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The site is incomplete, and there are way, way more trains active at a given time. For instance the Tri-Rail and Brightline (high-speed rail) in Florida each ha
by condiment 3y ago
The site is incomplete, and there are way, way more trains active at a given time. For instance the Tri-Rail and Brightline (high-speed rail) in Florida each have 5-6 trains running simultaneously. Brightline is notable as the US's first credible foray into high-speed rail. Similarly most major cities in the US have either light rail, rapid transit, or both, which is maybe not included in this map. "Passenger rail" might have some highly specific semantic meaning that leaves these out of this map.
- solaarphunk 3y agoBright line isn’t HSR. The average speed is something like 65mph
- benatkin 3y agoHow is Brightline credible? It seems to be really expensive and has a high fatal accident rate.
- bjord 3y agoNJTransit is also a notable omission.
- dumbo-octopus 3y agoAs is the LA Metro (the rail, not Metrolink, the subway)
- ZanyProgrammer 3y agoObviously it’s not the first credible foray into HSR in the US-that honor is Acelas. Edit: if you’re referring to Brightline West, construction hasn’t even started.
- paddy_m 3y agoAcela isn't HSR, and Metroliner which came before had travel times from NYC to DC as low as 2.5 hours. Acela does the same trip in 3.5 hours. Metroliner lowered trip times primarily through faster acceleration.
- shiroiuma 3y agoBrightline isn't HSR either. According to Wikipedia, the max speed is only 200kph.
- woodruffw 3y agoAcela qualifies as HSR in the most basic sense: it has sections that run at 125mph. This is also the sense in which Brightliner in FL is HSR. (This doesn’t make the situation any less embarrassing.)
- ZanyProgrammer 3y agoBy any definition but yours Acela is indeed HSR, it’s the fucking fastest train in North America!
- trbleclef 3y agoThat doesn't mean it's fast
- lmm 3y agoIt's substantially faster than Brightline, so claiming it isn't HSR but Brightline somehow is is absurd.
- TylerE 3y agoIt is though. On a trip earlier this year I clocked at it almost 150mph via GPS. That's HSR by any definition.
- shiroiuma 3y agoAcela is indeed fast for a short stretch. But the average speed is terrible, so it's only "HSR" on a technicality. It could be serious HSR if they had control and/or ownership of the entire route and made it as good as that short section where they can hit that peak speed. Acela is like a Formula 1 car that gets to do one quick lap on a nice racetrack, then has to take another course through bumper-to-bumper traffic for the rest of the race.
- soupfordummies 3y agoNot totally sure on this, just making an informed guess: I think "passenger rail" implies passenger trains running on the "full/main" railroad lines that run all over the US. Something like light rail or local transit typically have their own discrete lines, in my experience. Again, could be wrong, that's just how I interpret it.