4 ms·

Can we just get trains even half as good as in Japan here in the US. A high speed train (not hyperloop speeds) connecting the east coast cities together all the

Can we just get trains even half as good as in Japan here in the US. A high speed train (not hyperloop speeds) connecting the east coast cities together all the way down to Miami, for example would be huge. Doing Boston to DC in just ~3 hours would be amazing. And would beat the airports easily. Maybe in hindsight I'll be eating my words when they figure out how to actually build these hyper loops and we will all be traveling really fast with them, but I'm a bit more skeptical than that, and a good solution seems to exist already.

solarkraft 8y ago
Hyperloops are trains. A major part of the infrastructure needed, land, is the same. So it's not inconceivable to convert between the two.
- nixpulvis 8y ago
  Even better, if we can just upgrade the bullet trains later! Mayyyybe the idea is it'll be easier to hype a new fancy train to sell to the public, but I think it's foolish. We should start building bullet trains yesterday.
protomyth 8y ago
Need to buy it its own track since the cargo rails actually pay for themselves and have a lot of other infrastructure tied to them. I get the feeling it would actually be easier to get the land for a hyperloop (cool new thing, quieter, and no chance of hitting someone).
- vertex-four 8y ago
  You could have no chance of hitting someone by using fences along track like in the U.K. plus platform edge doors (so that nobody is ever exposed to the railway in any legitimate circumstance), or raised/tunnelled track where maintained fences aren’t a possibility. You could even use drones to monitor your fence, for another cool factor. People would have similar concerns about the visual pollution of Hyperloop vs fencing, and auditory pollution can be solved by correctly maintained sound barriers (even trees!).
  - protomyth 8y ago
    You could have no chance of hitting someone by using fences along track like in the U.K. Those aren't exactly 100% effective through lack of maintenance, stupidity, or just plain malice. Plus, train tracks need snow removal. A closed system is a big win for weather.

solarkraft 8y ago

Hyperloops are trains. A major part of the infrastructure needed, land, is the same. So it's not inconceivable to convert between the two.

nixpulvis 8y ago
Even better, if we can just upgrade the bullet trains later! Mayyyybe the idea is it'll be easier to hype a new fancy train to sell to the public, but I think it's foolish. We should start building bullet trains yesterday.

protomyth 8y ago

Need to buy it its own track since the cargo rails actually pay for themselves and have a lot of other infrastructure tied to them. I get the feeling it would actually be easier to get the land for a hyperloop (cool new thing, quieter, and no chance of hitting someone).

vertex-four 8y ago
You could have no chance of hitting someone by using fences along track like in the U.K. plus platform edge doors (so that nobody is ever exposed to the railway in any legitimate circumstance), or raised/tunnelled track where maintained fences aren’t a possibility. You could even use drones to monitor your fence, for another cool factor. People would have similar concerns about the visual pollution of Hyperloop vs fencing, and auditory pollution can be solved by correctly maintained sound barriers (even trees!).
- protomyth 8y ago
  You could have no chance of hitting someone by using fences along track like in the U.K. Those aren't exactly 100% effective through lack of maintenance, stupidity, or just plain malice. Plus, train tracks need snow removal. A closed system is a big win for weather.