Stew's U.S. High Speed Rail News December 2024 | Northeast Corridor Acela Brightline West CAHSR

[@LucidStew]

ATTN: @ 5:17 it is indicated that the celebration for Lancaster-Harrisburg took place at Harrisburg. It has been pointed out the Elizabethtown station is featured in the photo. That is AMTRAK's error. The story is indicated to take place in Harrisburg, PA. I'm not going to accept responsibility for knowing what every train station in the country looks like. EDIT: however, I was able to locate a separate source on this that did specify Elizabethtown. Now I know to double-check Amtrak stories, and I bleed a gold star in learning the lesson.

[@elicarlson7682]

No boo boo 😢

[@davton1999]

Do not remember how I found your channel, but I do no think there is another video series on youtube I anticipate more than Stew's U.S. High Speed Rail News

[@mr.conductorfromsts4204]

I saw the first of 3 Arches of the Brand New Portal North Bridge just after few days from putting in place when I was on the NJ Turnpike. I can’t wait for 2 more arches. And the rest of them, including putting the tracks, and overhead catenary wires. And I also want to congratulate for both Amtrak and NJ Transit.

[@linuxsisschannel8602]

I want to say that regardless of what Texas does about those bills. The federal government of México is building a train line from Saltillo to Nuevo Laredo crossing through Monterrey, the speed will be between around 160km/h to 200km/h. It will be build around midterm of 2025 The idea is to make this train go from México city to Nuevo Laredo.

[@Eragor-h5n]

In other words, the idea is to build the line from Mexico City to Nuevo Laredo, then try and work with the Texas government to get the line from Nuevo Laredo to Austin built with a customs/border inspection station. This is fascinating both because, if built, it would be one of the only international high speed rail projects outside of Europe and it would be the first US-Mexico rail connection of any kind ever built (there has been several rail lines operating between the US and Canada, but never any lines between US and Mexico largely due to the unstable nature of the latter country).

[@linuxsisschannel8602]

@Eragor-h5n would be better to join both projects if I'm honest, to save money and speed process. San Antonio/Monterrey project is old. They have been trying to push this project since 2000, if I'm correct. Sadly, both politicians in Mexico and the US are disappointing 😞

[@Fidel_cashflo]

@@Eragor-h5n republicans would never in a million years allow a train that crosses the Mexican border

[@ciello___8307]

Crazy that mexico has better trains than us now. Embarrasing for the US

[@linuxsisschannel8602]

@ciello___8307 If we are honest, the US still has the best train system in all North America. So far, Mexico only has the Train Maya and the Interoceanico compared to the big US extension of trains. But Mexico is moving forward. The current goal of this administration is to open at least 3 train lines. I think what Mexico is doing better is to have some section electrified with moder trains and aim to have a better frequency and with their own right of way (not share with freight) Or at least that is the plan for these 3 new lines

[@drewsmith2930]

Thanks!

[@LucidStew]

Thank you! This extremely helpful and gets me a little past half the sales tax. I'm hope that the new computer will quickly result in a streamlined production process resulting in more videos. Thanks to the extended capability that rig will have, that process should also become gradually more sophisticated over time.

[@RJ-tr8vt]

Ah Yeah! It's my old pal Lucid Stew with Stew's News! what a way to start the month :D

[@tjnawalinski6023]

Amtrak electrician here. I’m very happy to see that sub 41 in Kearny is FINALLY being moved! I hate working there so much, and it’s a very critical failure point in the system. It floods CONSTANTLY, and there are centipedes and giant spiders everywhere on every surface. Not sure whose bright idea it was to build a substation surrounded on 3 sides by water

[@LucidStew]

Hey, happy to hear your perspective on this! I used to install cable and have dealt with low voltage(thankfully never high) in all sorts of situations like rain pouring directly off a roof and onto my head, so I definitely appreciate the travails of working in adverse conditions. I'm glad you'll be getting some relief.

[@MichaelfromtheGraves]

I always watch your monthly videos immediately so here's some money

[@LucidStew]

Thank you. This helps to advance the goal of covering the sales tax on a new render computer, which will be extremely helpful in the efficiency of my general process. It will also allow more detail since I currently run out of video RAM or crash UE5 on a regular basis when trying to push more complicated scenes.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

Thanks for keeping us updated.

[@NithinJune]

Watching your channel helped me understand why Pork Barrel politics exists. I genuinely find it hard to care about anything happening that doesn’t impact/fund projects in California 😭

[@LucidStew]

Yeah, its an unfortunate side effect of a representative republic without term limits. The main goal of a federal politician is to get re-elected and get into powerful committee positions. They mainly accomplish that by delivering for constituents on some level and building seniority.

[@gregory596]

For the record, the photo at 15:45 is not me. Although my brother did once go out in a hurricane with a skateboard and a homemade sail, so there is some family resemblance.

[@LucidStew]

Awesome.

[@alexisdespland4939]

merry christmas stew

[@LucidStew]

Merry Christmas!!

[@Planettransit]

Nice, A Lucid Stew video on the first day of the month!

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Is Amtrak ACTUALLY going to release the new Acelas in 2025, or will another problem pop up like they've been for the past 3 years? I'll believe it when I see it. Glad to see the Portal Bridge getting closer to completion since I was stuck on a train a few weeks ago because of that freaking bridge.

[@dennisc6716]

16:04 I hope someone was impeached for that mistake.

[@ExtraLt1]

Lucid, the celebration for competing the Keystone Corridor Track work was held at the Elizabethtown station and not Harrisburg station

[@LucidStew]

Thank you for the information. I am able to see from Google street view that you are correct. However, the story indicates the events took place in Harrisburg, so I am unable to take credit for the mistake, and thereby can not confer a boo boo. I will mention it next month, but no gold star, sorry.

[@ExtraLt1]

​@LucidStew I didn't realize Amtrak said that. Every news station around here mentioned Elizabethtown so I thought Amtrak would of reported it right.

[@LucidStew]

@@ExtraLt1 If you can come up with a published reference, I'll give you the boo boo.

[@LucidStew]

@@ExtraLt1 n/m, found one. You got yourself a gold star!

[@angusbeaty]

Keep at it!

[@LucidStew]

Thank you! Sorry for the late response. I WILL keep at it! :)

[@Nderak]

16:31 a man named jeff davis wrote that article lol

[@LucidStew]

Up next, Jefferson Davis' contributions to American passenger rail...

[@nicholasmarshall9128]

I like how the Dallas City Council went to Japan a day after a resolution passed by voters during the November Election mandating transparency when it comes to City spending. BTW, all members of the Dallas City Council opposed that resolution.

[@tonyburzio4107]

Has the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General decided to pay for the Acela II train sets?

[@onetwothreeabc]

Nice!

[@meandwhoism]

Stew's booboo's is a really nice way of fact-checking. Something many news outlets can't even do due to obv reasons

[@LucidStew]

They have retractions and corrections, but the nice thing is that the audience is 10,000-15,000 people. I'm just one. 15,000 people see more things. Combined we cast a wider net.

[@vandreadparty]

Yeah for the next 4 years HSR is basically dead. The new Acela might be the fast trains that we get until the 2030s. Brightline West I just don’t see making its 2028 complete date.

[@jasonreed7522]

I don't think its quite that bad, but unfortunately the "bipartisan" infrastructure bill was barely bipartisan when you look at who actually voted for it. (All 13 Republican house reps were either northeast or midwest) Personally as a right of center person politics is really frustrating because i disagree with most of what both sides are selling. I want my own branch of the republican party that is actually fiscally conservative and understands some basic science instead of being in the pocket of big oil. (Climate change is here, vaccines work, ect.)

[@LucidStew]

Not necessarily. There is still money left from IIJA. It may go to unexpected places, it may not. I do think its safe to say that CAHSR won't get it.

[@vandreadparty]

@@jasonreed7522 I get what you are saying but the Republican Party that you want to be a part of does not exist and has not existed for decades. The reason the BIF has 99% Dem votes is that the GOP does not care about funding things to make the country better. In 2017 they could have easily passed an infrastructure bill but instead the cut taxes for the richest people in the country (which they will do again next year). That is all the Republican Party cares about. I think Trump and MAGA give them the excuse to say that it’s just a part of the party, when in reality it’s the whole party.

[@vandreadparty]

@@LucidStew They will not spend any of the money left over from the Biden administration. They have openly said this. They view bills passed by congress as the ceiling of appropriations and they intended to cut or eliminate as many programs as they can. So, not at all hopeful for HSR for the rest of the decade.

[@nolantherailfan5048]

Brightline west I'm very optimistic about rn

[@harutosunaa3881]

Just call them Trump Trains and they will get the funding.

[@kirkrotger9208]

Digging in Sloan? Better watch out for Deathclaws.

[@alhollywood6486]

Any idea of how much track per month we should expect BLW can lay once started? Based on other countries?

[@LucidStew]

They're not planning to lay track until the final year of construction. At that pace, should be 18/month.

[@peterrobinson6872]

Track laying is only a small part of modern railway construction. Once started, it should go quite quickly. Signals, Communications, and Testing seems to take forever 🙄

[@counterfit5]

Track laying machines can put down a lot per 8 hour shift

[@gumbyshrimp2606]

10:20 but could it emerge from a 1st JD Vance administration…

[@LucidStew]

Pres-i-dent Jay-Dee!

[@mrvwbug4423]

If you thought Trump is unfriendly to rail (he would be more in favor if he can take credit), Vance would probably rip up rail lines just to force people to drive more.

[@MrBaskins2010]

glad the NEC is finally gettting their sht together

[@kvm1992]

Nonsense. It's bound to have more problems.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Now they just need to fix Connecticut and work on actually letting the Acela stretch its legs. It's the world's slowest high speed train with an average speed of 70mph.

[@MrMarshmallow26]

Another set of grants should be out sometime next year for non-NEC intercity projects. I think applications close this month? This will probably lead to some high Virginia, North Carolina, Southeast Corridor, and Midwest activity.

[@LucidStew]

I don't have a real good idea of where those are going. It might be quite dispersed. It's only $1 billion, though.

[@MrMarshmallow26]

@@LucidStew It's just my assumption since these areas are starting to see or have seen noticeable intercity project action, like CHIP in the Midwest. NY may even weigh in on the grant.

[@mrvwbug4423]

I would expect most or all of those to be cancelled. Remember we are getting a VERY rail unfriendly administration.

[@MrMarshmallow26]

@@mrvwbug4423 I would too but I still have my eyes on this grant

[@Trainsandstuffandstuff]

Why did they decide to wait until April for non-NEC grants when they knew there was a serious risk of having to hand over power to a generally anti rail party prior that?

[@LucidStew]

Not sure. I wish I was clearer on how Congressionally approved funding commitments like this work. Like, for instance, could an administration simply decide NOT to disburse the funds?

[@gumbyshrimp2606]

16:05 To be fair, Nixon was also a Governor

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

And of California no less!

[@davidjackson7281]

@@ChrisJones-gx7fc Wrong! He lost to Pat Brown in 1962.

[@davidjackson7281]

No way Jose ever. Stick with Nebraska crap.

[@lmmlStudios]

14:17 seeing a 40 year old australian train on that slide is very unexpected

[@supermanifolds]

Possibly dumb question, at 10:41 it shows CAHSR running left hand, is that actually planned or was it just an animation choice?

[@LucidStew]

The video is temporally reversed

[@TheCriminalViolin]

Ah! You didn't say you'd ignore anyone NOT local to the area who insists it is said Green Wich, though! I'm always harping about how wrong everyone in the Northeast and England say that name. It drives me ballistic how they say it.

[@liamkelley6252]

8:25 "up to the next generation" lol. All I'm thinking is: "my generation is gonna push this through fr?"

[@LucidStew]

might be the one after... or the one after that... :D

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@LucidStew gotta break the trend of endless freeway spending and start shifting more of that money toward transit and intercity rail, including HSR. At least the amount going to widening projects. Luckily, more Americans are demanding alternatives to driving and car dependency, and as the younger generations phase in to positions of power and the older generation is phased out, things should (hopefully) continue to trend more progressively. Lest we forget that America as a nation is all about progress.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Gen Z is weird, most of em don't drive, but they're rapidly lurching to the right wing (at least gen Z males) which is usually anti-rail.

[@liamkelley6252]

@@mrvwbug4423 We are weird lol. Strange hearing that reality because on college campuses, it all seems very liberal / left. The loudest conservatives from my generation tend to come from the zionist movement interestingly enough. Car-centric infrastructure plus the rise of right-wing populism on the internet probably left a lot of men feeling isolated and upset.

[@bjturon]

Dollar Rendering... 💵

[@LucidStew]

Thank you! I've lost track where we are. Given the cost of gas, this might actually go to getting me back home on Tuesday. XD

[@bjturon]

@@LucidStew Vegas sounds more fun then Rendering... Rendering... Rendering...

[@flagsarecool931]

Red state hsr is already published, gold star?

[@垃圾谷歌-e9j]

How about doing news about Chinese HSR,Chinese railway transported 4 billion people in first 11 months this year

[@realswampwitch2336]

Wheels are obsolete.

[@flagsarecool931]

Hi, first

[@ikea_wizard]

California High speed rail is becoming a national embarrassment. Some 20 odd years to shove some dirt around and build a handful of viaducts and we are still 15 years out from phase one completing.

[@LucidStew]

I'd call 15 years for Phase 1 not possible at this point. Although the federal situation could possibly change drastically and rapidly, I don't think that's coming soon enough for completion before 2050. That's a bit of crystal balling on my part and assuming certain conditions don't change too significantly in the next 10 years.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

It's a lot more than that, and the real embarrassment has been the lack of funding. If this project were properly funded from the start, things would be further along by now. We also spend far more every year on freeways than what's been spent in total on California HSR so far. Caltrans spent $18 billion in 2023 compared to less than $1 billion on HSR that same year, and $12-13 billion total by that point. The US is spending $140 billion on road infrastructure compared to less than $20 billion on transit. America continues to waste tens of billions of dollars every year expanding freeways despite clear evidence that it makes traffic worse long term.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@LucidStew it would be if this project had the funding to make it happen. That's the biggest takeaway from this whole endeavor, what happens when a project of this scale isn't funded properly. If California and the US were serious about funding HSR, SF and LA could be reached by HSR by 2040. We spend more on freeways every year than what's been spent on HSR so far, and traffic still sucks and will only get worse.

[@mrvwbug4423]

@@ChrisJones-gx7fc Hire French project managers and give them complete control. France builds HSR at less than 1/10th the cost. China builds it for even cheaper ... at the cost of safety and reliability.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@mrvwbug4423 anyone building it, whether China, France, or some other nation, or even just a private company, would need to adhere to California (and US) environmental and labor laws, and deal with the same land acquisition process and other outside factors, including all the frivolous lawsuits, that have impacted this project. So while CHSRA can take some of the blame for how things started and how they’ve led to the state of things now, most of the blame is on those outside factors, including perhaps most notably the lack of funding.

[@DINESH1983WONDERS]

Construct 45000Km of Bullet Train Tracks by 2045.

[@gusfring9895]

The way Gavin Newsom is running California into the ground, I would be more concerned about his administration rather than Trump's. The Cal HSR project is a classic example of massive corruption and ineptitude; maybe we need to see a federal investigation to clean up the mess and get the project back on a reasonable budget and timeline.

[@LucidStew]

The way things have gone, maybe we WILL see an investigation!

[@JackKack-kk5dd]

Running California into the ground? They literally added a trillion dollars to the GDP. He could be doing more, a lot more, but he is not in any way running California into the ground

[@ciello___8307]

Is it really newsom’s fault? Hes not in charge of that authority, and has even criticized it before.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@ciello___8307 Newsom is the Republican's scapegoat for all California's woes, despite it not being the only state to face problems like crime, drug use and homelessness. Lest they forget that those problems stem from Reagan and Republican policies of decades past.

[@skiparkcityut]

The big issue is opening Bakersfield to Merced is a disaster! Operating costs will be 150X the revenue on such a segment. Opening that segment will just burn cash like crazy

[@LucidStew]

Operation is going to be a shell game, since it is not allowed constitutionally to lose money on operation. However, what will likely happen is that the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority(manages rail and bus service in various parts of San Joaquin Valley) will operate CAHSR trains and they'll take the loss since CAHSR is projected to lose less than the train service it will replace. Then the state will bail out SJJPA instead of CAHSR(which it can't). That would break the spirit of the law, but probably not the letter of it.

[@davidhill3724]

California HSR has gotten enough federal money the state should fund it from here on. Give any future federal money to other projects to give them a chance.

[@JackKack-kk5dd]

No it hasn’t

[@windsabeginning2219]

California has funded 80% of CAHSR while most infrastructure projects are closer to 50/50.

[@chistogo3]

Really enjoy the monthly reports! 🫡

[@bunchifybunch]

Thanks!

[@LucidStew]

Thank you! We're about 60% of sales tax on the render computer at this point. First Vegas trip just completed. That was also Super Thanks funds!