High speed rail in the United States. I have 4 series in progress: 1) Stew's News. The U.S. HSR news of each month in one presentation. Uploaded the 4th Friday of each month. 2)FRA HSR Corridors. The Federal Railroad Administration has designated 10 HSR Corridors in the U.S. plus the Northeast Corridor(or NEC). I'm doing a video about each to see what a train averaging 140-160mph might look like in those corridors. 3) HSR City Pairs. This looks at U.S. pairs with metro populations of 1 million or more and no large city between, that could be connected by high speed rail. 4) Taking Back The Streets/Taking Back The Rails. Looks at more radical ideas of assuming freeway and freight right of way for HSR in slightly more practical terms with a tongue-in-cheek presentation. Since I'm not far from the southern end of the proposed Brightline West route, I'll probably also provide regular updates on that once it gets started.
Why doesn’t it continue straight to the main strip area? And if/when the Palmdale/CAHSR connection is made, will the Rancho Cucomonga station/connection still be needed?
Look at how cheaply China does high speed rail. Money is being wasted and funneled away. Have China come in and do the us high speed rail for a fraction of the cost
Local union better negitionate for 75.00 hourly and 2000.00 weekly for operators to travel to work this construction grade for brightline , driving ,, daily , food , gas and places to stay while this is in faze one and going forward . Being in vegas , people will gouge construction people . 8.00 gallon gas
So the Feds giving CHSR $3.6B will cover the interest. What will CHSR do when they get to the Tehachapi mountains ? Even California doesn’t have that kind of money. I knew California govt couldn’t be trusted with this big of a project in 2008 ! It will never be finished
Yeah, roughly 15 months of inflation at the current rate. Tehachapi is pretty far off. By current means its unlikely they would connect San Francisco too much earlier than 2050. It would probably be Anaheim-Burbank after that, then tackle Bakersfield-Burbank.
Florida has Brightline Orlando to Miami 235 mile rail connection that cost less than one-tenth California's money pit HSR, & projected ridership is giantly overestimated. Its future is in extreme doubt. Who the frikk is going to ride your train, especially at the prices you would have to charge?
PLEASE DO NOT SAY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT RAILS. Most rails dont help people who don't drive. Thats the main n primary purpose of public transportation. Of course, selfish train lovers dont really care. Brightline west is another joke. Who is going to visit Baker? How many people in Baker are going to take HSR to Vegas? Again, HSR makes more sense to stop at couple major cities within 200 miles.mits ok to stop at small cities such as Cucamonga. Oh, wait, thats the main terminal. Building passenger rails across desert passing two small towns. The future terminals, LA , current terminal, Cucamonga, has almost 0 public transportation, n Vegas has een worse public transportation than LA. Sarah Palin n other Alaska GOP politicians, you found your buddies in CA liberal. You both love to build something to nowhere. Brightline west is typical airport like stations. Except even the worst airport, the airplane can go anywhere. You need lay the track on HSR. Why Biden n Buttigieg n other rail fanatics love airport like train stations. Dont bring Japan n other countries, Brightline west airport like stations in other countries will be a legitimate reason to impeach government officials. In China, you can't do it, but, it give anti CCP one more resoue to yell at CCP corruption outside of China. USA HSR supporters are proud of this stupid project. CAHSR passes more population dense metro areas. However, lack of public transportation outside SF makes this project not feasible. Downtown Fresno near Amtrak station has terrible public transportation. Then again, providing accessibility to non car drivers n reduce carbon footprint n traffic congestion in each metro area are not important to rail fanatics. Texas, another airport style station. CCP has one more thing to say about US Corruption. Even the lowest ridership routes will have more ridership in future Texas HSR n CAHSR. Those low ridership routes pass by more population dense areas. Texas public transportation is so terrible that makes LA below F public transportation like heaven. I remember when i mentioned i dont drive to managers at a government subcontractors in Houston. They couldn't say anything. They said unlike LA, Houston has terrible public transportation. Unlike LA, thats sad. They said its not funhy to walk an hour in Houston. I looked google map. They were right. Anywa, they gave me address, if i can find an apartment within easy walking distance to work n grocery shop, feel free to schedule second interview. I couldn't. People warned me 105 degrees in Houston is different than 105 degrees in LA. I did walk couple times n wait for bus under 105 degrees in LA. My friend told me Houston is hot is different than LA hot. Anyway, lack of public transportation in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Arlington, n people want to build HSR airports. I wander what those managers think? Don't bring the private build on Brightline west n Texas HSR. They are not going to make profit even with heavily governments subsidy. I dont know how tat will work in GOP Texas state when HSR is not making money. Any government funding should be used to improve public transportation. Then again, helping poor, handicap, n seniors to suffer less under 105 degrees is never selfish train lovers agenda. The breakdown on train services in NJ at the end was a major disaster because people take trains to go to New York n transfer local public transportation. That will no be problems if there is breakdown in the future useless Brightline west, CAHSR, n Texas HSR. About Siemens getting contract for control systems. Most likely, Siemens will subcontract most of project to someone else. I used to work in train control company. That company designed train control software n hardware interface. Oh, back in 96, the manager questioned about how i could get to work if i take public transportation. Thats most contradictory question for a subway control software company. He was the project manager for LA red line. I know most people drive to LA MTA office even after couple rails have been built, n they complain about Downtown LA traffic. The PM that askec me that dumb question. The PM that managed Taipei project hired me. You don't need cars to get to train stations or around. In fact, when managers, project leads, staff traveledl to Taipei, they took public transportation. There was no such thing as how do you get back hotel without cars. I was at that company for 2 years n left for a better opportunity. Late, that company hired another person who doesn't drive. His assignments were in USA. i guess my reputation gave the confidence to hire another person who doesn't drive. However, years later, that person showed his performance review, n it said Mr Xyz cannot work because he doesn't drive. He is a software engineer not chauffeur or delivery staff. Of course, most subway stations main depots are not easy access by people who don't drive. Only in America, subway related business discriminate against people who take public transportation. I expect this happens to all HSR hiring including subcontractors. Of course, there is law to prevent, but company HR know how to deal. One legitimate reason is how to get to client site. Very sad, non car drivers will have legitimate reasons not getting job or getting fire. Thank you Lucid Stew n selfish train lovers for supporting this irony. YOU GUYS DID EXCELLENT JOB DESTROYING US PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FURTHER. time to invest car stocks
@@davidjackson7281 don't know what you mean. It could be sacarsm. I am doing OK. I just don't go out all the time. I finally found a remote job. Its difficult to get around without cars. The trains do not help non car drivers. We try to live near bus stops, but our jobs, grocery stores, hospitals do not have that choice. Life is already difficult for us. Train lovers, do not make our life more difficult. Do not call public transportation when it does not serve the purpose.
I've gotta ask, why finish with that big beautiful freeway? I can't tell if it's sarcasm, or trying to point out how large freeways are. Regardless, it doesn't seem on brand. Why not have something pro your channel?
And now I sound like I'm nitpicking, but have you given any thought on a channel rebrand? Lucid Stew might have been a fun name, but it gives no indication or implication that this channel is about trains.
The point is , if you dont read the ground existing you are not in their check book ,yet tho its a bit of a hype like a new rifle caliber coming on the market , yet again out side of the median would be the best because of work crews , man hours cut to because of logistics if crews , materials and production put it out of the interstate , traffic crashes , people distracted by bondage of cell phones , how are crews going to get to and from the equipment to build the grade , and materials used , , drive pilings , concrete trucks , pumptrucks it aint going to fly man , let alone travel to and from job area s at the greed of ones gobbeling rent , food , gas prices out there alone will set your agenda off course , you need eziament out side median, i worked on union pacific rail widing in nebraska up line 3rd track 150 miles of rail grade, i operated excavator right beside number onetrack live rail trains coming at you , SAFETY FIRST , I BEEN IN DIRT WORK , CRANES BRIDGES , PIPE , DRAIN , GRADING FOR OVER 45 YEARS , 8 DOLLAR GAS PER GALLON DAILY AND FOOD , day and night shifts , brightline is hypte up , china driven biden fed to get votes , go spend your money lefty loosey
I don't see the complete removal of northbound I-35 in Texas occurring ever. I would love to see how this would look if HSR were in the median, with an alternative of it being elevated.
For the long island option, what about running up the Ronkonkoma branch all the way to green port then tunneling or bridging from there? The ronkonkoma branch is exceptionally straight for most of its run and you could straighten out a few curves and get a ludicrously straight row. I think it would be a shorter tunnel than the other option and if you follow the islands right off of there you could get basically right to the rhode island section of the neck which is also one of the fastest parts!
I was 12 when they initially launched this initiative and they projected it to be finished by 2020 but surpassed the budget by approximately 95-100 Billion. now I’m 24 and still in it’s initial phase:(
To be fair, they believed they'd be able to build it extremely quickly, so a lot of that delay is due to required organizational and environmental work. However, only 9 years into construction they are about 5 years behind schedule. The original planned 'initial operating segment' was supposed to open this year.
Absolutely right, there are also accounts that they allocated the majority of the funds to compensate homeowners for constructing on or above their property as the project would have traversed agricultural areas.
So far Vegas Loop is planning to have a station on the corner of Blue Diamond and Las Vegas Blvd., but I'm guessing they'll put one on the BLW property as well.
@@gregory596 Possibly. I was assuming inflation would continue quieting down a little. Although yesterday I caught the financial news for a few minutes and it looks like treasury bond yields are inching up again...
Hi Lucid, Finance, Real Estate and Law was my academic field, eventual degree, and the first 3-4 years of my career before I moved into data science. Doing complex financial/project cost estimates was my bread and butter, although I’m a bit out of practice. I do not think your conclusions especially w/regard to the effect of inflation on CAHSR are correct. I could sit down and do the analysis myself after work. I think there’s an algebraic/series computation error, or an incorrect assumption about future cash flows that’s causing you to find an infinity where there shouldn’t be. I’m sorry I don’t have a specific thing in mind as I’m rusty, but I would be happy to respond in more detail if you would like someone to double check your numbers.
Keep in mind, the absolute amount of spending is NOT growing. Like, not even keeping up with inflation. They have spent $13B so far. They estimate Merced-Bakersfield @ $30-33B. It should be done in 8-10 years. That's a range between $1.7B and 2.5B/year PLANNED for the next 8-10 years. Granted, I simplified things a lot, but another thing to keep in mind is that its fairly probable they also will not make a significant dent in the funding deficit between now and 2030 because they almost surely will not be doing construction anywhere but between Merced and Bakersfield until it is completed. State revenues through 2030, unless policy changes, are already all accounted for. Some of the things like deficit*X years inflation/X years of course is greatly simplified for purposes of illustration. And of course, dividing the deficit by current spending without accounting for inflation is nearly nonsensical, but again, its mainly to illustrate a point rather than to be mathematically accurate.
Bunch of whiners and complainers in here. Glad that the average bonehead isn't in charge to give up at the first hurdles. Can't stand the mindset that if it isnt a perfect replica of the shinkansen than its a failure
I've always found that Seattle-Vancouver leg intimidating, while the proposals from consultants over the years seemed like anything speedy was just pie-in-the-sky. I didn't do much better starting off thinking I could show them how to do it. (Vancouver with some kind of long tunnel, otherwise it's and eternity.) As a sort of indication about this segment: the luxury train is slower than Amtrak but has higher ridership. The Eugene-Portland thing in the Highway looks pretty good. I never studied that part but clearly there should eventually be a fast passenger service from Sacramento to Seattle anyway. I did do a tunnel up to Mt. Shasta, CA, which seems to shorten it a lot, though at the south end it dumps you into some more tight curvature, just to eliminate the switchbacks. The only solution I can think of is make the lttle town to the south a permanent express stop, about 5 minutes before Mt. Shasta. A few more tunnnels suggest themselves going north from there to Eugene. I did find a great way to configure Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia-Portland (there's a tunnel going NE out of Tacoma) that makes it faster than bypassing Olympia because there's no serious obstacle to having straight tracks, once you're past the Tacoma "shared assets" realm. (that's all got to be grade separated) It follows a certain less-than-Interstate highway going south into Olympia - Martin Way. I found a super place for a train station right by the capitol, except it's a stub-end terminal, which I thought could be remedied by some German or Japanese system for reversing the seats automatically. But what if passengers get chewed up in them? Still, no one likes riding backwards.
It's a lot of tunnel! I got some guff for punting somewhat with the 19 mile tunnel out of downtown Seattle. The feedback was that I should have cut and covered under U.S. 99 instead, so... a 24 mile tunnel! I just can't see this happening. I think maybe they could do a blended system, although even that would be a pain through Seattle. There is some potential for bypasses in the countryside, but the metros are hell. I also don't see where they're getting travel times between major pairs at less than an hour for less money. I got feedback from a lot of Canadians that it should just be run to Surrey and let local transit handle the rest, which sounds a little crazy, but they know their area a lot better than I do. A lot of them also liked that eastern approach to connect Abbottsford and Vancouver. I see what you're talking about there with Martin Way. Honestly, I think I just got tunnel fatigue at some point and sort of gave up on Olympia and Tacoma. Also, in hindsight, in that area I could have shortened my 13 mile tunnel by hooking up with SR512 for 7 miles, but hey, its published.
@@LucidStew Ha-ha to tunnel fatigue. That comment I wrote was unintelligible. Yes, I drew a tunnel going NE from near Tacoma. (From there it made use of disused right of way going north with no big tunnel otherwsie, I think.) On the other side (Martin Way) it only absolutely needs to be tunnelized where there's a big hill, where it first meets Martin Way on the east for a mile or two. The idea of getting the tracks in/over the median west of there is maybe possible. It's pretty boxed in though. That's in addition to tunnel starting a mile out of Olympia, mostly under roads.
"Light Metro" - I like that. It was about the time that the first "Light Rail" boondoggles (especially "Newark Light Rail" - whereby they ruined the Newark City Subway with grade crossings) were getting underway in NJ that the Feds indoctrinated their designation for the subway mode as "Heavy Rail" - this in an apparent effort to dissuade anyone promoting planning for subways and hopefully get more relatively useless and nevertheless outrageously expensive "Light Rail Projects" going, creating boom times for their fused-at-the-hip consultancies. Anyway, they succeeded in establishing a Light Rail Boom as far as planning for the things. It sort of seems like a propaganda effort to gain acceptance for grade crossings (that get etched in stone so you can never get rid of them) and the culmination (let's hope) is Brightline/FEC.
I had to look up what 'Light Metro' meant. I'm not super familiar with transit. We barely have any out here. It's kind of like with Montreal and their rubber-tire metro. I had no idea such things exist. The idea of a huge bus-train is something out of 60s science fiction. Amazing.
@@LucidStew I think Vancouver has linear induction of the Bombardier Innovia type and their successors, also Kennedy Airtrain and Detroit People Mover, which was the first. - but they can't seem to get it over 60mph. When they were first being developed they had to weigh the train cars down because a side effect of the linear induction is they lift the train off the tracks. I have it on good authority it's possible to get linear induction without the third rail - 'contactless' - and without the lifting effect as well, which would signal the end of the Railroad Dark Ages as I see it. With no square wheels they'd be able to go everywhere third rail powered stuff goes, just not on road-rail grade crossings. Well IDK maybe there could be some way to accommodate the 'exciter rail' but figure it would need to be bigger for higher speed, or closer - and that's the thing that freaks me out about being a few millimeter from an object that's not moving. I think TransRapid has said they can now operate with a 1-cm gap, which is better. the one at Kennedy goes about 60 at one point and it's pretty scary. It's on a curve in the air.
Just to clarify, is $120 billion the estimated cost for the whole HSR line from San Francisco to San Diego? And do I understand correctly that they have enough money for the initial section from Bakersfield to Merced? I have to admit that your videos have been a reality check for me. I had wanted to assume that the situation wasn't quite as bad as the negative media coverage has portrayed, but the project does seem to be in pretty rough shape, even with the recent grants from the federal government. One of the things that's really frustrating that you allude to is the massive construction costs in the US, which are far higher than other countries. Tunneling, for example, is about 3x more expensive here than in France, where the environmental laws are just as stringent, and where the workforce is more highly unionized. Researchers at NYU did a study on why infrastructure costs so much more here, and they found many factors, but one of them is the tendency to reinvent the wheel, and a refusal to learn from other countries. Costs end up ballooning, and it plays right into the hands of Republican naysayers who portray projects like HSR as wasteful, pie-in-the-sky porkbarrel projects. (Even though the costs of new freeway projects also tend to spiral out of control in the US. See the big dig in Boston, for example, which cost over $14 billion.) It's all very frustrating. I really pray that the federal government is able to pass the HSRA, but that is likely a heavy lift, and projects like this are likely to remain very precarious. And if California can't even pull off HSR, it doesn't give much hope for the rest of the country.
$120B would be for Phase 1 San Francisco to Anaheim, but as I said, that's not accounting for inflation beyond 2034, and Phase 1 will not be done even remotely close to 2034. They do NOT have the full funding for Merced-Bakersfield. They are currently about $5 billion short.
The cost for a one way ticket from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas is estimated to be $200 and that is insane. Brightline does not like to talk about that, I have seen numerous videos with brightline execs and whenever someone asks about ticket price the execs side step the question. I would never spend $400 for a round trip by rail. I can go to ontario and catch a flight for less money. A b737 probably uses less energy per person compared to the brightline rail.
Brightline West is a great project but I really hope that entire route will be double tracked one day. There will likely be demand that is unmet due to not being able to run many trains on the corridor
