A new private Italian rail company (NTV) formed in 2006 will begin operating the new next generation Alstom AGV (Automotrice Grande Vitesse) trainsets at the end of 2011. This is the first private Italian rail company ever. The trainsets will be able to cover 600 miles in about 3 hours! Here in the USA such trains would be able to cover the distance between Washington DC and Boston MA in the time it takes an ACELA Express to travel currently from Washington DC to New York NY. For more information: http://blog.raileurope.com
I rode the Eurostar Italia a few times when I was in Italy 3 years ago, and in riding that (and other high speed trains in Europe), you can walk the train and see what elements they tried borrowing for Acela and get the sense that is what the Acela should have been like. One can always dream...
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on April 08, 2011, 02:36:54 AM
I rode the Eurostar Italia a few times when I was in Italy 3 years ago, and in riding that (and other high speed trains in Europe), you can walk the train and see what elements they tried borrowing for Acela and get the sense that is what the Acela should have been like. One can always dream...
Dream is correct. I think it's horrible that the US has no true high speed rail. If not cross-country, it should at least be along both coasts and connecting other major cities.
Quote from: WayneNYC on April 08, 2011, 02:33:49 PM
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on April 08, 2011, 02:36:54 AM
I rode the Eurostar Italia a few times when I was in Italy 3 years ago, and in riding that (and other high speed trains in Europe), you can walk the train and see what elements they tried borrowing for Acela and get the sense that is what the Acela should have been like. One can always dream...
Dream is correct. I think it's horrible that the US has no true high speed rail. If not cross-country, it should at least be along both coasts and connecting other major cities.
And . . . we probably never will see it in our lifetimes, IMHO, if the Tea Party advocates continue their efforts to drain funding from infrastructure development and to generally repeal the 20th Century! We will become a third world nation.
I honestly don't think cross country HSR would be viable in the US, but I think the regional networks that have been proposed are reasonable goals. In Europe, the point at which most people will not consider taking the train is for a trip that is more than 4-5 hours long (excluding overnight services). While the regional networks would overlap and connect to each other in some spots, and I'd encourage scheduling through trains from Boston to Charlotte or even all the way to Florida and from Washington to Chicago, I wouldn't expect anyone to actually ride the routes end to end.