One aspect that really drives cost: how every transit project is started from scratch. In Sweden, where I live, transit projects are a constant production line. The unit economics are so much lower.
Which solves another issue that Americans always cite: how to build trains economically in places that are far apart or sparsely populated? Well, that’s Sweden and Norway, friends! Trains here don’t just connect population centers like Stockholm. There are ongoing light rail projects even in he sparsely populated north coast of the country, connecting “cities” around the Arctic Circle that wouldn’t even merit that classification by population in the context of the United States (like building more light rail in Montana). Per mile, these tracks cost a tenth of what it costs to lay track anywhere in the US right now because they’re laid by the same, experienced railway contractors who have been printing out railways with similar spec for decades now. Everything’s modular and repeatable, produced at scale, and installed by a base of experienced workers.
Like I posted about Nuclear Energy, standardized Design... dramatically lowers costs.
Infrastructure..big Infrastructure is where Government in other countries teach us that the just leaving things to Private industry, free market to lead......leads to ad hoc, inconsistent, non-integrative ... fits and starts that cost a lot more and generates a lot of dissatisfaction.
So again... a National Railway plan. That
Develops, Designs and Builds a common nationwide and metroregional track, car, engine system.
Then.. like Defense.... contract out the Build competition. Rinse and repeat.
I've talked about a 200mph+ Tucson-Phoenix system for many years. Tucson is a great place for Phoenix folks to recreate. It also creates business advantages like offering dual career choices, working in both cities.
Can you do California High Speed Rail? Yes, the topography is challenging, but so is, say, Italy's, and the current estimate of 105 billion for 500 miles = 130 million per mile is one of the highest in world history.
I have spent decades analyzing rail (land guideway systems) with Dr. James Powell and Gordon Danby, the inventors of superconducting Maglev, and in our studies of routes in New York, California, and a nationwide 48 State Interstate Maglev Project (see: www.maglev2000.net) and we found working with GAO that there are only a few rail lines that operate profitably. Most require public subsidy to pay for the rights-of-way, construction, and operating and maintenance costs over their life cycle. So we explored how we could exploit the energy efficiency of superconducting Maglev (greater power for 1/13th of standard electromagnets) to create a guided surface transport system for the nation. We determined that the system should be designed to mainly operate on existing Interstate rights-of-way and capable of carrying both freight and passengers. We describe the system and the 2nd generation SC Maglev 2000 in "The Fight for Maglev", "Maglev America", and "Silent Earth". We also discovered that this clearly superior 300 mph, all-weather, elevated guideway national transport system was strongly opposed by the airline industry and existing transport interests. Therefore, we have proposed the U.S. fund a test facility to compete this system with all comers foreign and domestic to determine the definitive performance and cost data to compare. We are confident that this system will be the best system to evolve the U.S. and the world's passenger and freight transport to a much more efficient electric powered no emissions system. We do these "fly-offs" in Defense for very expensive systems but we have not carried the competition notion to civil infrastructure. Advanced Superconducting Maglev is versatile because it can operate in both a monorail and planar mode and can use existing rail infrastructure that has been adapted to the Maglev 2000 system so it can enter our existing rail stations like our Amtrak stations, and bridges, etc. without interfering with conventional wheeled trains. We already know that M2000 is the lowest cost life cycle ultra-high speed guided transport system. We also know that it must be demonstrated at full scale to attract the public, media, and investors. Once tested and the system becomes the guideway gauge standard for the U.S. and the world, it should make the U.S. the preeminent guideway and vehicle producer in the world and it will not require a subsidy. Amtrak will finally operate at a profit and because it can uniquely electronically switch it will be connecting our ports, producers, and truck terminals in densely populated metro areas to food and goods. We are certain that this system can save every American and Canadian about a $1,000 per capita per year for their lifetimes om reduced cost of travel and goods. The public funding of the rights-of-way that we already own will be minimal and the cost of the Test Facility like the ones funded by the governments of Germany, Japan, Korea, China, and Poland is estimated to be about $600 million spent out over 5 years. The National Interstate Network with 75% of the U.S. population being within 15 miles of a station. Our next book, that I am writing with Robert Coullahan, "The Evolution of Infrastructure" will lay it all out and include how the elevated guideway can create a market for green concrete, green steel, and aluminum, and serve as a much more resilient addition to the national electric power GRID and extend broadband as it connects the lower 48. In "Evolution" we are also exploring an exciting concept for a global passenger and freight system that connects 5 continents with tunnels at Gibraltar and the Bering Strait. I think you will be intrigued by our freight container carrying vehicle with a powered roller deck, and our multiple electric delivery van vehicles that will be shipping goods overnight from any point in the US to any other point. The national network can be completed in 20 years including testing and the U.S. densely populated coastal routes in just 10 years. The Interstate Highway Right-of-Way framework is the idea of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and he also introduced Powell and Danby to me. I hope you will sometimes in the future use your gift to help describe this American scientist invented system to the world. Powell and Danby were awarded the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal for Engineering in 2000.
For the intrepid investigators, the reasons that Duke gave to kill the light rail are absolute bogus. There was something deeply dirty going on in the Duke board, one that hasn't yet seen the light of day. I was a student there and we worked with members of the community to figure out the problem. The issues raised (shaking, magnetism, etc) were NOT issues for other light rails around medical centers.
My understanding is that there were some suspicious donations from anti-transit groups (notably Koch, who donated $5 million and another undisclosed amount weeks before the university President cancelled the project). President Price was extremely excited about the light rail publicly when he first started, and changed his tune over time. Duke does not pay property tax.
Overall, there is an anti-transit corruption in this country, driven by fossil fuel and automobile lobbying groups. To build, we need to be able to defeat these forces.
NS put a beautiful new 963-ft bridge over the Genesee Gorge. Cost $75 mil.
BNSF (Berkshire Hathaway) added a third mainline over Cajon Pass for about $5.6mil per mile.
Uintah Basin Railway is budgeted at $1.5bn for their new, greenfield line. 100 miles plus with several tunnels.
Now tell me with a straight face the government would keep budget anywhere close to that and I'll probably die laughing hysterically. Call me crazy, but UP has a market value of $150bn. What if we just paid the railroads to build railroads? Agree to buy a (big) chunk of their shares in exchange and pay construction (with oversight, of course. No Credit Mobilier!) edit and this is important on their already existing Right of Ways. Ditto Berkshire, NS, and CSX.
You know what the private RR's tell NIMBYs who whine about what happens on their Right of Ways? "It's a free country-- so if we bother you then please MOVE!"
At the rate the Government builds railroads this plan will be far cheaper and sustainable nationally. Oh, nd their projects tend to get completed. Just look at that first Transcontinental-- If Lincoln had decided the government should build the Pacific RR itself we'd still be waiting!
So, the problem is grift and corruption? Makes sense. Such a shame. I think it also is a cultural problem here in the US. Cars have always been a sign of independence and wealth. That has evolved to large pickup trucks with empty trailers behnind them. Mass transit is considered to be something for people who cannot afford a car.
Here in Houston, we badly need mass transportation. I always thought it would be a good idea to put train stations in the shopping malls and airports. They are located by the major freeways where you could build the rails in the existing corridors. Then have buses connect park and ride lots to the stations. The new high-speed rail project to connect Houston, DFW, and San Antonio is moving along but from where I live, you will have to drive almost an hour to get to a station. Without a decent regional system to connect to it, it isn't nearly as beneficial as it could be.
People in the Northeast complain about their subway systems and Amtrak, but they have it so much better than we do. It's pretty amazing what Eisenhower accomplished with the interstate highway system. We really need that sort of vision and leadership today to accomplish a much needed reboot of our national (and local) transportation system.
By the way, what is happening with all that money that was approved in last year's infrastructure bill? hopefully not more grift and corruption.
I’m going to be within walking distance of one of the Maryland Purple Line train stations when it comes to completion over the next three years. That’s the good news. The project has a concrete completion date with no further legal impediments.
The area along the coming rail has already seen significant redevelopment and commitments for new projects, including close to 1000 affordable apartment units from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund and new offices relocating nearby.
The brief summary in the article above is a good start. Although, it leaves out a few key points. First, this project goes way back then most people probably realize. I thought that it initiated in the late 1990s when I first heard about it. No, Purple Line advocacy has been around since the early 1980s! It has been so long some of the original leading proponents are no longer with us and their children have taken the mantle. Think about that. Why have we been going back-and-forth on this for close to 40 years?
NIMBYs.
The article above doesn’t mention how residents in the wealthy suburbs of Chevy Chase, Maryland, successfully derailed, pun intended, everything for decades under the false pretenses of environmental NIMBYism. Governor Hogan merely became one of the last to hold the baton in a long line of stonewallers.
The elephant in the room, however, is that the Metro system is failing overall as ridership has not come back to pre-pandemic levels and uptime/maintenance remains a significant concern. But that’s probably a discussion for another day.
We don't get smart and have the will to build transit efficiently for similar reasons we don't build enough housing: too many middle class and rich people in this country don't have interest and committment having more of either of these, they can afford cars and drive them, a lot, and they are homeowners getting rich while renters get gutted.
Hard to get excited for something you don't want, something that may reduce the value of your $2 million bungalow that you bought for $250k, 25 years ago.
Feel like technical and process and efficiency challenges always get figured out when we have will, but we don't have the will.
First, we have a good (enough) freight rail system. We could use this as a basis to build out a pre WW 2 version of passenger rail at reasonable cost. But no one wants that. They want modern high speed passenger rail.
Which needs its own right of way. Built from scratch. Without grade crossings like US interstates built in the 50's.
And remember, we have cars...best for short distances and air...best for anything over 1,000 miles. And is there anyone that can't get from A to B in the US today?
I would say a conflation between freight and passenger rail is a huge barrier. And once they are split, there are no "obvious" economies.. so it is a huge project. Someone has to pay. And someone will be inconvenienced.
All you really need to do is look at the history when the Railroad Barons were bribed to build the rails across the continent. Literally nothing has changed since then: They still want to line their pockets at taxpayer expense while not actually doing the job. They were able to utilize imminent domain to rob people of their land while refusing to run rail in a straight line because they were paid by the mile laid not distance crossed so there were more bends than a plate of spaghetti. They have no incentive to actually do their job, no punishment for not doing so, they just mope around with their hands out while drastically underpaying workers. So of course, population centers do not want to have to deal with these parasites.
In Africa they would say it was just caused by corruption. The good thing about loans from China was the project was actually completed.
The UK has the same problem as the USA as the burgeoning above budget costs of the HS2 high speed rail line. Any nuclear or major construction project are the same.
One aspect that really drives cost: how every transit project is started from scratch. In Sweden, where I live, transit projects are a constant production line. The unit economics are so much lower.
Which solves another issue that Americans always cite: how to build trains economically in places that are far apart or sparsely populated? Well, that’s Sweden and Norway, friends! Trains here don’t just connect population centers like Stockholm. There are ongoing light rail projects even in he sparsely populated north coast of the country, connecting “cities” around the Arctic Circle that wouldn’t even merit that classification by population in the context of the United States (like building more light rail in Montana). Per mile, these tracks cost a tenth of what it costs to lay track anywhere in the US right now because they’re laid by the same, experienced railway contractors who have been printing out railways with similar spec for decades now. Everything’s modular and repeatable, produced at scale, and installed by a base of experienced workers.
Man do I love EU rail, Japan Rail.
Like I posted about Nuclear Energy, standardized Design... dramatically lowers costs.
Infrastructure..big Infrastructure is where Government in other countries teach us that the just leaving things to Private industry, free market to lead......leads to ad hoc, inconsistent, non-integrative ... fits and starts that cost a lot more and generates a lot of dissatisfaction.
So again... a National Railway plan. That
Develops, Designs and Builds a common nationwide and metroregional track, car, engine system.
Then.. like Defense.... contract out the Build competition. Rinse and repeat.
I've talked about a 200mph+ Tucson-Phoenix system for many years. Tucson is a great place for Phoenix folks to recreate. It also creates business advantages like offering dual career choices, working in both cities.
Can you do California High Speed Rail? Yes, the topography is challenging, but so is, say, Italy's, and the current estimate of 105 billion for 500 miles = 130 million per mile is one of the highest in world history.
I have spent decades analyzing rail (land guideway systems) with Dr. James Powell and Gordon Danby, the inventors of superconducting Maglev, and in our studies of routes in New York, California, and a nationwide 48 State Interstate Maglev Project (see: www.maglev2000.net) and we found working with GAO that there are only a few rail lines that operate profitably. Most require public subsidy to pay for the rights-of-way, construction, and operating and maintenance costs over their life cycle. So we explored how we could exploit the energy efficiency of superconducting Maglev (greater power for 1/13th of standard electromagnets) to create a guided surface transport system for the nation. We determined that the system should be designed to mainly operate on existing Interstate rights-of-way and capable of carrying both freight and passengers. We describe the system and the 2nd generation SC Maglev 2000 in "The Fight for Maglev", "Maglev America", and "Silent Earth". We also discovered that this clearly superior 300 mph, all-weather, elevated guideway national transport system was strongly opposed by the airline industry and existing transport interests. Therefore, we have proposed the U.S. fund a test facility to compete this system with all comers foreign and domestic to determine the definitive performance and cost data to compare. We are confident that this system will be the best system to evolve the U.S. and the world's passenger and freight transport to a much more efficient electric powered no emissions system. We do these "fly-offs" in Defense for very expensive systems but we have not carried the competition notion to civil infrastructure. Advanced Superconducting Maglev is versatile because it can operate in both a monorail and planar mode and can use existing rail infrastructure that has been adapted to the Maglev 2000 system so it can enter our existing rail stations like our Amtrak stations, and bridges, etc. without interfering with conventional wheeled trains. We already know that M2000 is the lowest cost life cycle ultra-high speed guided transport system. We also know that it must be demonstrated at full scale to attract the public, media, and investors. Once tested and the system becomes the guideway gauge standard for the U.S. and the world, it should make the U.S. the preeminent guideway and vehicle producer in the world and it will not require a subsidy. Amtrak will finally operate at a profit and because it can uniquely electronically switch it will be connecting our ports, producers, and truck terminals in densely populated metro areas to food and goods. We are certain that this system can save every American and Canadian about a $1,000 per capita per year for their lifetimes om reduced cost of travel and goods. The public funding of the rights-of-way that we already own will be minimal and the cost of the Test Facility like the ones funded by the governments of Germany, Japan, Korea, China, and Poland is estimated to be about $600 million spent out over 5 years. The National Interstate Network with 75% of the U.S. population being within 15 miles of a station. Our next book, that I am writing with Robert Coullahan, "The Evolution of Infrastructure" will lay it all out and include how the elevated guideway can create a market for green concrete, green steel, and aluminum, and serve as a much more resilient addition to the national electric power GRID and extend broadband as it connects the lower 48. In "Evolution" we are also exploring an exciting concept for a global passenger and freight system that connects 5 continents with tunnels at Gibraltar and the Bering Strait. I think you will be intrigued by our freight container carrying vehicle with a powered roller deck, and our multiple electric delivery van vehicles that will be shipping goods overnight from any point in the US to any other point. The national network can be completed in 20 years including testing and the U.S. densely populated coastal routes in just 10 years. The Interstate Highway Right-of-Way framework is the idea of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and he also introduced Powell and Danby to me. I hope you will sometimes in the future use your gift to help describe this American scientist invented system to the world. Powell and Danby were awarded the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal for Engineering in 2000.
For the intrepid investigators, the reasons that Duke gave to kill the light rail are absolute bogus. There was something deeply dirty going on in the Duke board, one that hasn't yet seen the light of day. I was a student there and we worked with members of the community to figure out the problem. The issues raised (shaking, magnetism, etc) were NOT issues for other light rails around medical centers.
My understanding is that there were some suspicious donations from anti-transit groups (notably Koch, who donated $5 million and another undisclosed amount weeks before the university President cancelled the project). President Price was extremely excited about the light rail publicly when he first started, and changed his tune over time. Duke does not pay property tax.
Overall, there is an anti-transit corruption in this country, driven by fossil fuel and automobile lobbying groups. To build, we need to be able to defeat these forces.
NS put a beautiful new 963-ft bridge over the Genesee Gorge. Cost $75 mil.
BNSF (Berkshire Hathaway) added a third mainline over Cajon Pass for about $5.6mil per mile.
Uintah Basin Railway is budgeted at $1.5bn for their new, greenfield line. 100 miles plus with several tunnels.
Now tell me with a straight face the government would keep budget anywhere close to that and I'll probably die laughing hysterically. Call me crazy, but UP has a market value of $150bn. What if we just paid the railroads to build railroads? Agree to buy a (big) chunk of their shares in exchange and pay construction (with oversight, of course. No Credit Mobilier!) edit and this is important on their already existing Right of Ways. Ditto Berkshire, NS, and CSX.
You know what the private RR's tell NIMBYs who whine about what happens on their Right of Ways? "It's a free country-- so if we bother you then please MOVE!"
At the rate the Government builds railroads this plan will be far cheaper and sustainable nationally. Oh, nd their projects tend to get completed. Just look at that first Transcontinental-- If Lincoln had decided the government should build the Pacific RR itself we'd still be waiting!
So, the problem is grift and corruption? Makes sense. Such a shame. I think it also is a cultural problem here in the US. Cars have always been a sign of independence and wealth. That has evolved to large pickup trucks with empty trailers behnind them. Mass transit is considered to be something for people who cannot afford a car.
Here in Houston, we badly need mass transportation. I always thought it would be a good idea to put train stations in the shopping malls and airports. They are located by the major freeways where you could build the rails in the existing corridors. Then have buses connect park and ride lots to the stations. The new high-speed rail project to connect Houston, DFW, and San Antonio is moving along but from where I live, you will have to drive almost an hour to get to a station. Without a decent regional system to connect to it, it isn't nearly as beneficial as it could be.
People in the Northeast complain about their subway systems and Amtrak, but they have it so much better than we do. It's pretty amazing what Eisenhower accomplished with the interstate highway system. We really need that sort of vision and leadership today to accomplish a much needed reboot of our national (and local) transportation system.
By the way, what is happening with all that money that was approved in last year's infrastructure bill? hopefully not more grift and corruption.
I’m going to be within walking distance of one of the Maryland Purple Line train stations when it comes to completion over the next three years. That’s the good news. The project has a concrete completion date with no further legal impediments.
The area along the coming rail has already seen significant redevelopment and commitments for new projects, including close to 1000 affordable apartment units from Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund and new offices relocating nearby.
The brief summary in the article above is a good start. Although, it leaves out a few key points. First, this project goes way back then most people probably realize. I thought that it initiated in the late 1990s when I first heard about it. No, Purple Line advocacy has been around since the early 1980s! It has been so long some of the original leading proponents are no longer with us and their children have taken the mantle. Think about that. Why have we been going back-and-forth on this for close to 40 years?
NIMBYs.
The article above doesn’t mention how residents in the wealthy suburbs of Chevy Chase, Maryland, successfully derailed, pun intended, everything for decades under the false pretenses of environmental NIMBYism. Governor Hogan merely became one of the last to hold the baton in a long line of stonewallers.
The elephant in the room, however, is that the Metro system is failing overall as ridership has not come back to pre-pandemic levels and uptime/maintenance remains a significant concern. But that’s probably a discussion for another day.
We don't get smart and have the will to build transit efficiently for similar reasons we don't build enough housing: too many middle class and rich people in this country don't have interest and committment having more of either of these, they can afford cars and drive them, a lot, and they are homeowners getting rich while renters get gutted.
Hard to get excited for something you don't want, something that may reduce the value of your $2 million bungalow that you bought for $250k, 25 years ago.
Feel like technical and process and efficiency challenges always get figured out when we have will, but we don't have the will.
i LOVE cars and i LOVE polluting the world and spending a third of my paycheck just to maintain life
I can't help asking. In the picture at the top of the story, is the young blond woman mooning the passing train?
I'm afraid that the question distracted me while reading what is, in itself, an important story.
First, we have a good (enough) freight rail system. We could use this as a basis to build out a pre WW 2 version of passenger rail at reasonable cost. But no one wants that. They want modern high speed passenger rail.
Which needs its own right of way. Built from scratch. Without grade crossings like US interstates built in the 50's.
And remember, we have cars...best for short distances and air...best for anything over 1,000 miles. And is there anyone that can't get from A to B in the US today?
I would say a conflation between freight and passenger rail is a huge barrier. And once they are split, there are no "obvious" economies.. so it is a huge project. Someone has to pay. And someone will be inconvenienced.
All you really need to do is look at the history when the Railroad Barons were bribed to build the rails across the continent. Literally nothing has changed since then: They still want to line their pockets at taxpayer expense while not actually doing the job. They were able to utilize imminent domain to rob people of their land while refusing to run rail in a straight line because they were paid by the mile laid not distance crossed so there were more bends than a plate of spaghetti. They have no incentive to actually do their job, no punishment for not doing so, they just mope around with their hands out while drastically underpaying workers. So of course, population centers do not want to have to deal with these parasites.
I would be happy to see more asses on transit if only our transit agencies and government entities weren't the ones showing them.
In Africa they would say it was just caused by corruption. The good thing about loans from China was the project was actually completed.
The UK has the same problem as the USA as the burgeoning above budget costs of the HS2 high speed rail line. Any nuclear or major construction project are the same.
Do building roads and freeways experience similar delays and cost over runs in the USA?