Comments on: Congress Reaches $2.5 Billion Deal on HSR Funding

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:00:50 +0000

And the superelevation, and the fact that American trains run at a cant deficiency one quarter that of modern tilting DMUs.

By: Joey

Joey — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:49:35 +0000

Checking baggage for HSR seems worthless to me. Better to just let passengers bring on their own baggage, possibly providing racks near the doors for oversized items. Baggage check/claim is one of the reasons why I think airports are so slow (these days I never check baggage if I don’t have to). Other HSR systems around the world don’t use baggage check, and I see no reason why ours should.

On a related note, DesertXPress EIR documents show that they intend to have “baggage platforms” for a trip just over an hour. This seems like an utter waste of time to me…

By: Rafael

Rafael — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:38:20 +0000

The trouble with checked bags is that California HSR trains will only dwell for 2 minutes at intermediate stations, 4 at larger ones like San Jose. That gives staff very little time to load and unload bags. They cannot hold a train if they need extra time, as Amtrak can today.

Carry-ons are the best solution, but passengers headed to airports do often have bulky suitcases etc. One option is to simply increase the dwell times at airport stations to e.g. 10 minutes and, to let express trains bypass these stations. This is possible only if there are at least two platform and two through tracks there. Additional platform tracks are required to handle large numbers of connecting passengers. In California, this will be most relevant for Ontario. It’s not clear how CHSRA will deal with dwell time issues at Millbrae, where Caltrain and BART already have a total of five tracks.

Another is to go one step further and make the platforms of those sidings secure areas, such that passengers go through airport-style check-in at the train station. Their checked bags are handed off directly to baggage handling at the airport. Example: Vienna City Airport Train, a standard speed point-to-point shuttle service.

By: jimsf

jimsf — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:41:41 +0000

too much schlepping. better a one stop ticket window where you buy your tickets that include all your connections including your thruway bus connection, check your bags, and then relax no fuss no muss. thats what people want. they love to check bags. I can’t tell you how many 6 pound hand bags I check from san francisco to stockton everyday. ( we’ve stopped accepting duct taped hefty bags and other unsuitable containers)

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:35:08 +0000

That is only practical when you have no checked luggage, or a LONG layover. You have to pick up your luggage, check it in again, and go through security again. If you have a carry-on only, it works.

For most train riders on HSR, I don’t see them as having bulky baggage to check in. They shouldn’t have a problem transferring from one operator to another.

By: jimsf

jimsf — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:24:52 +0000

suppose we don’t want to.

By: Walter

Walter — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:06:37 +0000

You’re right. I’m not saying it would be easy. The Zephyr alignment is quite windy and upgrading to HSR would probably involve widening I-80 and using a median for parts, which also means building new track. But it is a worthwhile project sometime in the future. I’m very much looking forward to a nationwide HSR network and there are only so many ways to build eastward from California.

By: jimsf

jimsf — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:58:10 +0000

and rafael, its not a drop in the bucket, its a long term stable funding source compared the airline industy which goes bankrupt every decade and who will have to answer to shareholders and be under pressure to make enough profit to satisfy share holders. and what happens when that becomes the most important thing? why, my goodness gracious, you end up with the very popular and lovely existing situation on the airlines today.. you know , that whole thing where they try to squeeze the last drop of blood and living breath out you, where they make you ride in the cargo hold and take you into the back room for a beating before stealing your wallet and them trying to choke you with poision.

yeah thats a goal to shoot for.

oh sure, itll look all hunky dory at first. but it can’t be maintained because that kind of capitalism is nothing but a big pyramid scheme and at some point, it breaks down and fails. every time as they turn the screws on the consumer ( because the consumer’s blood is after all, good to the last drop)

By: jimsf

jimsf — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:51:32 +0000

please, they cut staff and pile on more business every year. sure there are more in some crafts, conductors and engineers,, but clerks, they never create a new clerk job. instead they just add those infernal quick track machines and the customers hate them. I can’t get anyone to use them. They all want to talk to me. a real person ( and because Im so fabulous). all the additional ticketing would be absorbed through the implementation of more electronic and on board ticketing while the accounting can be done by the same available staff.

Im just saying this…. the states dept of transportation already has a working relationship with whom? The state of california has crafted the existing state system including the rolling stock, the feeder buses, and various parts of the infrastructure. The state has a very serious goal of making sure the transportation is fully integrated. so why would the state choose to run and entirely separate system completely detached from its existing system? and plop this completely detached and unrelated new system down on top right in the middle of things.

and then have passengers running all over the place trying to one ticket from them and a connecting ticket from us at the other window, for shcedules and transfers that aren’t integrated.

I sure as hell not going to give my time to help some southwest rail passenger plan their trip. Sorry toots, you’ll have to figure it out or go ask that guy in the ugly uniform and shorts over there.

By: Rafael

Rafael — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:38:50 +0000

Train stations that are only a short walk or courtesy transit ride removed from an airport terminal are permitted to use that airport's IATA code. If you have to buy a ticket, that's an extra leg on your itinerary, making it less attractive to prospective customers. Plain old train stations can get their own globally unique IATA codes as well, by convention they tend to begin with the letter Q, X or Z. That's not a hard-and-fast rule, though.