Mudchicken, Wabash1, (and others I can’t think of right now), we could educate him from a perspective to which he most likely does not otherwise have access.
You’d think that a governor of the state that houses the headquarters of arguably the best railroad publications in the world, would know to tap into that resource.
In the governor’s defense, he’s probably never heard of Trains, MR, or any of the other trade publications, or even Kalmbach…
I suspect he may have travelled to Spain because of an impression that because we (the US) are so far behind in HSR that we have no idea how to do it. His picture of rail travel probably dates to the period just before Amtrak. We (rail enthusiasts) know better, of course.
On the other hand - looking at a system such as Spains, then dismissing it as not appropriate when we can simply take an Acela-like approach might be part of the plan, too.
You’d think that by the time someone becomes Governor, they would know how to do an internet search. Unless, of course, he always had somebody do that for him as well.
You can spend billions upon billions on rail travel but the bottom line is: YOU HAVE TO GET PEOPLE TO RIDE THOSE TRAINS!.
Question needed answered also, Do the host railroads have a say in it as being forced to host Amtrak or another entity to use their rails for passenger service? or will that RR get monies to gold plate their rails in return? I think it was a UP head that once said, “I would rather have another slow moving coal train on my line than another Amtrak train”.
You’d think that by the time someone becomes Governor, they would know how to do an internet search. Unless, of course, he always had somebody do that for him as well.
I dont think they have a government office for that. Somebody can contact him and have him open up some sort of Department of Internet Searches.
Of course, one has to know what one is searching for, too. The point being that he may be marvelously uninformed on passenger rail…
I just saw a post on a regional forum regarding a rumor that a third track might be restored to the NYC Water Level Route between Buffalo and points east. At one time it was four tracks, so for the most part, the real estate is already there. The intent, of course, would be for higher speed passenger service.
It’s interesting that the topic of HS Rail has been brought up. As I mentioned in the book thread, I just read Derailed by Joseph Vranich.
One of the arguments that Mr. Vranich made was that HS Rail needs to be developed independently of Amtrak. There are a variety of reasons, but mostly it comes down to the fact that Amtrak is more focused on maintaining the status quo and only in developing an incremental approach to HS Rail. Their best effort is the NE corridor, and he argues that such a system is well behind what could be. In that respect, I think he’s right and that visits by politicians to other countries to see implementation of HS rail abroad is a good idea.
Maybe Diamond Jim wants to see a running train system.
The Spanish Talgo trains have been posting availability of 90% or better in the Amtrak service they are on. The Acela has been quite a bit less.
But many people didn’t want to use a proven foreign designed system (and the FRA wouldn’t allow them), and spent far more of the US (and Canada’s) taxpayer’s money on something new to meet the FRA regs, and all the fixes. Your government at work.
I don’t think I will see anything come out of all this HSR talk in Wisconsin, except maybe a promotion for Diamond Jim. They way things are built up, siting stations will be very hard to do, even if they found the money to buy the landowners out. Placing a station in MADison might be the hardest part. Pulling the Watertown-MADison line out of the mud would probably be cost-prohibitive.
Contrary to opinions suggested here, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and Secretary of Transportation Frank Busalacchi may have a better handle on rail service-freight and passenger-than the average governor/state DOT leader. Busalacchi, a former Teamster organizer, was on the US Congressional advisory/study group that produced an extensive report on US transportation needs for all modes and in spite of his motor carrier background is an advocate for improved rail services.
Given that former Trains Editor Mark Hemphill, Publisher Kevin Keefe and Sr Editor Matt VanHattem were all present when Governor Doyle joined then Amtrak President Dave Gunn at the Milwaukee Amtrak Station for Empire Builder 75th Aniversary, it seems likely that the governor is well aware that Trains is headquartered in Waukesha, WI. If not, the staff missed an oppurtunity.
Beyond me why any busy person would wade through all the trivia and dribble put out here by forum members-including yours truly-just to come up with a few informative gems.
I don’t see anything wrong with taking a look at a good example of a high-speed rail system – how else would anyone know what it is or what it does? There’s no substitute for on-the-ground observation. I don’t think I am interested in a leader that never bothers to get out of the office and see for him/herself. And since high-speed rail seems to have a lot of voter support behind it, it doesn’t seem like a waste of time or money.
I think I would then want to look at a bad example, too – and I know just where to find one …
But that’s just my opinion, which is worth less than nothing.
Back in the Conrail days, whenever NY started agitating for faster service between Albany and Buffalo, the stock answer was “pay for a 3rd track”. I guess CSX must be giving the same answer! [;)]
Au contraire, mon ami…your opinion counts for a great deal, as does the Governor’s in question, and so does, to him, what the Spanish have to say about the progress they made, why they made it, what criteria they set, and then how they achieved the success they apparently have today. There is no substitute for coal-face time, and not least for the person who has to get his constituency on board…so to speak.
Besides, to quote an old Army aphorism, “Time spent on recce is seldom wasted.” And gosh, if it didn’t happen to be in sunny Spain… [8D]
