Timeline of America’s High-Speed Rail Future

[@jacorp7476]

Seems like American freight companies will consider literally any option other than proper electrification!

[@mikegaskin5542]

They are explicitly opposed to "proper" electrification. Of course they could do it if they wanted to; the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York New Haven & Hartford, and others electrified their mainlines more than 100 years ago. But today's Class 1s don't want to do it. There's not enough ROI for them. See their fact sheet: www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AAR-Electrification-Fact-Sheet.pdf

[@dozergames2395]

@@mikegaskin5542 I think it's also the increased maintenance Rails need realitively little maintenance and are pretty hard to damage Overhead wires can be low maintenance but are not particularly durable

[@joeykidd8916]

@@dozergames2395 in addition I haven't seen a system put up with the common weather patterns of the US, like derechos and nor'easters

[@sbeve7445]

Because modern T4 diesel locomotive (or soon hydrogen) is much more efficient for low frequency railway (like freight). Japan is in fact removing electrification for a lot of its low frequency rural railway, because the energy loss from overhead wires is greater than that of a powered locomotive.

[@brandonpurple165]

Overhead Electrification or electrification in general is rather inefficient especially if you bring freight into the Mix. American Passenger Rail made 3rd rail and Overhead electrification work and even built Locomotives to use the power efficiently but for American Standards Dual Mode or Hybrid trains would work better without disrupting service to build up electrification

[@toadscoper4575]

As an honest criticism please don’t talk about hydrogen and battery freight equipment for over half the runtime of a video that is titled “high speed rail week”… battery and hydrogen trains are GREENWASHED solutions that freight companies are utilizing to not invest in “real” electrification (catenary, EMUs, etc). Battery and hydrogen trains are something that shouldn’t be praised, it’s an example of billion dollar corporations doing the bare minimum by utilizing technology that has not proven itself.

[@mrmaniac3]

At least battery electrics should be able to use overhead wires to charge, much like a diesel electric hybrid can run on overhead or generator power. This suggests UP is showing an interest in electrification of their rails, while BNSF is going for the full greenwash card. I don't really care much about the battery electrics either, but I'd put it above hydrogen in the wastebasket, lmao

[@toadscoper4575]

@@mrmaniac3 It does look like UP will be properly electrifying their main lines, with the battery component being utilized in non-electrified freight yards and industrial sidings, much like how freight lines in Switzerland and other places in Europe operate.

[@mikegaskin5542]

@@toadscoper4575 Where has UP expressed interest in electrifying? The AAR is officially against electrification www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AAR-Electrification-Fact-Sheet.pdf

[@rotrel1]

EXCELLENT observation! I watched this video in hopes of learning about "high-speed rail", and half of the time I was frustrated by all that nonsense...

[@sygneg7348]

This. This is what I've been trying to scream for a long time now. Battery and Hydrogen locomotives are gonna fuck us up in the future. They require so much space to be reliable, use alot more rare earth materials like Lithium and Cobalt (one which is also destroying gorilla habitats in Africa) and their charging times are way too long to be efficient and reliable. Just use catenary, it's not THAT hard

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

You, Sam had done some serious work for this series. Well done!

[@evanl9348]

Thank you for your constructive and well designed videos. As someone who is passionate about high speed rail travel, I do believe that videos like yours are just helping the cause in bringing first class rail travel to this country. The economic, climate, as well as convince factors are too great of an opportunity to miss out on.

[@evanl9348]

I would also like to note, as a country that prides itself on freedom, we should give our citizens the freedom of choice. The choice in having that third option not only of high speed rail, but good public transit in general. The biggest argument is that public transit limits you in where you can go, and the time in which you can go. However with frequent, reliable, and well connected services, that doesn’t have be the case. Look at our cities vs European or Asian ones. Understanding that those are some high standards while also noting that it’s more than just a transit shift but a cultural one. I do hope that one day we’ll at least come close!

[@Gregq96]

Instead of saying "cars gained popularity" you should really say "when the federal gov pushed and subsidized car ownership"

[@Gregq96]

@@procrastinatingpuma You're not wrong, but fed government subsidies for car ownership and suburban living is what drove passenger rail to the ground.

[@laurelcreek7]

Gas taxes paid almost the entire cost of highway construction.

[@Gregq96]

@@laurelcreek7 That may be true! NotJustBikes has a great video on the suburban subsidies... it's not just about construction

[@gumbyshrimp2606]

Cars replaced commuter rail, but busses replaced trams and light rail

[@thetrainguy1]

@@gumbyshrimp2606 I wouldn't say replaced... Destroyed by GM.

[@miked2662]

I rode the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto in 2018. Along with many other JR lines. Rail travel is so wonderful. I’m taking my first U.S. rail trip soon as well, going from Savannah, GA to Charleston, SC via Amtrak on the Palmetto line. It’s sad that the first time I rode a train wasn’t even in my home country.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

Have you taken the train ride yet?

[@miked2662]

@@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle I did, it wasn’t all that bad. The Amtrak staff were decent, but could use a bit more courtesy. All in all I would recommend it.

[@ReverendNaughty]

Best part of the day: new HSRW2 content!! Brilliant as always, Sam!!

[@AgentSpockAgentSpock]

You might need to update about bright line because they are ahead of schedule and they might start service earlier around Christmas of 2022

[@Dexter037S4]

"High Frequency Rail" will not be electrified outside of Toronto and Montreal, and will likely use SC-42Es (which will be retrofitted SC-42s currently being used) once GO Transit turns into the Toronto S-Bahn.

[@binoutech]

Montréal currently has no electrified tracks. So I guess only Toronto will be the only electrified sector.

[@Dexter037S4]

@@binoutech This is incorrect, Montreal has plans to electrify the lines at some point in the future.

[@binoutech]

@@Dexter037S4 CP and CN has fought electrification projects many times in Montréal. I've heard that VIA has intentions to electrify their network but I haven't seen any concrete plans to eletrify any rail lines in Montréal. With this, I'm pretty sure VIA is going to have to build their own tracks if they want it electrified.

[@_PTS__1]

Nice, the last HSRW2 episode on my birthday!🥳

[@railfanning.productions]

Awesome video! I loved this series! Well done!

[@cfc8juveacm21]

I wish texas central will happen, but it doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon. The Texas Supreme Court did an about-face and decided to hear the case that would make it impossible for Texas Central to obtain the eminent domain rights to build their railroad. Incidentally, if they rule against Texas Central, they would make it impossible for any Texas-grown railroad upstart to build a railroad in Texas while making it legal for a foreign entity like SNCF to do so. On top of that, a few days ago the CEO of Texas Central just stepped down. With the future of the project in perpetual limbo thanks to an entirely Republican Texas Supreme Court, funding for Texas Central has dried up and they are 600k+ behind on property taxes on land they own and on which they cannot yet build. I encourage you all to read about the case (Miles v. Texas Central) and watch the KZbin video of the arguments before the Texas Supreme Court because it shows just how frustratingly difficult it is to build HSR in the US. The people suing Texas Central are saying it’s not a railroad company because it has no trains on tracks yet and can therefore not use eminent domain to build the tracks on which trains would go, even though being able to build your tracks seems like an implied prerequisite for being a railroad company. It’s pretty disappointing and it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line for HSR in texas, which probably is the best candidate for HSR in the country, but it does mean years of delays are likely.

[@pastorjerrykliner3162]

Honestly, it was always hard for me to see HSR actually coming to fruition in Texas, even though it makes perfect sense for it to exist there. But Texas being...well, Texas...means that anything that smells of "Public Transit" will always have a hard, uphill journey.

[@abnerruiz4011]

If private sector along with restrictions has led to this then the only option is to nationalize the trains but that’s far stretch here in America where anything socialist is scary LMFAO.

[@runningriot9814]

Bright line should buy out texas central. This Will get around the argument that texas central isn't a railroad company yet.

[@MalarkeyMan]

@@abnerruiz4011 Our train system is already nationalized... its called Amtrak.

[@OBSMProductions]

@@MalarkeyMan Yeah and it's never gotten funding in 40 years except when turning a profit recently when it reduced it's line to focus on the NE corridor.

[@AcelaRailan2150]

Great video always excited for new high speed rail episodes especially!

[@thebionicpig]

You didn't mention the Brightline stop that was recently approved on Universal Studios donated land here in Florida. People here are pushing for a connection to Jacksonville, Florida (following I95) as well. Excellent video by the way 👏

[@wwsciffsww3748]

Hell, people in Atlanta are asking for Brightline to go there. Will it happen anytime soon? No. Would I like it to? Yes

[@thebionicpig]

@@wwsciffsww3748 Georgia last year conducted a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the extension of the Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) corridor from Charlotte, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia. Their already in the process my friend.

[@uncinarynin]

All the hydrogen fuelcell and battery locomotives are just a compensation for a failure to electrify the mainlines as it's been done in a lot of other countries. That would be infrastructure investment and apparently that makes it magnitudes more expensive than a bunch of fancy new locomotives. 18:00 first time I see this design, is it the final livery? Looks decent to me.

[@theodoresmith3353]

I don’t understand “zero emissions locomotives” electrified locomotives are already zero emissions.

[@Touchybanana]

He has severe brain damage that can't be fixed.

[@ronclark9724]

What plant is supplying that electricity? Gas, oil, coal, uranium, dam?

[@mrmaniac3]

@@ronclark9724 stop using the power source excuse. BEVs and regular electric trains are energy agnostic, while diesel only locomotives need diesel to run. Diesels can be converted to hybrid overhead power, and effectively be energy agnostic in the way BEVs are. And hydrogen can be produced in a multitude of ways, as a byproduct of fossil fuel refinery, which is the cheapest and most efficient method, or mostly else by electrolysis. Electrolysis takes too much energy and produces too many losses to be worth it. Electrified trains take power directly from the plant/generation array, and are unavoidably the best option no matter what. Our grids obviously need to be updated, and fossil fuel plants need to be taken offline in favor of clean and renewable non-fossil fuel sources. Even if we still use fossil fuels, the emissions at the plant are better than the emissions generated onsite.

[@theodoresmith3353]

@@ronclark9724 the train itself is producing no emissions. If the grid was green too that would be nice. Battery and hydrogen are no closer to zero emissions.

[@VitalVampyr]

@@ronclark9724 Even if the electricity was made with giant diesel internal combustion engines those big stationary engines would be more efficient than the relatively small ones on a train, so that would be less emissions. Most electricity in the US is not made with fossil fuels anyway.

[@odiliusrailfans]

in 2023 with the construction of Brightline west with Texas Central high-speed rail, Indonesia has operated the high-speed rail route from Jakarta to Bandung (Phase 1) as well as the first country to have high-speed rail in Southeast Asia. Phase 2 will continue from Bandung to Surabaya.

[@Thenormalnut]

I hope that brightline west gets extended to Salt Lake City

[@counterfit5]

Is there lots of demand for trips between SLC and Sin City? 🤔

[@rokksula4082]

Me too. However the distance is even longer then LA to San Francisco. In fact it is similar distance as Sacramento to Eugine, OR. I think a traditional train or a night train (something like 110 - 125 MPH) makes more sense over these distances.

[@bluebear6570]

When it comes to modern rail passenger services, the US are still 50 years behind! Up until today, even the Acela has only a short stretch of track where it can run at the speed it was designed for. Interest in trains in the general public is too low and therefore appropriation of funds will remain too restrictive to actually build a real network of highspeed trains.

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

As far as I know, no other country in the Western Hemisphere has a high speed rail system. I don't think Australia has one either.

[@allyreneepenny9447]

Love the Amarican Railways 👍 USA have very much potential for highspeed trains 💪❗ This country is so big.Best place for highspeed trains and systems ❗ The ACELA is so beautiful! And the Inter City in Florida 👍

[@ElectricUAM]

Excellent snapshot of the state of our rail system. One thing, though, I wouldn't call the Metroliner a success. You couldn't even drink a coffee in one because it shook and bounced so much that the only thing to do was to sit and nothing, including not even reading :)

[@nolantherailfan5048]

Will the avelia enter service at all

[@Apollo1056]

imo as a floridian is they want brightline to be more successful, they need to expan the sunrail lines to more rural areas as kindof like subareas and have them connected to the brightline as more of the main line in the state

[@brybryguy6314]

I have the credits and privileges of riding both the X2000 and ICE on the Northeast corridor when they came to the US. I was a kid then but I do remember it.

[@Perich29]

High speed rail been around since the 1890s American was the very first country to have the fastest train in the world back in these days, it was all steam powered, and the Pioneer zephy streamliner.

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

hope the MBTA will be able to modernize at some point like California and other places are.

[@HTV-2_Hypersonic_Glide_Vehicle]

I wish American bullet trains were as wide as Japanese and Chinese bullet trains.

[@widodoakrom3938]

Lol not going to be happened

[@alfred5674]

You should've talked about go transits rer expansion project.

[@yunleung2631]

Really annoyed that CAHSR is delayed by so much... No way to force it to happen sooner?

[@fsruiz64]

Basically the cost estimates for completing the full thing are in excess of $100 billion and that’s a lot of money for the California government to get through bond sales. So it’s being built little by little, with the cheapest central California area being built first. Unless the federal government gives the project more funding it may not be fully complete until who knows when.

[@artificial_S]

Reminder : BUSES ARE NOT TRAINS

[@damianoandreaarrigoni4401]

Though it is true that battery electric trains are *technically* more environmentally friendly than diesel trains, a true commitment would be electrification

[@sandal_thong]

I just saw a video yesterday about companies saying they will go 0-carbon emissions in 10-20 years or so. (28 years like in the video is a joke.) They said this is B.S. First they aren't serious, second they are increasing their emissions in the short term. It's like someone who says they're going to stop smoking in 10 years, but in the meantime they will increase their smoking to a pack a day or more.

[@klerb342]

florida's train only going 125mph is a national embarrassment lmao really doesn't even deserve to be included in this video

[@sanchorim8014]

Nothing embarrassing about baby steps, even if they are long overdue.

[@surfliner456]

I’m actually first lol. Also amazing video and narrating, I love this series

[@Southern_California_Railfanner]

M

[@packr72]

Texas Central is dead, they have no money and their entire staff resigned. It’s over.

[@Adumzzinthehouse]

Let’s hope CAHSR can stay together

[@banksrail]

@@Adumzzinthehouse It’s too late for CAHSR to back out now.

[@user-gc1ky2rf3y]

I don't think a solely battery powered train can be classified as a zero emissions train. The battery will have a far lower lifespan than a normal electric train. Just look at the AEM-7 (Rc4)

[@PatrickGrandjean]

Please, Brightline FL is *not* high speed rail. It may be the closest to HSR in America, like Acela, but it simply is not.

[@duncanmcauley7932]

He did say “higher”, which I take to mean not quite HSR, but a step in the right direction

[@R262SubwayCar1]

just shut up and deal with it

[@rotrel1]

I still can't understand any possible connection between "high-speed trains" and hydrogen-, or battery-operated trains! We need better rails, with no traffic interruptions.

[@thomasrhodes5013]

Is GREEN so much better for the environment? It appears that way on its face, but what about the energy needed to produce the batteries and how much will their disposal at end of service?

[@Perich29]

cool a Tesla Locomotive.

[@MuscleLineRailfan]

I truly dislike the recent “new” locomotives

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

"The rest of the world"? Not all countries outside of the US have high speed rail.

[@klerb342]

how about *the rest of the developed world

[@sanchorim8014]

@@klerb342 Australia and Canada don't have it either. But "the rest of the world" is usually just shorthand for (most of) the rest of the First World, so it works.

[@Southern_California_Railfanner]

Haha yes last vid on meh bday

[@akhilkarandikar99]

California HSR goes 220

[@notenoughpaper]

Idk why you bring up battery electric trains and hydrogen fuel cells so much, both fairly expensive, and in case of the fuel cells inefficient technologies not suited for HSR. Just electrify the darn tracks

[@adamknott7830]

Lets not call 125 mph high speed rail. Its like calling 50 mph highway speeds. Maybe a long time ago it was the standard but today it is not even close

[@widodoakrom3938]

True 125 mph is more like semi HSR now

[@adamknott7830]

@@widodoakrom3938 it has a term too, higher speed rail which is why I don't understand why people try to misuse terms lile high speed rail

[@redakteur3613]

Video title has no connection to the video. Just everything at once also repeating past videos. It seems to me there is more “environmentally friendly” than high-speed rail in the video

[@carlsmith5545]

Wow 150 mph? You have to be 200 mph to be classified as a bullet. A Japanese maglev super train in the northeast corridor would travel at speeds of up to 375 mph. This means you can board in Washington DC and be in your office in New York city in an hour or less. Come on America, what in the hell are you waiting for? You can obtain the maglev system from Japan for 65 billion dollars. Better than the 200 billion dollars you spent on the space shuttle program, where's the space shuttle at now? Japan even offered to contribute 5 billion dollars towards the project. Oh yeah that's right, The mighty United States of America has to save it's money because they want to send some fool to mars. Like that's going to benefit the general American people, improving infrastructure. Oh well so much for wisdom. I guess these modern marvels will have to continue to be the new American dream....

[@widodoakrom3938]

Lol true

[@Txloganc]

why are you showing batt electric and hydrogen FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVES in a High speed passenger rail video. you spent well over 5 minutes talking about it.

[@photorailfan]

Good luck with hydrogen and electric locomotives. Both technologies are more hazardous then diesel. I'm guessing they will both faii.

[@photorailfan]

@Malachai Carter Leftist democratic ideals will never work. Trump 2024!!!

[@carlsmith5545]

Hey United States of America, tap on Japanese maglev train and see a real train. Highspeed bullet trains and maglev super trains in the United States? I'll believe it when I see it. The mighty United States of America and Americans are all talk. They alway were. Cant just stand up and do it.

[@samueltkacik556]

1st

[@njtrailfan4508]

You did not watch the video though

[@surfliner456]

@@njtrailfan4508 lmao

[@Southern_California_Railfanner]

No one asked