3 ms·

I've started taking longer train trips when I need to get from NYC to anywhere in the Northeast corridor (between DC and Boston), instead of driving or flying.

I've started taking longer train trips when I need to get from NYC to anywhere in the Northeast corridor (between DC and Boston), instead of driving or flying. Often the price is the same or higher than flying, and the time is longer (even accounting for getting to/from the airport), but the ride is much more pleasant, with plenty of leg room, pleasant views, more quiet. A few times I even had a pleasant conversation in the meal car. I used to live in Japan and I'm intensely jealous of the high-speed trains there. A bullet-train equivalent in the northeast corridor, or between LA/SF would be a dream. I can't imagine that it wouldn't pay for itself in under 10 years and reduce air traffic considerably.

hollerith 2y ago
>A bullet-train equivalent in the northeast corridor, or between LA/SF would be a dream. There's a train between Miami and Orlando with an average speed of 69 mph. My guess as to why it happened there instead of in the northeast corridor is that the costs of procuring rights of way were significantly lower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightline
- slau 2y ago
  I’m bit confused by your comment as a bullet train is significantly faster than this train you mention. The French TGV has hit 574 km/h (356 mph) nearly 20 years ago. I can’t immediately find the average speed of the TGV, but considering there’s hundreds of km between stops, and that the cruising speed is just over 300 km/h (186 mph), I’d wager it’s significantly higher than the 111 km/h of the Brightline. In Europe, the high speed rail standard dictates 200 km/h (124 mph) for retrofitted rail and 250 km/h (155 mph) for dedicated high speed rail.
  - orwin 2y ago
    > The French TGV has hit 574 km/h (356 mph) nearly 20 years ago. I can’t immediately find the average speed of the TGV, but considering there’s hundreds of km between stops, and that the cruising speed is just over 300 km/h (186 mph), I’d wager it’s significantly higher than the 111 km/h of the Brightline. It really depends. Often, on the same line, you will have at least 2 TGVs: one with a single stop midpoint(or none), and another with multiple stops. Rennes-Paris (330 km train station to train station) could take me as low as 1h10, and as high as 1h55 depending on which train i took. So the minimum seems to be 165 km/h (sightly more than the Brightline) and the max around 280.
Bluestein 2y ago
Real pity Hyperloop did not work out ...

hollerith 2y ago

>A bullet-train equivalent in the northeast corridor, or between LA/SF would be a dream. There's a train between Miami and Orlando with an average speed of 69 mph. My guess as to why it happened there instead of in the northeast corridor is that the costs of procuring rights of way were significantly lower. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightline

slau 2y ago
I’m bit confused by your comment as a bullet train is significantly faster than this train you mention. The French TGV has hit 574 km/h (356 mph) nearly 20 years ago. I can’t immediately find the average speed of the TGV, but considering there’s hundreds of km between stops, and that the cruising speed is just over 300 km/h (186 mph), I’d wager it’s significantly higher than the 111 km/h of the Brightline. In Europe, the high speed rail standard dictates 200 km/h (124 mph) for retrofitted rail and 250 km/h (155 mph) for dedicated high speed rail.
- orwin 2y ago
  > The French TGV has hit 574 km/h (356 mph) nearly 20 years ago. I can’t immediately find the average speed of the TGV, but considering there’s hundreds of km between stops, and that the cruising speed is just over 300 km/h (186 mph), I’d wager it’s significantly higher than the 111 km/h of the Brightline. It really depends. Often, on the same line, you will have at least 2 TGVs: one with a single stop midpoint(or none), and another with multiple stops. Rennes-Paris (330 km train station to train station) could take me as low as 1h10, and as high as 1h55 depending on which train i took. So the minimum seems to be 165 km/h (sightly more than the Brightline) and the max around 280.

Bluestein 2y ago

Real pity Hyperloop did not work out ...