Comments on: High speed rail in CA must be justified

By: Larry Gilbert

Larry Gilbert — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:12:24 +0000

Cook. There are options for each leg of the proposed route. After I wrap up our income taxes I will spend more time digging into the many pages of related preliminary findings.

An item did catch my eye relating to high speed trains from Anaheim to LA. In one document they say to meet the projected ridership it will require five trains per hour. I do not see anything indicating the number of cars to make up these HST trains nor how many of them will simply do an about face bringing passengers back to ARTIC vs continuing north to the bay area cities of SAC and SF. Is this an exotic “special interest” ride for Curt or will they ever justify the cost, which to date has yet to be pledged, for providing 800 miles of track that we were told with Prop 1A not just 25 to 30 miles that Curt is promoting. CHSRA. “Show me the money” before you begin.

By: cook

cook — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:27:02 +0000

I see that the preferred route follows the route Amtrak/UP route and crosses over them often. To save the current train stations the cities have built in the last decade the HST is pushed off to the other side(s), so all the private building around the track of the last decade will have to go. Even here in Santa Ana if the HST goes to Irvine as one alt option, the 25 story housing tower in the train district the city want to zone it, would have to be torn down.

I see the preferred route will require a complete rebuilding of the Amtrak/UP routes too. The HST route crosses over, back and forth throughout the route. Also the route goes though a great deal of new transit orientated building that has taken place around the new train stations.

By: Ron & Anna Winship

Ron & Anna Winship — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:02:23 +0000

#6 Jakes – whew dude….when is the last time you took the Shuttle System from Downtown Disney again? We would love to know where the current schedule might be found for all of the connections to John Wayne and LAX.

If you can find that info…be sure to post it right up – especially for those out of town guests you will be entertaining in the middle of summer.

By: Larry Gilbert

Larry Gilbert — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:24:24 +0000

Cook. I real prefer not adding all this stuff. However, from the Alternatives analysis Report, page 34, let me quote:
“The modeling of HST passenger service between Anaheim and los Angeles was tested and evaluated to prove the service reliable and not subject to delays that may be incurred by the operations of the existing freight and passenger rail operators. These initial evalautions were then examined in the context of the operational dynamics resident in the Phase 1 Service Plan (developed in December 2008, and included in Appendix F) to determine whether the alternatives could accomodate the refined service patterns in the Phase 1 Service Plan under the proposed timetable for the HST service. The Phase 1 Service Plan was developed based on a much more detailed ridership demand forecast that was produced by Cambridge Systematics, specific to the Phase 1 service scenario, and subsequent to the “high level” of train operation forecasts used for the July 2008 Operations Analysis.. Using the ridership estimates developed to formulate the stopping patterns and equipment requirements, the Phase 1 Service Plan identified the need for up to five trains per hour between Anaheim and Los Angeles.”

Cook. You can easily get overwhelmed reading all of the detailed data and options including at grade tracks, elevated arterial, deep bore tunneling or cut and cover tunnels.

By: Larry Gilbert

Larry Gilbert — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:06:17 +0000

Cook.
I’m going to wing it with this reply.
In reading some of the CHSRA data I recall speed at a bend near Fullerton restricting max speed to 70 MPH. Do the math. Anaheim to LA is about 26 miles depending on actual locations. Curt says the trip will take 20 minutes. Is that a non stop train? Let’s see. Traveling at 90MPH will get you to your destination in less than 20 minutes, a far cry from 200MPH.
Note: We rode the maglev train in Shanghai to the airport. That 18 1/2 mile ride took 7 1/2 minutes at an “average speed” of 268 MPH. That’s a considerable difference. With 17 million people living in Shanghai you do avoid traffic with their bullet train.

By: Cook

Cook — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:05:57 +0000

Oh, I did not think about the train being under ground a couple hundred feet.

By: Cook

Cook — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:25:53 +0000

I like the ideal of increased train service and the bullet train.

I have taken Amtrak and Metro Link from Santa Ana to Union Station (And most other stops too). I enjoy using this service when ever I can.

The route that UP & Amtrak use for passenger and freight now would not be available for a bullet train. A bullet train would need to use a massive amount of Eminent Domain. (Like taking the entire 5 freeway for the bullet train railroad bed.)

The current trains using this route are capable of doing over 70 mph and do so in a few spots between San Clemente and San Diego. This route between Irvine and Union station there is a speed limit of 35 mph for most of it.

Even the high speed trains of other places and countries, when they get to population centers they slow way down to about 35 mph.

It makes no sense to buy a 200 mph train and built a high cost route for a point A (Union Station) to point B (Anaheim) that would have a speed limit of not more than 35 mph.

By: Tony Bushala

Tony Bushala — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:22:07 +0000

#6, I think you may have to come write for my blog.

By: Jakes

Jakes — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:51:45 +0000

Winships: Do your homework. There’s already an extensive shuttle system in Anaheim which runs between the hotels, train station and Disneyland. Anything else is redundant. Pringle’s train just runs between Rinoville and Self-serving City.

By: Larry Gilbert

Larry Gilbert — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:18:03 +0000

Good morning Cook.
I have seen the proposed alignment and will try to respond later. We have a recall vote challenge that has hit the news that takes me to the ROV offices in Santa Ana tomorrow morning. My plate is already overflowing today.

By: cook

cook — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:26:46 +0000

Where is the route going to be? Are they going to buy Disneyland? to make room for the high speed train, and relocate it (Disneyland)to the renaissance area of Santa Ana?

By: Ron & Anna Winship

Ron & Anna Winship — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:56:48 +0000

*There goes Dr. Golightly again…..Please…In the words of Hillary Clinton…”It takes a Village!” not New York City!

You don’t need mega millions of people to create an economic, efficient and comfortable way to travel about the country.

The Pringle ARTIC plan is very cool. Guess you guys think finding and taking a shuttle from one of the hotels will create less pollution, less traffic and better use of Government Dollars…mainly…NONE! If you want the traffic off the streets ..try offering a reasonable alternative. How about HOVERCRAFT? We can see you running after that missed connection right now! Not Invented Here…is so stale Golightly.
Try another brand of mouthwash!