4 ms·

It’s not a bullet train. NYC to Boston is about 220 miles. If it takes 4 hours... Try driving from New York to Boston at a normal hour with regular traffic. W

It’s not a bullet train. NYC to Boston is about 220 miles. If it takes 4 hours... Try driving from New York to Boston at a normal hour with regular traffic. We flew to Providence over Labor Dat weekend to avoid the crazy traffic. Beijing to Shanghai is 800 miles and takes 4.5 hours. That’s a bullet train.

hadrien01 8y ago
Indeed. Real high-speed trains (up to 220mph) will arrive for the first time in the US in 2021.
- Shelnutt2 8y ago
  I assume you are referring to the Avelia Libery[1] the replacement for the acela express. Unfortunately until track and signal upgrades happen (no date on when they will happen) the train is limited to 160mph. It's better than acela but not much. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avelia_Liberty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avelia_Liberty
  - tialaramex 8y ago
    Does this have in-cab signalling? Britain built 140 mph capable trains, but experience showed the existing 125 mph was the maximum at which a human looking out of a window at coloured light signals is truly effective and so they're operated at only 125 mph. (Trains on High Speed 1 from London to the Channel have signals displayed inside the cab like a TGV so it's safe to go faster)
    - gsnedders 8y ago
      The UK is actually unusual insofar as we allow trains as fast as 125mph (201km/h) without in-cab signalling; most other places in Europe require in-cab signalling at lower speeds (some as low as half of that!).
IshKebab 8y ago
It is a high speed train though. It got up to 150 mph. So if it was able to go at its top speed the whole way it could have easily done it in under 2 hours.
alexhutcheson 8y ago
The southern (DC-NYC) section of the Acela is significantly faster: It travels ~225ish miles in 3 hours, for an average speed (including stops) of ~75 mph. There are two major factors that slow down the Acela north of NYC: geography, and conflicts with Metro-North. There are several sharp curves that keep the Acela trains from running at full speed, and the current Acela rolling stock doesn't accelerate very quickly even after passing through these bottlenecks. In the stretch between NYC and New Haven, trains are limited to a 90 mph top speed by Metro-North, and often have to go slower than that. The curves are pretty hard to fix without buying up some of the most expensive real estate in the country, and dealing with the political battles that come with that. Fixing the conflicts with Metro-North is theoretically possible with just a bit of extra track to allow trains to pass, but operating that way would probably require more cooperation than either railroad has recently shown itself capable of. This blog post has a good overview (which includes issues south of NYC): https://pedestrianobservations.com/2012/07/01/plan-b-for-hsr/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2012/07/01/plan-b-for-hsr... This one has a deep dive on how to fix one of the curves, which might give you a sense for how difficult these issues are: https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/12/high-speed-rail-from-new-rochelle-to-greens-farms-impacts-opportunities-and-analysis/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/12/high-speed-rai...

hadrien01 8y ago

Indeed. Real high-speed trains (up to 220mph) will arrive for the first time in the US in 2021.

Shelnutt2 8y ago
I assume you are referring to the Avelia Libery[1] the replacement for the acela express. Unfortunately until track and signal upgrades happen (no date on when they will happen) the train is limited to 160mph. It's better than acela but not much. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avelia_Liberty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avelia_Liberty
- tialaramex 8y ago
  Does this have in-cab signalling? Britain built 140 mph capable trains, but experience showed the existing 125 mph was the maximum at which a human looking out of a window at coloured light signals is truly effective and so they're operated at only 125 mph. (Trains on High Speed 1 from London to the Channel have signals displayed inside the cab like a TGV so it's safe to go faster)
  - gsnedders 8y ago
    The UK is actually unusual insofar as we allow trains as fast as 125mph (201km/h) without in-cab signalling; most other places in Europe require in-cab signalling at lower speeds (some as low as half of that!).

IshKebab 8y ago

It is a high speed train though. It got up to 150 mph. So if it was able to go at its top speed the whole way it could have easily done it in under 2 hours.

alexhutcheson 8y ago

The southern (DC-NYC) section of the Acela is significantly faster: It travels ~225ish miles in 3 hours, for an average speed (including stops) of ~75 mph. There are two major factors that slow down the Acela north of NYC: geography, and conflicts with Metro-North. There are several sharp curves that keep the Acela trains from running at full speed, and the current Acela rolling stock doesn't accelerate very quickly even after passing through these bottlenecks. In the stretch between NYC and New Haven, trains are limited to a 90 mph top speed by Metro-North, and often have to go slower than that. The curves are pretty hard to fix without buying up some of the most expensive real estate in the country, and dealing with the political battles that come with that. Fixing the conflicts with Metro-North is theoretically possible with just a bit of extra track to allow trains to pass, but operating that way would probably require more cooperation than either railroad has recently shown itself capable of. This blog post has a good overview (which includes issues south of NYC): https://pedestrianobservations.com/2012/07/01/plan-b-for-hsr/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2012/07/01/plan-b-for-hsr... This one has a deep dive on how to fix one of the curves, which might give you a sense for how difficult these issues are: https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/12/high-speed-rail-from-new-rochelle-to-greens-farms-impacts-opportunities-and-analysis/ https://pedestrianobservations.com/2018/01/12/high-speed-rai...