The $140BN Race to Build America's First High-Speed Railway

This new plan for a US bullet train might actually work.
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Note: USD $140BN referenced in the title of this video represents the total amount of money that is being invested across all high speed railway projects across the US at the time of publication.
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Additional footage and images courtesy of Brightline/Brightline West, California High-Speed Rail Authority, Amtrak, 8 News Now, Erik Wilhelm, Lionsgate, Scott Portier, Texas Central and The Roaming Railfan and Train Guru.
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www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
uichighspeed.org/wp-content/u...
www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-r...
web.archive.org/web/200705041...
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[@TheB1M]

Head to brilliant.org/TheB1M/ for a 30-day free trial and the first 200 people will receive 20% off their annual subscription 🙌

[@user-np4mm6zl6p]

Random but I find it hilarious that Fred is the opposite of the stereotypical skyscraper geek. Keep being jacked Fred, we love you that way

[@farzanazahir1332]

Where is this place in 12:31

[@user-np4mm6zl6p]

@@farzanazahir1332 looks like maybe Nevada?

[@primeroultimo9050]

Prety sure nobody gives a scratch about trains the us is all about cars 0to60 no one cares how fast a train can go. And the people pushing trains can stop pretending countries with trains have no traffic congestion. They just want a project to wast money on 🎉

[@Umbrella_TV]

The U.S does not have High Speed rail, because it would interfere with the Evil Agenda of so-called "15 minute Cities". Please do a documentary on that.

[@heyjakeay]

I reckon watching a 180mph train pass you while you're stuck in traffic on I-15 might be the biggest motivator for someone to try using it

[@user-ww9yw4zi8m]

I agree, should convince people to at least try it the next holiday :)

[@scottie89901]

Getting to the "LA Area" terminal in Rancho Cucamonga without a car will be slower than sitting in traffic through Cajon Pass for most households in the region. The high speeds of Brightline will be evened out by the low speeds of local transit., This video heavily underemphasizes the impact this will have, glossing over with "Metrolink to downtown in an hour". Fewer than 100k people live in downtown LA, and regional transit falls short for most of the rest. American cities are so spread out, with underfunded regional transit, that a fast train to one station in each city is fighting only half the battle. Brightline West will probably be successful, but not as the default choice over driving.

[@NileGold]

It will be very funny for the people in the trains, and sad for the people traveling by car lol

[@GTAVictor9128]

Was about to comment that.

[@IVWOR]

100%

[@frontrowviews]

The thing the USA always gets wrong with intercity train travel is that you need local transit for it to be a viable alternative to driving. If you need to hire a car at each end to reach your destination, why not just take the car? You absolutely need local busses and tramlines to actually get people from point A to point B.

[@mihiec]

Correct!

[@Kenttheclark]

Yes in China, Japan etc the high speed rail is almost an extension of the metro system.

[@91djdj]

Or even better build a metro with grade separation in the suburbs.

[@ZachariahJ]

Here in the UK, we recently cancelled the most important bit of our one attempt at HSR - the bit that connects the cities of Northern England. They have kept the London - Birmingham bit, which is already well served with connections. But... it's only going from the outskirts of London to the outskirts of Birmingham, with no dedicated shuttles. As you say, there is no point - if people have to use their cars to get to the initial station, and use a taxi at the other end, they may as well take the car all the way!

[@ZachariahJ]

@@Kenttheclark They may have improved things recently, but all the High Speed trains I got in China were from out of town huge great stations, that looked and felt more like airports than stations. They had shuttle buses which were extremely cheap though. But in Japan, you can go to a city centre shopping mall, and take an escalator down to the Bullet Trains! Same in Taiwan, and in S Korea. The HS stations are right at the heart of the cities.

[@marcussterling4954]

Took Amtrak from St Louis to Chicago, took 6 hours, about 90 minutes longer than driving, but the Mrs and I went up for a long weekend and only stayed around the lakefront, taking in all the museums and shops…..was great!!! NO parking fees and worries of getting into traffic jams.

[@stratagama]

how long ago was this? I did Chicago to carbondale in 4 hours on the regular back when I was going to school at SIU and the lincoln service now has even higher speeds.

[@midwestrails8317]

St. Louis to Chicago now takes just over 4 hours now with top speeds of 110 MpH.

[@TroyQwert]

Yea, and how could such a technology advanced (at least in their dreams) nation was not to figure out the advantages of bullet train at the right time? No 2 hour preflight arrival, no boarding procedures, no 2 hours drive/bus/taxi from airport to the destination. And the last, but not the least - speed.

[@aimxdy8680]

@@midwestrails8317I have driven from stl to chicago in 3 hours and 40 minutes from just cruising at 80-85 mph. 110 mph is too slow on Amtrak with all these track limits, it’s slower than a car cruising at 85.

[@JS-jh4cy]

Still faster than driving in shitty winter weather

[@mars7357]

We need more trains and public transportation in america. I haven't clicked on a video so fast since I'm a big advocate for this stuff

[@randomexploring541]

Yes, and we need way less people driving and those same people taking public transportation!

[@ronl2463]

Public transportation can’t ever be safe, why do you think it’s always a failure.

[@Avg-Usr]

The key commonality between the two Brightline projects can be summed up in one word: tourists. Brightline in Florida works because tourists can skip going back to MIA to catch a flight if you want to hit both Disney and Miami, and south Florida residents can go to the e theme parks without their cars. Linking LA and LV is also a no brainer if you think tourism instead of commuting.

[@lukasdolezal8245]

yeah that is how most intercity trains work in Europe too, it's mostly tourism. Especially long distance trains. Commuter trains are different, usually not high speed, but for the distances around major centers.

[@InsaneBuizel]

Us south Florida Residents have relied on either I-95 or Florida's Turnpike just to visit Orlando. The challenge here that Brightline needs to beat is having faster routes to the parks than a family could in their car on the turnpike, especially considering that it's "higher" speed rail which is one tier down from "high" speed rail.

[@ScottyShaw]

@@InsaneBuizel Ironic that "higher" speed rail is slower than "high" speed rail 🤔 Brightline sounds great though. I hope their example will continue to improve and become even more successful across the country.

[@Hurricane2k8]

@@lukasdolezal8245 I think you seriously underestimate how many people are using long distance trains for business travel.

[@user-gd7dc3om2l]

Keep finding excuses! Locals want to get around and have options. I was in a car accident, and I don't want to have a car anymore, maybe later in life when I will have a family, but now I found myself that I have very limited options to get around. I went to a few developed and developing countries, and even small cities in developing countries where are almost no tourists, they have there similar and in some cases better trains and public transportation than New York City and Boston which are two cities with the best public transportation system in the USA. Whether you use or don't use trains and other public transportation, you are paying for it in one form or another anyway, and you're paying for this more than people in France, the UK, and people in most or all other developed countries while getting the worst service. And, to be fair, oil and car industries are subsidized by taxpayers too. I understand that not everyone wants to use public transportation even if it's the best in the world, but also not everyone wants to drive a car everywhere.

[@Sandeee]

The problem with America is not a lack of railways, but a lack of public transport infrastructure within the city. You may reach LA in a train quickly but after that you can't roam the city without renting a car. Most people don't take trains just to get to the station.

[@DavidLopez-rk6em]

The sad part is that compared to other major cities, LA has decent public transportation by comparison. LA has subways, lightrail, and metro buses. The infrastructure completely sucks compared to NYC. There are other major cities that have such awful public transportation that it makes LAs look good. The bar is low in america. We cant fund stuff that might benefit poor people

[@-whackd]

LA is disgusting, especially downtown. It is a public urinal.

[@dorkvania7212]

True, but trips to Las Vegas are the opposite. They have a monorail service for most of the strip and even outside of that you are often better off not driving.

[@krazyito]

You're not wrong, but we need something to help spark the need, such as what Brightline is doing. If we just keep saying 'its useless because we don't have x or y' we'll never have it.

[@Unmannedperson]

Same thing could be said for air travel.

[@Wildwestwill185]

Rode the bullet train from Paris to Nice to get to Monaco and it was a pleasure, decently comfortable and felt modern from my POV as an American. Really wish public transportation here in the US was good as it was in France

[@mizzury54]

I rode that train 20 years ago so it highlights how far behind we are .

[@mrb3673]

That would of been a TGV train, the bullet train is in Japan, not Europe

[@Agent-lr4ez]

Would prefer it to be like Japan sense they got anime trains.

[@lexburen5932]

@@mrb3673 A bullet train per definition is a high speed train. The TGV counts as bullet train as well.

[@johnbarry5036]

I live in DTLA and also have a home in Vegas, north of the strip. It takes slightly under 4 hours to make the trip, which Ive done over 30 times. I always avoid peak traffic times/holidays. This "5 hour" estimate is off, unless you're going 55mph.

[@JakeHillion]

Building in the highway median is a genius move for advertising - think of all the people stuck in traffic watching a 186mph train blast past!

[@dynasty0019]

@@vedants.vispute77 The I-15 has virtually no major curves through the Mojave Desert. The only challenging part of this project will be the Cajon Pass.

[@traceswann7054]

Hopefully it reduces congestion so that I can try and race the train

[@nevreiha]

haha, I've never considered it like that before

[@lukazupie7220]

No need to be stuck, even if you are doing 80mph and train is doing 180 u will feel a bit stoopid😁

[@doujinflip]

Big problem with CAHSR was that Valley politicians wanted their much smaller cities to be part of the main line, causing a detour through farmers' fields that need to be bought out instead of taking advantage of all the open space along existing I-5.

[@TheLiamster]

This should have been built 20 years ago but I really hope it gets finished one day

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

at the latest you`ll be able to ride it with your grandkids

[@jst4572]

The US could’ve looked to ally Japan an even France for this. But like I said in another post we haven’t built it because we can’t. We haven’t built it because you have different industries who think they’ll negatively be impacted by such a transformational transportation project.

[@Liamshavingfun]

Patience

[@0_________________]

dont worry, the automobile industry will make sure it is not going to finish.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

The government should divert thosr trillion dollars wasted on unnecessary wars for the rail and it will be done with the help of immigrant workers in record times.

[@hibob418]

Watch the end of “Blue Thunder” (1983) with Roy Scheider. The movie pays off with a simulated newscast where Mario Machado says something like, “Up next, the weather, and a sneak preview of a Japanese bullet train soon to be seen in the Southland. Maybe…” That was 41 years ago. And finally now work has started on high speed rail to Las Vegas. This country can be maddening.

[@bmona7550]

I love trains because the stress of driving a car at a high way everyday for work is insane. Also there would be more job opportunities and makes it easier to apply to jobs in another city.

[@raphgeld1271]

A correction. High Speed rail lines do not need to be built on as flat ground as possible, they can have gradients far more severe than conventional rail due to the speed the trains travel at, and their high power to weight ratio. The Frankfurt-Cologne high speed line in Germany or the Marseille-Avignon are good examples of this

[@svenherzfeld8071]

Yes, the proposed maximum gradient for freight is 12.5 per thousand but some high speed lines have up to 40. Both are far from what cog railways or cars can achieve but high speed trains have in fact less problems with slopes than freight trains. The radii are a bigger issue because of the much higher speeds.

[@lassepeterson2740]

True , high speed rail can deal with steep grades much easier than sharp curves .

[@schlollepop]

True. The sheer power of the train sets make it much less of an issue than for heavy freight trains. Gives some rollercoaster vibes though.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

Spain's existence proves the video wrong. So much wrong with these videos like all of his simplified uneducated videos are.

[@ac1455]

@@tortellinifettuccineI always laugh when people give the excuse of terrible geography as a reason why cheap and fast HSR can’t be done when examples such as South Korea, Italy, and Japan exist.

[@skyscraperfan]

It is a smart move to built the track along the highway, because that will make sure that over time millions of car drivers will see those trains pass them at high speed. Many Americans have no idea how fast a train can be and they will see it first hand there.

[@romanrat5613]

Yeah, but also it’s going to be way cheaper

[@jmd1743]

@@romanrat5613 Good way to shut up the NIMBY crowd as well.

[@CrossWindsPat]

@@jmd1743 The god damn NIMBY crowd is a real source of a lot of bullshit in this country man... Spoiled brats.

[@Max-vn6jv]

Building the train on highway medians has its own problems. If the stops are also in the middle of the highway then the most valuable TOD land would be consumed by highway and car dominated infrastructure. Its cheap to built on highways but the designers have the make sure the stops actually take people somewhere they want to go/ can keep moving from without a car.

[@mrhumpty]

@@romanrat5613 Funny enough, as these projects start gaining steam, people realize how expensive the projects are. These railways operate off of the taxpayers back. It's a dispersed cost -> concentrated benefits scenario.

[@badbob1982]

High Speed Rail can tackle extreme (by railway standards) gradients with ease, as long as they can get a straight run at them at full line speed. The Cajon Pass however is not a straight run, and is also a far longer climb than anything built so far in any high speed railway. You are effectively climbing up the side of a mountain, across a highly active geological fault line. It’s truly spectacular to drive along the roads there, and I’ve even stopped to admire the effort required by the BNSF and UP trains fighting up it towards Barstow. A very long sweeping curve from San Bernardino to Hesperia shouldn’t be a challenge. The biggest obstacle would be fitting it in amongst the two existing rail corridors and I-15. It’s probably going to require more than a few viaducts and cuttings though, and in such a seismically active area as well. However, if those obstacles could be overcome, it may be a better route for California HSR to approach LA as well. The I-5 corridor from Bakersfield being far more challenging terrain. Maybe with CHSR and Brightline together, motivation (and finance) could be found for a way from Rancho Cucamonga to DTLA?

[@randerodr7389]

Tunnels help overcome the steep grade problems but they are costly and take time to build. That's what myself and many family members do for a living. All types of tunnels.

[@lucaspadilla4815]

There’s a high desert corridor proposal that would link brightline west and ca HSR to LA thru Palmdale and under the San Gabriel Mountains towards Burbank

[@DesertCow1000]

This has been a dream of mine since childhood. It will be amazing to see this project become reality!

[@caesar7734]

Apart from new high speed lines, the US should upgrade existing low speed lines and rebuild closed lines for commuting shorter distances.

[@kazamataurus337]

I was thinking the samething

[@Liamshavingfun]

They shouldn't have to share the lines with freight operators.

[@janettetorrez9218]

They don’t own the railroads. They can’t update someone’s private property. They have to build it.

[@CreatorPolar]

@@janettetorrez9218they can always buy the track from the freight railroads. Given how much they defer maintenance they’d be happy to not have to pay to maintain the tracks. They did this in Virginia for example and rail ridership has been on the rise

[@91djdj]

@@CreatorPolarSame here in Germany. The country owns all the tracks and theyre full of freight trains. Freight companies would be happy if they dont need to spend a penny on maintenance.

[@imacuser101]

I took the bright line in Florida and I was beyond impressed. I think if anyone can do it, they certainly can

[@mickmccrory8534]

I drive a Brightline people mover cart in Ft. Lauderdale. Free ride to & from the train station. Everybody loves the train.

[@tntgators]

Red state vs blue state

[@CockatooDude]

@@tntgators Not that simple.

[@jinkenz6459]

Nice. I've seen it roll by. Too bad it doesn't stop in county I am in. :(

[@rrsstt7767]

It exists in EU for 40 years, what a revolution 😂 but there is goes to 220mph!

[@jimhearsonwriter]

When I was planning a little rail tour down the NE Corridor (not on an Acela, alas), I asked some US-based colleagues about their experiences of Amtrak - not one of them had ever caught a train, which somewhat blew my mind.

[@13terapyn]

Craziest thing is that even as recent as the early 2000s, you could drive from Orange County California to Las Vegas in less than 3 and 1/2 hours. Then Vegas became a full-fledged vacation destination and turned interstate 15 into an absolute parking lot, taking as long as 12 hours+ on certain weekends like Super Bowl and the NCAA college basketball finals. That's when flights to Vegas became very popular and plentiful relieving much of the congestion on the I-15

[@larry4111]

As a South Floridian and railfan who followed the progress of Brightline from the very beginning, I want to commend you for getting the facts right and highlighting what made their project so successful. The people who were surprised were the naysayers who said it would never get done. I watched that box jacking proceed in real time and it was breathtaking. Brightline proved that privately-funded infrastructure projects can move at lightning speed. That's why I believe 100% that LA-Vegas will happen.

[@ScrewyDriverTheMan]

But here's the point!!!! it DOESN'T go to LA!!!!! It's 45 MINUTES EAST of LA!!!!! SO you have to FIGURE OUT a way to GET TO LA from Rancho Cucamonga!!!! And by 45 minutes, well, we're being very GENEROUS when we say 45 minutes, if there is no traffic on the freeways. And by freeways, well, good luck to you getting to LA from Rancho Cucamonga by TRAIN on TIME!!!!! LMAO It's an absolute JOKE!!!!! Please have a look at the map of the LA areas

[@larry4111]

@@ScrewyDriverTheMan Oh, trust me, I know. I've been following it from the start and have always thought it was ridiculous to have to transfer to/from there. I've been to Rancho Cucamonga, I know where the train goes. I've literally watched hours of videos and read dozens of pages of proposals and fact sheets about where the train will start/end and why and how to get to/from LA from there. I've posted about this many times and have vigorously argued for the line to continue closer to LA. But that's not Brightline's fault. That's the NIMBYs.

[@ScrewyDriverTheMan]

@@larry4111 Yeah. Cali politicians are morons, and the voters are gutless

[@myopicchiwawa]

​@larry4111 Yep, you will need a bus station there at RC, to make the final leg.

[@daneflanigan]

@@ScrewyDriverTheManstill beats driving to Vegas… that’s the point.

[@rayvanwayenburg998]

If you’ve ever been to japan you will understand the attraction of public trains - high speed and inner city subways. There is even a culture surrounding them of train watching and eki bento - train food. It’s such a relief, and even exciting, to catch the bullet train [shinkansen] and special trains wrapped in themes such as Anime series, local baseball teams and even children’s programmes. The stations are clean and easy to use and surrounded with shops and transport connections.

[@mikkowus]

Not possible to have clean nice public places in the USA

[@jeffrosati2570]

I lived in DC in the 90s. Great clean metro. Now it's getting old and there's no money to upgrade it. Also, they're defunding police so it's less safe to ride. The Japanese model would fail here.

[@thomassenbart]

You have to have a population density sufficient to make a public trans/train system work as in Japan, Korea, Europe etc..The USA does not have enough people, save on a narrow corridor from Boston to Wash DC. Everywhere else its simply not practical.

[@norihiro01]

The real reason for the difference is the "public" that is using the trains. Not the hardware or money.

[@sushanitako5054]

You will never get train system like Japan. Bullet trains and every trains are awesome. They move in exact time.

[@poke2154]

As a person who has grown up in Orlando, I’ve used the bright line from West Palm Beach to Orlando and it’s fast and definitely a great Moto transportation and it also connects Fort Lauderdale and Miami!

[@JayBrown-xs9ps]

You don't know how refreshing this is to see as someone who's going into school for transportation planning, hope i can intern here or something! 🤞🏾🤞🏾

[@johanfalk2875]

Brightline service from Orlando-Miami has been great here in FL. They just hit 300K passengers in the 1st 3 months which is kind of crazy for here.

[@Pantherjonvideos]

That's awesome to hear that ridership is strong! Going to be trying Brightline in March when I go on my cruise out of Miami..Now, wishful thinking, if they would only hurry up and build that extension to Jacksonville! :) LOL

[@tntgators]

Red state vs blue state

[@Racko.]

Thats amazing, this is what happens when projects are held by Private companies who are dedicated to get it done rather than Government money thats usually coming with strings attached and the project almost never gets done, we can ask CA how LA-SF High Speed rail went

[@htm000]

I wish it had a stop in Vero or even Ft. Pierce 😔 but all the old farts don't understand that even if they refuse a station, the train still goes through. All the cons, none of the pros...

[@johanfalk2875]

@@htm000 Just this month Ft Pierce and Stuart put in a bid for a station. Will take a few years to build but the station is definitely going to be built.

[@prblackhawk]

As a Californian, I heard about the HSR in middle school and was excited to use it in undergrad. Here I am 3 years out of grad school with no hope to ride it any time soon.

[@TBoy1247]

But how many $B in debt are you taking on?

[@efone3553]

Study the economics of passenger railway service and the reason why we will never get it in the western US will become obvious. Their is a reason why it hasn't happened let's see if you can figure it out on your own. Hint, the goal is cost effective transportation. The goal is not to get passenger rail service.

[@frankdesantis8078]

Efone, No not effective transportation, but rather one that rather consumes the most energy and is most costly. Aviation and autos filled that bill perfectly. End of WWll, most urban service rail was ripped up, intercity rail abandoned. With the failure of aviation to provide

[@Thekidisalright]

@@TBoy1247this is the kind of illogical dumb question automobile companies want you to question anyone who support rails and mass-transit.

[@RockwellAIM65]

As a Californian, you no doubt know that nobody wants or needs a high-speed rail here. The system is really efficient as it is.

[@ericktellez7632]

While the US has been debating on building HSR and giving money to Elon Musk to reinvent busses but underground, Mexico has finished building this year close to 2,000 km of new railway since 2018 and about 5 completely new trains, the following year in February of 2024 the construction of the high speed rail between Mexico city and Queretaro will break ground and is expected to reach 190 mph average

[@civisjon]

Please specify that in Mexico they have mediocre trains, mediocre lines, mediocre stations, everything in the hands of the army, and that they have a service that is a joke, a banana republic that will never have a superfast train compared to what the USA wants to do. Please avoid your fallacious comments, the USA is looking for something of quality worthy of first world, not the mediocrities they have done in Mexico with cheap stations and cheap trains. For example, Mexico Querétaro is just an idealistic idea, the results we can already know will be mediocrity like everything the government has done without comparing it with the other mediocrity that they did in the south areas of México with the Mayan Train with slow trains, stations worthy of the Third World, and horrible services worthy of Mexico.

[@pineapplesareyummy6352]

@@civisjon If I want to see mediocrity and sick joke of a public transportation system, there is no better place to start than the US, rofl!! Mexico may not be among the world's leaders, but it is still AHEAD of the US, and it is a safe bet Mexico will have HSR first before the US. That's how bad the US is, rofl!

[@merrychase9744]

@@civisjon someone is jelly.

[@CastleRaccon]

@civisjon I like how you say this while 2nd and some 3rd world countries have better transport than the usa. Take a bus or economic class and see how below mediocre we have it

[@lawrencetravisHI]

I'm American and from what I learned on this was the powers that be were more into our Auto industry and creating the interstate system also our Airline industry.

[@tonypapas9854]

Being a native Floridian, Brightline is at least 2 decades late, but it's finally here and makes that route SO MUCH better. It's a start.

[@Lele-lq3tx]

Facts I took it from Miami ti Orlando last month. I love it

[@Zm4rf]

When the first HSR actually finishes, the rest of the projects will go into hyperdrive after the success is proven.

[@Rob_F8F]

Unless it increases overall traffic and not just replace air and automobile traffic, it will be a failure.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Success is highly questionable. A system designed by voters, politicians and bureaucrats isnt a good start. Will the customers show up? Unlikely

[@dynasty0019]

@@Dog.soldier1950 Except BLW was not designed by voters, politicians, and bureaucrats. In fact the reason Brightline got things done is because they actively go against those aforementioned entities.

[@CardinalTreehouse]

​@@Dog.soldier1950It needs to be easier/more convenient than what we currently have. If it isn't, you have to insentivise people to use it in other ways.

[@value_engineered]

​@@Rob_F8Fcheck Amtrak statistics as they've basically replaced all shuttle airlines on the East Coast Amtrak Northeast Corridor Fact Sheet www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/nec/fact-sheets/amtrak-nec-fact-sheet-ye2021.pdf

[@lordd794]

When I lived in Seattle, we would often take Amtrak down to Portland for a weekend, or up to Vancouver, B.C. it was so much easier and less stressful than driving. Having those same routes only take an hour and a half, instead of 3 and a half, would open up more opportunities regionally for business, and entertainment.

[@Heyitsgavinb]

I think west is good and easy but it will be hard to connect cities in densely populated states. The LA San Fran line deals with lots of land buying while LA Las Vegas is mostly between the road or desert. Would be hard to find more connections like this to make.

[@drewpinsky3365]

Used Brightline to commute to work from boca Raton to west palm beach. Had the premium commuter pass. What an incredible train, with great service. Genuinely looked forward to hanging out in the station for a few drinks after work everyday. Such great energy, hope to see this expansion come into fruition

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

WOW!! Five times a week? So ten trips then? Sounds dreamy!

[@Ven100]

@@michaelrmurphy2734Yes, the commuter pass gives you 40 rides per month which breaks down to 10 per week/ 2 per day (5-day work week). It's a very popular service where the basic Smart monthly pass works out to less than $10 per ride.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Quick note; the US still has what is generally considered the most efficient and extensive freight rail network on earth. We just suck at passenger trains.

[@FoxWolfWorld]

It almost as if we shouldn’t listen to people from countries that are poorer and less free than us about how to live our lives

[@iii-ei5cv]

Yeah we kill it when it comes to freight rail I believe a huge issue with passenger rail is that it's the freight rail companies that own the actual lines. And Brightline in Florida may be viable because its parent company actually owns the land for the track already

[@icoborg]

@@FoxWolfWorldless free? ahahhahahahaha

[@apotato5563]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="690">11:30</a> High speed trains actually can take steeper inclines than crago trains. Cargo trains can only do 1-2% (dependend on power-weight ratio) While high speed trains can go up to 4-5%. This is because of their higher power-weight ratio and their high momentum. The only problem that I can see happening is what germany has as a problem with their ice1/2 sets that they have powercars and so do not have a lot of traction due to their limited amount of powered axels. That's why on the very steep route between Colonge and Frankfurt they only use ICE3 sets because those have way more powered axels. But aslong as Brightline uses trains that have their engines spread across the train in won't be a problem.

[@jonathanodude6660]

Im just hoping that by when i visit california, both projects are finished and connected and it is a smooth journey all the way from SF to LV.

[@katherinebrubaker7788]

A note: The Acelas can only go that fast in short bursts not because of poor engines, but because of speed restrictions and track that is unsafe to go so fast on.

[@oldunion]

I routinely hit 125 on the NE Regional from NYC to DC. The acela only beats the regional because of less stops on the the southern leg, on the boston leg it is about 45-60min faster due to length less stops, and faster over-all average speed including the 155 section. The regional is the better option price-wise as it's often more than half price.

[@dioniciotorres4290]

I love the sleeper cars on Amtrak. Hot showers, a bed, plus I'm disabled so I get my own train car. I'm in a wheelchair so they give me a ride on a large golf cart that loads me on, it's pretty awesome. The ride is soooo smooth, it's like floating it's very nice. I never felt stops if there was any, I fell asleep...lol

[@onthatsiete]

Sounds so fucking boring 😂😂😂😂

[@thomasthompson3861]

​@@onthatsietebecause driving through stop start traffic for hours is so riveting?

[@Mars0984]

This is great to see. I have also been watching for updates from northeast MAGLEV. I thought they too were going to build a high speed train

[@Seanvista]

i would say better than nothing with my thumb up, we are used to drive cars anywhere in the US , the railway is only for 180 mph trains BUT still a great addition to the travel mode .

[@darkwoodmovies]

The best part about Brightline West is that all the people stuck on the highway will see the trains zooming by them and they'll wish they were on the train instead. Repeat this a few times in different parts of the country, and you'll change sentiment and people will start to support high speed rail. When I took the Acela it really annoyed me because the train slowed down to a crawl right by the section where there was a massive highway with tons of cars. I was watching the cars speed past us, thinking "if only this thing was going its full 150 MPH potential, it would make those drivers think hard about their driving choices".

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

The Connecticut section is the most frustrating because Amtrak can't do anything about it because the track geometry on that section is completely unworkable

[@buildintotrains]

Note about the Cajon Pass segment -- high speed trains DONT necessarily need flat terrain to go fast. Watch videos of the TGV effortlessly flying over huge rolling hills in the French countryside.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

And at grade level, not up on concrete pylons. What I thought would make sense for the Las Vegas to Los Angeles high speed train.

[@detlefmann7433]

@@michaelrmurphy2734 In areas with sandstorms and a huge „dune- moving“ it is more practicabe to build „bridge- corridors“ because of the risks of „sand- constipations“.

[@hallnall1667]

The Cajon Pass isn't a rolling hill. There's already rail tracks going over Cajon Pass, so it can happen but it won't be traveling fast.

[@buildintotrains]

@@hallnall1667 just saying

[@testman9541]

FYI, max ramp of LGV (TGV track lines) is 3.5%. And with TGV beeing 400m long this means one side is 14m higher than the other 🎉🎉🎉 Cajon Pass is 3.4% at max and 3% most of the time. So the only problem is not the slope but only wether the track can lean at angle to help to maintain max speed on turns... Anyway reducing there on big turns at 200km/h and then accelerating back at 350km/h does not look like a show stopper 🎉

[@Mysterio217]

Last week I drove from Summerlin, Las Vegas to Downtown Los Angeles. It was a wonderful drive with beautiful stops..wide landscapes and desert. Then at the LA entrance(out skirts were mountains and green grass) traffic was a bit difficult in LA but not very different compared to Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, St.Louis..etc., I flew from seattle to vegas. Even if there were trains they would be the same price or expensive than flight tickets. I prefer driving or flying.

[@arislopes1924]

My dad works as a railroad engineer in south Florida for a private company that mostly focus on maintenance on existing railroad. He says that the new Brighline tracks have brought a lot of new changes and challenges since most ppl here are used to working on cargo trains tracks. There’s also been many crashes with the Bright line train because ppl in Florida are just dumb, careless & very inpatient

[@despawn7663]

Just took the northeast regional from Boston to DC, we hit speeds of 125 MPH. I want to travel rail even more it was so stress free.

[@ANONAAAAAAAAA]

High speed rails only make sense when they directly connect between city centers from where you can access destinations by public transits. If you have to go to the station by cars and have to park there, the stations must be located at suburban areas to accommodate many cars. In such case, there is no advantage of high speed rails compared to airlines.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

There is still a big advantage, but it's still much worse than if there was last mile tranist

[@ronnyrueda5926]

This project is connecting with Metrolink to get you to Union station that has many transit options for the LA area with more going online in the coming years. As for Vegas. I don't see any changes there anytime soon but at least the station is relatively close to the strip and once there most people don't really venture out.

[@mikelherrasti2697]

Exactly, these train stations should not be a “park & ride” concept. No everyone wants to drive or has to get in a car.

[@themoviedealers]

Brightline would be well connected to mass transit in the Los Angeles basin. Metrolink has just updated from commuter rail to all day service. Connections to there from other local trains and buses has been improving.

[@robbie6905]

completely true, but one step at a time! this project (should) incentivise local public transport connections

[@johnnychun59]

My first thought on the LA-Vegas line was the Cajon Pass. Sure enough, that was briefly mentioned. Back in the 80s, Amtrak ran between LA and Vegas. Going through the Cajon Pass, we could see cars on I-15 going much faster than the train. In total, the train trip took 7 hours. 😆 But we didn't have to worry about traffic. We stayed in the club car the entire trip drinking beer and playing cards with the train crew.

[@29brendus]

Nothing wrong with that! Yay!

[@RockwellAIM65]

We could just lower taxes in California so people don't commute from Riverside to Vegas every weekend! That's the only reason any of my friends are in Vegas... to evade taxation.

[@29brendus]

@@RockwellAIM65 Only reason?

[@oldunion]

Eisenhower's design for the interstate highway system included space between opposing lanes for future rail inclusion. Not surprising to see it finally getting used. The problem is using it for intra-city mass transit as seen in some US cities because generally speaking interstate highways or limited access freeways travel around the location of the population ie neighborhood centers rather than among them where you can use them by walking to them. But for interstate longer distance train travel the medians were built to serve that purpose and allow for that option but America abandoned rail and fell in love with (and dramatically subsidized) oil rubber steel concrete parking lots and automobiles.

[@agushll74]

From NY to Washington and Boston and from Miami to Orlando could be a good option. I spent 5 and 6 hours to go from Miami to Orlando once and drive from NY to Washington. I think people will use it a lot. Distances between those cities are similar to those we have in Spain, Barcelona - Madrid, Madrid - Valencia, Madrid - Seville and now Madrid - Oviedo. All connected by high speed trains.

[@wintermath3173]

Yes the Acela between DC and Boston via NYC is good already and new projects that have already been funded will reduce travel time by another 30 minutes between DC and NYC and another 30 between NYC and Boston. nec-commission.com/app/uploads/2021/07/C35-Executive-Summary-Only.pdf

[@romanrat5613]

Have you ever tried taking the train? It’s very convenient and definitely quicker than driving

[@persimon6598]

Hahahaha. If you can afford it.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

​@romanrat5613 it's not quicker than driving most of the time, hence why most people choose to drive, and also because it's ridiculously overpriced and SLOW. The only reason it sometimes beats traffick is because the slow train isn't slower than back to back car traffick which only really happens to the usa in the same degree, because everyone has to be in a car. Literally everything about that train sucks, it's just an airport ride without all the airport hassle but still the same price and annoyances.

[@tortellinifettuccine]

​@@romanrat5613literally takes 3 hours 51 minutes right now to go from Boston to NYC with acela. 3 hours 54 minutes by car, and that's taking into account driving to the parking spot. So no it's not faster haha, especially considering the car traffic is about at its worst right now

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

It's worth noting that according to Brightline West themselves, the travel time between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga will be 2 hours 10 minutes nonstop (2 hours 20 minutes with the stops in Hesperia and Victor Valley). That's an average speed of just over 100 mph for the 218-mile route. Metrolink's San Bernardino Line currently takes 74 minutes to travel between LA Union Station and Rancho Cucamonga, so the total travel time between LA Union Station and the Las Vegas Brightline West station, including time to transfer at RC, will be about 3 1/2 hours. Plus that doesn't include time to get to Union Station, be it from West LA, the San Fernando Valley or Orange County. The Las Vegas station is located about two miles south of the Strip, but Brightline West will offer taxi/rideshare services similar to Brightline in Florida. Brightline West's choice of Rancho Cucamonga had at least partially to do with a proposed underground people mover connecting the RC Metrolink station with Ontario Airport, at one time to be built by the Boring Company but now being done by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority, that will use a fleet of autonomous vehicles. It'll make the Rancho Cucamonga station a big transit hub between that, Brightline West and Metrolink, as well as local transit.

[@mrxman581]

Total time about the same as driving albeit with less stress.

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

@@mrxman581 oh it should definitely be a more pleasant experience on the train, at least once you reach BLW. Getting there from LA will require at least one train from Union Station, if not also a ride on Metro or Amtrak/Metrolink from north or south of LA, plus the transfers at RC and Union Station if not starting from downtown LA.

[@mariegarside8830]

I like train travel because I don't have to fuel the train, drive the train, interrupt my travel when I need the restroom, or park the train. While it's not stress free, it definitely is lower stress.

[@MusicismoreImportant]

🚅🚝🇺🇸

[@andybak7575]

Even in the DC area, going along a highway doing over 100mph feels great. put trains near highways and make sure they move much faster than the traffic.

[@forthbrdge6162]

I have heard that Brightline in Florida is a real estate development with a train in the basement. I think that the associated real estate development is an aspect of Brightline Florida that needs to be discussed when describing the funding of the project.

[@xxGravyBabyxx]

I live right next to Rancho Cucamonga and this Brightline project is getting everyone hyped in the San Bernardino county. Rancho is even building a new downtown scene with revovations to the local baseball team and outdoor malls. Being the beginning/final stopped is a big win for the county.

[@inflationRefugee]

Going to be Interesting ! From chino

[@Cal3000]

That's good for the area. I used to live in Fontana near the Rancho area and I did absolutely nothing in the city because it wasn't interesting. Hopefully it gets interesting

[@socalgolf9978]

@@Cal3000maybe in about 20 years

[@danielcluley870]

Acela will be the first HSR in the United States. They are currently upgrading the service with new trainsets and some infrastructure upgrades to achieve 160 mph. Supposed to begin service this year but still in testing.

[@waylonk2453]

That is encouraging, thanks for sharing

[@ChrisJones-gx7fc]

It already technically is high speed rail. That global definition of 155 mph+ is for dedicated tracks, while shared tracks is 124 mph+, which Acela achieves for some of its route, and Amtrak is working to increase speeds on other segments of the NE Corridor.

[@ssss8162]

@@ChrisJones-gx7fc Don't kid yourself

[@Flinn8]

@@ssss8162OK bozo 👌

[@word42069]

@@ssss8162No kidding necessary. Just facts.

[@gewglesux]

I'm all for it... I can't believe a video where the comments are actually FOR HSR... actually brings a tear to the eye.

[@RogerDiotte]

For sure....agree'd! Just to see the building of it....infrastructure...the lucky engineers that get hired to run them...all that new equipment, new track wow!

[@mediocreman2]

Because we aren't the ones with the money and power lol

[@Skipping2HellPHX]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="540">9:00</a> "connecting all the way to Los Angeles" hold your horses there. Rancho Cucamonga is hour away from LA without traffic, it isn't even in the same MSA.

[@prabuddhaghosh7022]

But the LA metro does go till Rancho so you can change over to the LA metro.

[@milomateer6565]

As a Swiss American, I love being home in CA, but I miss the Swiss trains so much, I always want to move back but for the trains

[@zaram131]

I totally get it. I didn’t understand until I was in Switzerland. Your train system is so incredible! I fell in love immediately.

[@Israilii]

Probably Switzerland has best train system in the world and also it is available almost everywhere

[@PortugalZeroworldcup]

From USA I miss the trains in Japan, Delhi metro and tgv

[@The_king567]

Stop lying

[@milomateer6565]

@@The_king567 yeah i lied about being swiss american im actually from Mars #martianlivesmatter

[@markgallagher1376]

I read somewhere that Brightline also has their eye on the I4 corridor for a high speed rail to connect Tampa and Orlando. This has been talked about for as long as I can remember. Maybe Brightline can finally make it happen.

[@starrwulfe]

Not sure why SunRail hasn't done this first TBH. Seems so obvious to tie Tampa-Orlando-Daytona together with rail if possible. A whole Central Florida Mega Region

[@TheCityboy708]

I think it's already in planning

[@bubba842]

​@@karlwithak.Yes. Brighline is making lots of money off so called "Floridians". They are a profitable company.

[@PrinceMauriceTV]

They are going to do it, extend the Orlando station to Tampa

[@RedNuii]

@@karlwithak. They claim that they will break ground on the construction early 2025

[@pattheriot3963]

A few added points to make: Part of the reason passenger rail in the US hasn't been seen as great is because of how the rail infrastructure is set up. The four main railroad companies put passenger and freight trains on the same track which means that they'll interfere with each other constantly in terms of schedules. On top of that, those same railroad companies set up their freight trains to be so "efficient" that a single train can take up miles of track at a time; longer than it used to be in years past. And that's not counting the cost-cutting those companies have done to where the rail lines themselves are in dire need of investment and improvement but won't get them to save money to give investors. On the point of the California high speed rail, Elon Musk had a part to play as well in the delays with it. That "Hyperloop" project of his that never amounted to anything was intentionally started to try to sabotage high-speed rail by diverting funding away from it. Musk himself admitted it publicly in the past year or so. I'm not sure how much of an impact it made; but it's certainly a non-zero amount considering the person behind it.

[@Glynchbrook]

I watch these with my sons so thank you for making such excellent and informative content.

[@Meta_was_my_idea]

The engineering part of this is incredible and I'm from LA and I've heard all about this and read all about it, but the problem is that it'll go way over budget.

[@coopa2002]

And that the LA station is literally 2 hours outside of LA lol

[@dynasty0019]

@@coopa2002 Rancho Cucamonga is literally less than an hour away from DTLA on Metrolink's San Bernardino Line express trains.

[@millcity9711]

It has a chance of success since it would be mostly privately funded. The real question is, will there be anything left of LA once it gets there?

[@vossejongk]

don't worry, this is normal in Europe too.

[@coopa2002]

@@dynasty0019 which defeats a good chunk of the point of a high speed train, which is that it is convenient and city center to city center, adding such distance on the other end does not make it convenient. It's actually an hour to an hour and a half, I am basing this to Union Station which is pretty central to LA

[@briankelly1240]

'underused freight railline I can buy', is a key phrase used. Railroad is actually used probably more than ever in the United States, just not for passengers but for commercial use, which has shoved out residential use for existing lines (in addition to issues noted in this video).

[@tntgators]

Exactly very efficient with freight

[@jeffreysnyder290]

Wrong. We have a ridiculous freight rail system that is predicated on minimizing labor costs, not making good use of the rails. Two mile long trains that block each other, sometimes for a day or more. And of course illegally blocking passenger trains. Our railroads are a national disgrace.

[@tntgators]

Trains still more efficient and if the government gets out of the way

[@pizzajona]

There’s lots of places where freight railroads are cutting back shipping to either focus on single good hauls (e.g. coal) or because places have de-industrialized. Another example of an underused freight rail line is the CSX A Line in Florida. The Orlando part of it has been bought out by the state for SunRail and the Jacksonville part of it has been bought out by Amtrak. If the middle part is bought out, then frequent service between Jacksonville and Orlando could also be run, with trains then going south to Miami on Brightline tracks or to Tampa on their proposed extension.

[@avenged110]

I'm assuming it's because this one's stateside, but I appreciate the use of proper units of measurement that actually mean something to me. Thank you.

[@MrBigPipesYT]

As an American, I've rarely encountered people who travel by train and when I do, there are often horror stories about relatively short trips (12-16hours) taking several days. If you want an example of how much red tape is involved in American rail. Look at the proposed Front Range Colorado train service which was funded by voting tax payers 20 years ago but never materialized in favor of increased bus service and a privatized toll lane. It was supposed to run Denver to Boulder initially with further expansion planned but never saw the light of day.

[@Stargate2077]

I feel like people don’t realize how large California’s High Speed Rail network is. When fully complete, it will be 1,300 kilometers. That is larger than Italy’s entire high speed rail network, which was built over a 30 year period.

[@coreypowers2988]

That's fair... Tho China would like to have a talk with their 42000 km. Even if Cali is faster than Italy (with just a late start), it's still possible to build even faster

[@word42069]

@@coreypowers2988China is a communist country that can pay peasant wages with crap safety and minimal standards… not a valid comparison to European or North American infrastructure. Not to mention they just copy European and North American infrastructure.

[@AllenGraetz]

It's 15 years since the referendum passed. Cali HSR hasn't laid a single rail. They still don't have funding in place to complete the first ~100 mile section. This ain't a size problem. They're organizationally incompetent.

[@TheRealIronMan]

@@coreypowers2988 All built within the last 15 years too, China as a developing country started the HSR game decades late than most developed countries, ppl just like making excuses for "their team", stop doing that and demand your leaders to perform better.

[@AndrewManook]

@@TheRealIronMan Yep they started in 2008 when they were very underdeveloped.

[@dcapitan7]

Great video! The Northeast Corridor between NYC and DC is likely the only corridor in 🇺🇸 where traveling by train is faster than driving and competitive with flying. Acela trains in the corridor generally run at 125 mph (~200 kph) in Pennsylvania and Maryland and 135 mph (217 kph) in New Jersey south of Newark. Not surprisingly this is the section of Amtrak that sees the most ridership.

[@michaelrmurphy2734]

Years ago I was at a wedding in New Jersey. At the reception I heard a loud roaring sound every twenty minutes and saw something flashing through on the other side of a hedge. I asked what it was. It turned out we were next to the main rail line between NYC and DC. They were going fast enough that I noticed, anyway!

[@lassepeterson2740]

Due to population density .

[@dcapitan7]

​@@lassepeterson2740 ​Ridership on the NEC went up noticeably after speeds were increased on the corridor. I don't believe that was solely due to population density.

[@lassepeterson2740]

@@dcapitan7 True not "solely due " if the trains are already in good use and service gets improved then you would attract more passengers . But still only if the population density is there of course .

[@yeetiusmaximuss]

I lived in south korea for a year, and japan for 2. I love their rail systems, especially the high speed rail networks like the ktx or shinkansen. I'm a firm believer in high speed rail, and if the US invested in these rail lines and trains between major cities across the US at least, it would be so much better than traveling by air.

[@DK33O]

If Brightline can successfully introduce their LA to LV service, hopefully a precedent will be set for other cities/regions to follow. This is probably our best shot at getting HSR here in the States for the foreseeable future .

[@morningstararun6278]

A rich country like US should never build high speed train. Invest money in Tesla and get more high end cars. High speed trains are not suitable for developed countries.

[@whathell6t]

⁠​⁠@@morningstararun6278 Do you actually have citations in MLA or APA format to back your claim that a developed country cannot do high-speed rail?

[@morningstararun6278]

@@whathell6t Not suitable in the sense, the people in rich countries would prefer luxury cars over trains. And prefer flights instead of high speed trains. So it doesn't make any sense to build high speed railway network in developed countries.

[@whathell6t]

@@morningstararun6278 You still haven’t answered my question. You responded anecdotally.

[@morningstararun6278]

@@whathell6t I don't have any research papers to back my claim. But it is a opinion based on general observation of USA by someone from a third world country.

[@ucukaoma4551]

I surely hope that high speed trains are successful in these United States of America! Train travels are great and scenic ways to see and explore this beautiful nation!!❤

[@RockwellAIM65]

We're too spread out and at the moment, are not having babies to use them in 20 years. If the ladies will get offa their duffs and start raising kids then yah, commuter trains might be a good idea some places.

[@jonahsahn]

Seeing Victorville on the map for Brightline west LA to Vegas is amazing. I lived in Victorville as a kid in the mid 90s. I was miserable. I know it has changed since then, with the three areas (Victorville, Hisperia and Apple Valley) all connecting to each other, but unless you had a reliable car, you couldn't get "down the hill." This is going to change things for people in that area for sure.

[@lovly2cu725]

you know its been planned since the 80s

[@ItsMzPhoenix]

Apple Valley dweller here - I don’t know how long this route’s been available, but I will note that VVTA does have a bus down to the San Bernardino area (which I often take down to CSUSB). Also, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief does stop in VV once a day each way (not as convenient).

[@AndoCommando1000]

I did one travel by train from Los Angeles to San Diego back in 2009. Or, to be more precise, Anaheim to San Diego. The trip itself was pleasant enough, went through some nice scenic coastal bits. Can't remember how long it took. The biggest problem was the stations themselves. I'd been staying in Anaheim for Disneyland (yep, as a tourist). The Anaheim station was like a small, open-air platform within or next to a massive car park. It wasn't big or impressive. Just a platform near a car park. The only reason it was convenient was because it happened to be not far away. At San Diego, the 'platform' was literally ground level. You stepped off the train in this sort of marshalling area - directly onto the pavement. Not even a platform at door level. Literally, you stepped onto the ground.

[@colbystearns5238]

The Anaheim station had a massive upgrade in 2014, it's now a big modern space with LED fixtures that light up at night with rainbow colors. The Santa Fe Depot in San Diego looks nice but you're right about the platform, they could work on that.

[@AndoCommando1000]

@@colbystearns5238 makes sense. I made this rail journey in 2009.

[@yudhisetyawan1134]

Thanks God.. 2023 finally Indonesia have a bullet train.. first at Asean.. Whoosh.. from Jakarta to Bandung , usually 5 hours now only 1,5 hours.. and now become tourist attraction from local and outside country.. building only 4 years and now starting building second whoosh.. track.. 3x longer track..

[@91djdj]

I was flying through the US on Google maps and saw that many if not most Interstate Highways have a decent amount of space between the lanes. A big part of the highways are just straight lines and building between them shouldnt be really expensive compared to space where tracks are running through someones property. The way i see it is that somebody somehow needs to assemble a large quantity of investors in the sector of housing, entertainment and retail etc and explain to them how high speed rail can dramatically create a mobile mass of people around CBDs, ready to spend money on shopping, food and drink, leisure, entertainment, holidays etc. It mostly depends on how such a project of CBD transformation would be sold.

[@Yay295]

Highways can have tighter turns than rail though, so just because there's a gap doesn't mean it's suitable for a train.

[@91djdj]

@@Yay295 Absolutely. In some sections, HSR still needs to run outside of the Interstate. The potential is nonetheless massive. A lot of countries would literally "kill" for this option. I am highly involved into building new infrastructure in Germany. And we're crazy desperate to find place to say the least 😂

[@Ometecuhtli]

Yes, curve gradients for high-speed trains are way different from those of highway roads. Sweden's tilting train, the X 2000, or the German ICE-4M equivalent I think is it's name, for Central Europe, doesn't run alongside in that manner, in any case are not the highest speed versions and I think, although not done before doesn't mean they can't pull it off, it is better if they can just stick to the traditional way of doing high-speed rail and then later experiment with some more "creative" ideas.

[@jfmezei]

The Cajun pass is greatly underestimated. The 15 goes straight up and reaches higher elevation than the 2 railways. The railways have serpentine route AND found the lower pass route that reduces need for elevation gain. Sticking to the 15 median will mean grades that are not likely to be acceptable for any type of rail, except for cog railways in switzerland. Going down the pass at such a grade will be downright dangerous. Suspect that once funds widthdrawn and work started, there will be a study release that shows need for a tunnel through the steepest portion of pass and they will seek additional government funding. Stopping at Rancho Cucamunga will provide serve to Inland Empire, but not greater LA area. Rancho is 100km by bicycle from LAX. Sections of Metrolink tracks are single track along the way, by the good news is Metrolink controls the tracks to San Bernadino (even through freight yards at San Bernadino) so the freigt companies can't limit frequecies. Whether Metrolink would be allowed to electrify is a big question.

[@mrxman581]

Yes. The Cajon Pass is a 6% grade which is too steep for HSR. If they don't tunnel, they would need to build elevated viaducts along the 15 fwy to reduce the grade to at least 4% though 3% would be better to traverseat higher speeds..

[@zvorenergy]

🧠nice to see somebody actually did their homework on this 💩

[@MrGuerrillero69]

i love the Brightline train in South Florida, one hour from Palm Beach to miami, and you can order a glass of wine, super clean, offers first-class traveling, the station are also marvelous, the bathrooms have all fixtures from Tysom Dyson, no need to touch anything,

[@user-dm4qg4tc9c]

Build monorails or maglev in the middle of 5 and 405 from San Diego to LA and connect up with the one to Las Vegas.. Then build either freeways or monorails on the many rivers in Southern California.

[@GeekyMedia]

Didn't think we'd be getting a video today! Great work B1M team. Looking forward to seeing what content you have planned for 2024 🍹

[@stevechapple9569]

I hope they have better luck with this than the UK has with the infamous HS2 project

[@lecho0175]

Sounds to me like an anglosphere thing.

[@corsacs3879]

@@lecho0175well the shared language makes US carbrain spread much easier, though HS2 probably wouldn’t have been cancelled if Sunak wasnt in power

[@alexverdigris9939]

@@corsacs3879 HS2 would have been canceled no matter which PM in office. It was overambitious in terms of specs, which made it unaffordable, and poorly thought through in terms of connectivity, which makes it less justifiable. Plus no connection to HS1, no high speed connection to Heathrow airport, you'd think it was a project conceived by a megalomanic dictator from an oil-rich nation who wants a pet project to make him feel grand, and sod all else.

[@ChrisHarding-lk3jj]

I remember hearing about proposed high speed rail from las Vegas to the Ontario convention center around the turn of the century.

[@peterbravestrong7196]

I drive through the problem area they are talking about daily the cajon pass its a nightmare corridor with snow, fog,ice and fires in the summer gets shut down all the time.. good luck getting a train through there.. i always see someone crashed in there.. people drive to fast going downhill and smash into cars not realizing it jams up quickly and you cant stop if you go to fast..

[@jfmezei]

On December 20, 1967 the United Aircraft TurboTrain reached 273kmh (~170 US miles per hour) on the Pennsylvania Railroad in New Jersey. This records stands today. However, built by an aircraft company, the old railways used to maintaining steam engines had no epertise to maintain and operate this train. CN in Canada did spend the time to fix the train and learn about it and the Turbo remains in service till early 1980s. Its technology was since blocked by FRA since the 1980s since FRA required heavy steel trains, balked at jacobs bogies (and got amtrak to retire the Talgo trains that had been given an exemption). Except for propulsion, the train itself was right up there with today's TGVs. (aluminium car bodies, jacobs bogies, passive tilting, pressurized interior etc). CN managed to cut Montréal-Toronto by one hour for some time to do the distance in <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="239">3:59</a> instead of over 5 hours (today, VIA does it in 5.5 hours or more). In the end, it is about the tracks, not the trains.

[@V4551L]

120 years ago a train ride from SF to LA used to take 10 hours. Now the same ride takes 12 hours, as long as there are no delays. The infrastructure is antiquated, inadequate, and often blatantly unsafe even for regular service, let alone high-speed trains. With the single exception of Brightline, the handful of private regional monopolies that own most railroad tracks across the country have no incentives to invest in any meaningful upgrades.

[@aroggo16]

Makes me happy that some people are on board with the development and updating of old and building new high speed rail systems throughout the United States. I guess yea some are against it... bc of costs of building and tickets, some peoples properties being affected, but maybe we can find ways to persuade and show the long term positive effects of another way of transportation instead of being stuck on the interstates, and airports. This would be amazing for future travel and future generations. Increase trade and goods, as well and bringing communities metro areas and possible suburb areas together.

[@innsaeimaster]

A smart move to build hi-Speed train lines between highway routes like they are build in the us. There is much potential in this. Finally also Northern America is starting to build more train lines.

[@KrazeDiamond]

China's current HSR trains operate at an average 305km/hr (top speed 365km/hr) with zero cabin vibration and nearly silent. A new version with a top speed of 450km/hr is being rolled out. They currently have 96% of the country connected. What people need to understand is that you also need road public transport infrastructure to support it, China has trams, frequent buses, DiDi (Uber equivalent but WAY cheaper), shuttles, e-bike rentals that passengers can easily book via a single app on their phones.

[@brobogan5102]

LOL. What a joke. Why don't you also talk about their trackless "trains". Some people are so gullible.

[@BagoPorkRinds]

Yeah but then you look at how much deep in the red China is after building and operating high speed rail. Loans had to be restructured multiple times to avoid from defaulting but that is only kicking the can further down the road and getting worse. Other standard rail companies are also in the red because they're not getting as much or no gov't subsidies like it has always been in order to fund high speed rail construction. China is currently now $900 billion in debt or even more. Many local gov't's are under crushing debt building high speed infrastructure that it is seriously affecting funding (the lack there of) other gov't public services.

[@KrazeDiamond]

@@BagoPorkRinds It's not 900 billion, it's 600 billion. And where do you think the money for projects like these come from? It's all debt. Advanced infrastructure benefit the people, vastly improves logisticis and conveniences also increase QoL.

[@MicheleLLOYD-bk2mt]

China rules.

[@Ometecuhtli]

96% of the population connected by rail I can believe, don't fall for the propaganda. In any case the definition of HSR is 160 km/h in China, as I said in another post there's no such thing as an agreement of what makes it high-speed, the consortium mentioned in the video has no international oversee of railroad networks or operators.

[@SecondAccount-jd3oo]

Im from India and gladly Ahemdabad-mumbai will start soon in 2026 will having high speed trains running at 320 kmph(200mph) 😊

[@themadmallard]

Minor correction: @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="727">12:07</a> The accepting that it will never happen was that the government would be the one to deliver it. Whether inter-state rail or even intra-state lines, the government has a poor track records of actually delivering, delivering on time, and delivering anywhere near on budget. Especially in matters dealing with currently existing technology like high speed rail, where there isn't a new kind of frontier with no private market indicators to gauge.

[@BandanRRChannel]

Ey, B1M finally covered Brightline! Frankly, I'd say the Orlando-Miami route is practically worth a video by itself.

[@djdksf1]

I was in northern Italy in 2019 and we travelled exclusively by high speed rail. It was awesome, when you got past the chaos of the stations themselves. When you understand how messy infrastructure is in a place like that, with an unstable economy, innumerable ancient protected sites, and extremely prickly regional governments, it really is shameful that the U.S. with its vast resources can't pull off a single line as we near the 1/4 century mark.

[@RS-ls7mm]

Lawyers and greedy land owners. Nothing happens in the US anymore due to these parasites.

[@lorenzopassero8509]

Unstable economy? Man, sure as fuck that Italy has been declining for 20 years, but it's an economic power nonetheless, not like plenty of other unlucky countries on this planet. Plus you were in Northern Italy, the economic centre of the country, not that unstable. Stations are not "messy" because of ancient sites or whatever, they simply are huge hubs that accomodate tens of thousands people, among tourists and other travellers, each year.

[@hansjanko7966]

Italy has a great and very well organised Railway system. Example: We flew to Rome, which is considered as one of the most chaotic cities in Europe. From the airport we were supposed to take the local train to the main station in the center of Rome. But... there was some construction and that trains were replaced by buses. Ooops we thought. But we got guided to the bus station, there were many busses waiting and 5 min later we were on our way to an unexpected sightseeing tour for free. And it was quite fast. The train, not high speed but still a fast train with up to 160km (100miles) per hour, which does not stop everywhere, was totally clean, the service were very helpful and friendly and it was perfect in time at our destination. About the chaos at the stations - if you are used to it, like we in Europe usually are, then you consider that as normal live. There are so many people with different destinations and time schedules, it definetly is supposed to look chaotic 🙂.

[@blunttruth2405]

USA is not Italy or Japan. Its huge land with less population and there's not lack of work and facilities in small cities that they have to jump in on trains to get into the big city on daily basis.

[@oldunion]

yet we dump boatloads of cash on highways and turning 2 lane roads into limited access rural 4 lane roads with no questions asked. 70BN every year in subisdies not counting local and state matches. @@blunttruth2405

[@b-slap]

LET'S GO BRIGHTLINE

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

No

[@chrisf1147]

It’s not surprising that such a project was started in Orlando. It used to be the experimental prototype city of tomorrow- and today is the international headquarters for space travel. Nothing to scoff at.

[@georgesealy4706]

It seems that a Phoenix to Las Vegas high-speed rail line could work too. There already exists a straight highway between the cities. Union Pacific is working on re-establishing passenger service between Tucson and Phoenix. Passenger service ended in the mid-1990s and the Phoenix station was closed, but not demolished. Current Amtrak service bypasses Phoenix to the south with the station operating in Maricopa.

[@DangerB0ne]

Vegas to Albuquerque with a stop in Phoenix would also be possible and would connect the major cities of 3 states together. From there it wouldn't be too hard to connect to and future lines in Texas.

[@aimxdy8680]

Same story here in Indianapolis. Train station is almost never used and Amtrak comes like every few days or every few hours and it’s mostly just to chicago and that’s it.

[@wholefoods_parmesan]

literally so thankful that the brightline exists, my biggest issue with it currently though is that as convenient as it is of an option to get to and from south Florida to Orlando, the tickets (in my opinion) can get so expensive depending on the time of day, and it's still often times more affordable to drive for a lot of people, especially if you're talking about a family or any group of people traveling together :( I hope the prices can become more reasonable here in FL and also that they'll be reasonable for brightline west

[@c0d3warrior]

Train travel is only affordable if it is highly subsidized and even then everyone is still paying for it, only indirectly through taxes. Sorry to burst your bubble there.

[@asier_getxo]

@@c0d3warrior yeah, because highway construction and mantainance is not highly (as in 100% if without tolls) subsidised by public money. Sorry to burst your bubble there.

[@kaspervestergaard2383]

Got him good. @@asier_getxo

[@chris8576a]

As an individual rider it’s cheaper to pay hundreds for train tickets verses depreciation on your car

[@c0d3warrior]

@@asier_getxo Well good luck trying to keep a country running without roads. No, you can't transport everything by rail instead, at least not with building at least as much railway lines as there are roads. And even then some things just can't be transported via rail so now you have to maintain an ungodly amount of train tracks ontop of the still necessaary roads. And even with the most refined public transport system, most passenger journeys in the countryside will have a much shorter travel time by car as opposed to public transport, simply because Trains or Busses will have to drive into villages to stop once in a while to load/unload passengers while the car can continously travel straight from A to B and avoid builtup areas. Public transport will never fully be able to replace cars, so you'll always need roads. Public transport / Train travel therefore will always be optional with limited use. So it onlymakes sense to fund roads with tax money, simply because they are a basic nessecity in any case. But hey, go ahead and fund roads completely by tolls instead, this will increase transport cost for all goods, increaing prices in shops. So even then everyone will still pay for the roads, just through a different channel. Typical activist rhetoric that only reveals your simplistic world view. Cars bad, people bad, me smort. You're an idiot, sorry to burst your bubble.

[@StevenFolker]

I'm happy that this type of video will be remembered no matter what happens.

[@harrisonbodrie9708]

The Koch brothers (yes those Koch Brothers) are also heavily invested in companies that do road work. This would transform so many "mid-size" US cities. High speed rail would also remove the need for so many flights and highly increase peoples odds of breaking out of their zip code. Mobility is a major roadblock to generational change.

[@walterpleyer261]

Where's the issue with Cajon pass? A tunnel would be approx. 10-11km long. European engineers don't even blink about that and just dig under it. And changing traines in Rancho Cucamonga just shows they don't get what really makes railway atractive: City center to city center connections

[@greasher926]

In regards to Rancho Cucamonga, they are waiting for CAHSR phase 2 to be completed (LA-San Diego) which will be routed through the inland empire. In the meantime there is a commuter rail that will link Rancho Cucamonga to LA.

[@memory-card]

You don't even a tunnel. It's about 400 m elevation change on ~20 km of track, so a moderate 20 ‰ gradient. A TGV or ICE train could easily handle 35-40 ‰.

[@drdewott9154]

I will mention this which might be a mistake on your part. High speed trains usually don't mind steep grades. In fact many high speed lines in Europe feature much steeper grades than whats the standard for normal railways. The bigger challenge for high speed rail is curves, for which the pass and some of the highway allignment might still be problematic if it means trains slowing down a lot to pass through the curves of the highway.

[@baldviking1970]

High speed passenger trains handle far steeper grades than freight trains. The achilles of high speed trains are the turns. They require very wide turn radiuses when travelling at 300 km/h.

[@ooglek]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="194">3:14</a> -- next video, it would be more interesting to know the average speed of the trains over the distances traveled. For example, what is the average speed between stops on Acela on the NE Corridor vs the TGV?