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Poquito Loco

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 12:22:01 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 4/16/2014 12:05 PM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 4/16/14, 11:58 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:35:17 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

If open land existed between two remote cities and a high speed train
could actually run at 150 to 200 mph for most of the run it might make
sense and people might use it. But we don't have that space in many
places where people would want to travel and the number of stops between
the cities negates the whole allure of high speed train transportation.

One of the most used Amtrak routes are on the northeast corridor. It
still represents a tiny fraction of the traveling public however. It's
not high speed and will never be high speed. Land doesn't exist and
there are too many required stops.

Exactly right. The Acela boasts of speeds around 130-135 MPH but it
averages more like 60-65 and that is "train time" not the time at the
station parking, checking bags, security, boarding and getting off.

TSA is already talking about going into a full scale "airport" like
security system. We are just one threat away from it and the
government likes to get bigger.

Bull****. I've been on the Acela many times and when it is "train time,"
it is moving a hell of a lot faster than 65 mph. Even the ****ty old
trains running on the ****ty CSX trackage from here to Florida hit 80
mph during "train time" and maintain that pace through each of the seven
million or so unguarded railroad crossings.

The only way high speed rail transit would make sense and be worth the
taking of land by eminent domain and building cost is if the trains
could run at 150+ mph between two or three cities, hours apart along the
route. That's just not economically possible given the population
density in most places and especially along the northeast corridor.
It's been studied and rejected as being viable many times. Yeah, the
buzz words sound great but the reality isn't there.

Flying, as horrible as it is, is the only viable option.

The distance from Union Station, Washington, DC to Penn Station, NY, is about 226 miles. The Acela
departing NY at 0600 arrives in DC at 0855. That's two hours and fify-five minutes. Driving time for
me would be about 4 hours. It would take Harry about 20 minutes longer to get there from Huntington,
MD (all according to Google Maps). It would take me about an hour to drive to Union Station, find
parking, walk to the train and board, and I'm supposed to be there a half hour before departure
time. That adds another hour and a half to my almost three hours of travel time. So, for a lot less
money, and saving about a half hour, or more, in time, I can drive to New York.

Poquito Loco

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 15:37:04 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:17:22 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

The distance from Union Station, Washington, DC to Penn Station, NY, is about 226 miles. The Acela
departing NY at 0600 arrives in DC at 0855. That's two hours and fify-five minutes. Driving time for
me would be about 4 hours. It would take Harry about 20 minutes longer to get there from Huntington,
MD (all according to Google Maps). It would take me about an hour to drive to Union Station, find
parking, walk to the train and board, and I'm supposed to be there a half hour before departure
time. That adds another hour and a half to my almost three hours of travel time. So, for a lot less
money, and saving about a half hour, or more, in time, I can drive to New York.

New York is one of the few places that you want to take the train to.
The airports suck and there is nothing to do with your car except pay
through the nose to park it.
Most of the country is not that way tho,.

You are pretty much screwed in LA without a car and all of Florida is
the same way unless you are just going to stay at the hotel the whole
time and never get much more than walking distance away.
Those folks are still served better by the airlines.

Park the car in New Jersey and take the ferry across the water. That's what my Dutch friends did.
They loved it. We also took the train once, but for four people, that gets much more expensive than
the car.

F*O*A*D

On 4/16/14, 3:47 PM, Poquito Loco wrote:
On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 15:37:04 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:17:22 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

The distance from Union Station, Washington, DC to Penn Station, NY, is about 226 miles. The Acela
departing NY at 0600 arrives in DC at 0855. That's two hours and fify-five minutes. Driving time for
me would be about 4 hours. It would take Harry about 20 minutes longer to get there from Huntington,
MD (all according to Google Maps). It would take me about an hour to drive to Union Station, find
parking, walk to the train and board, and I'm supposed to be there a half hour before departure
time. That adds another hour and a half to my almost three hours of travel time. So, for a lot less
money, and saving about a half hour, or more, in time, I can drive to New York.

New York is one of the few places that you want to take the train to.
The airports suck and there is nothing to do with your car except pay
through the nose to park it.
Most of the country is not that way tho,.

You are pretty much screwed in LA without a car and all of Florida is
the same way unless you are just going to stay at the hotel the whole
time and never get much more than walking distance away.
Those folks are still served better by the airlines.

Park the car in New Jersey and take the ferry across the water. That's what my Dutch friends did.
They loved it. We also took the train once, but for four people, that gets much more expensive than
the car.

I can't imagine a more horrific four hours traveling than being in a car
with Herring on a trip to NYC while he "regales" the other passengers
with an endless number of racial/ethnic jokes and slurs. By the time you
got to the Jersey Pike, you'd have to get out at a rest stop and puke.

F*O*A*D

On 4/16/14, 3:37 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:17:22 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

The distance from Union Station, Washington, DC to Penn Station, NY, is about 226 miles. The Acela
departing NY at 0600 arrives in DC at 0855. That's two hours and fify-five minutes. Driving time for
me would be about 4 hours. It would take Harry about 20 minutes longer to get there from Huntington,
MD (all according to Google Maps). It would take me about an hour to drive to Union Station, find
parking, walk to the train and board, and I'm supposed to be there a half hour before departure
time. That adds another hour and a half to my almost three hours of travel time. So, for a lot less
money, and saving about a half hour, or more, in time, I can drive to New York.

New York is one of the few places that you want to take the train to.
The airports suck and there is nothing to do with your car except pay
through the nose to park it.
Most of the country is not that way tho,.

You are pretty much screwed in LA without a car and all of Florida is
the same way unless you are just going to stay at the hotel the whole
time and never get much more than walking distance away.
Those folks are still served better by the airlines.

I've never had the need or desire for a car when visiting NYC. When we
train to Connecticut, we simply rent a car when we get there.

Mr. Luddite

On 4/16/2014 8:31 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:22:39 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:

I've never had the need or desire for a car when visiting NYC. When we
train to Connecticut, we simply rent a car when we get there.

So what does that have to do with high speed rail in California or
Florida. We agree the train works fine from DC to Boston. It does not
translate as well from Miami to Orlando.

It works. But it's not the high speed rail that Harry wants.

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