Fresno Farmer: HSR Will Benefit Agriculture
This is a great op-ed that appeared in the Fresno Bee earlier this week by John Diener, explaining how high speed rail will benefit farmers like himself:
Although many people believe that building a high-speed rail network will disrupt agriculture, I believe that developing high-speed rail will preserve farming in the Valley. Building high-speed trains displaces less land and will create fewer long-term problems for our farms and ranches.
Our Valley was built on family farms and the tradition of passing our farms from generation to generation. Building a statewide rail system will only enhance our ability to preserve agriculture and ensure our kids will farm in the Valley just like we do….
Building high-speed rail requires less land than new freeways or highways which will ensure that the most productive farmland in the nation stays that way. The more congested our freeways become due to population growth, the longer it will take for our products to get to market and our transportation costs will increase. High-speed rail will ease the number of cars traveling throughout the Valley, clearing much-needed freeway space for trucks.
Diener makes a very good point here. Most farmers who are critical of high speed rail seem to believe that the San Joaquin Valley will always look as it does in 2011. We know that’s not going to happen. Some of California’s fastest growing cities over the last 10 years are in the Central Valley. That creates not only competing traffic on freeways – and no matter how wide a freeway is, cars and trucks never mix well – but also pressure on farmland to be converted into subdivisions.
HSR helps alleviate both pressures. By providing another option for travelers, it takes more cars off of Highway 99 and Interstate 5, leaving more room for trucks that serve the agricultural industry. And HSR stations create centralizing development pressure, acting as nodes that attract growth close to them instead of sending it out toward the farmland.
Just as farms witnessed the construction of Interstate 5 – in many places built directly through existing farmland on an entirely new alignment – and did just fine even with the freeway, so too will the Valley’s agriculture industry be just fine with the construction of high speed tracks. More importantly, HSR helps preserve farmland and ensure ease of access to markets. Doing nothing, and watching traffic and sprawl strangle the Valley’s farmers, should not be a realistic option.
Speaking of farms, Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani will hold a hearing on HSR and farms next Thursday, March 17, in Madera. The hearing will be from 2PM to 5PM at the Madera County Board of Supervisors chambers, 200 W. Fourth Street.
And then there is this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ta_CW4neSY
8.9 earthquake hits in the waters off of Eastern Japan. All rail networks shut down. There are reports that the bullet trains stopped as designed, but I’m looking for more info. Major flooding in Northern Honshu.
Live feed: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
4 meter wave reported in Japan. No tsunami warning for the west coast. But Hawaii under warning for a first wave at 2:35 am HST @ 1 meter.
Peter Reply:
March 10th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
TEN meter wave inundated Sendai Airport.
Jim in scruz Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Just saw that. Having a hard enough time wrapping my mind around a quake that large, now I’m boggled by the tsunami. At least Japan is the country most prepared for a quake.
Spokker Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 1:47 am
Here is the shinksansen station in Sendai in relation to the airport. The A mark is the airport and the B mark is the station.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=sendai+airport&daddr=38.25948,140.881462&geocode=FQrxRQId7WtmCCnh_kfNPiKKXzGO0df6Y_wR1Q%3B&hl=en&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=12&ttype=dep&date=03%2F11%2F11&time=6:46pm&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=time&sll=38.250583,141.007462&sspn=0.170666,0.363579&ie=UTF8&ll=38.198529,140.986519&spn=0.170788,0.363579&z=12&start=0
swing hanger Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 3:32 am
Sendai Station is closed now. All JR East shinkansen lines (Tohoku,Joetsu, Nagano,Yamagat,Akita) are shut down.
Spokker Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 5:05 am
A man in Japan is doing a live web cast in English. He is reporting that Japanese media is saying that all shinkansen lines except for those in the North are up and running.
He also said many subway services are open now.
Paulus Magnus Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Reports now that a bullet train in Miyagi province is missing (presumably a tsunami victim).
Alon Levy Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:44 am
Wait, where? And is it a full or an empty train?
Peter Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:58 am
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1788268
Apparently it was a Shinkansen train undergoing testing, and it only derailed one wheel.
thatbruce Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Seems to be a commuter train, not a shinkensen train.
A passenger train with an unknown number of people aboard was unaccounted for in a tsunami-hit part of coastal Japan.
The East Japan Railway Co. train was running near Nobiru Station on the Senseki Line connecting Sendai to Ishinomaki when a massive quake hit, triggering a 10-metre (33-foot) tsunami, the report said.
Somewhere around here.
thatbruce Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Looks like the rail line goes over a lot of low-lying land adjacent to an airbase then follows the coastline. If they’re lucky, it was pushed off the levee and further inland. If they’re unlucky, it was dragged out to sea by the retreating wave.
quashlo Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Do you have a source?
I haven’t heard anything and I’ve been almost glued to live news feeds all morning.
At 1800 on March 11, there was confirmation of a minor derailment (one wheel) of a train undergoing testing that was stopped at Sendai Station. No injuries, though. Perhaps this was an E5 or E6.
http://www.nikkei.com/news/category/article/g=96958A9C93819696E3E3E291828DE3E3E2E1E0E2E3E3E2E2E2E2E2E2
Tōkaidō Shinkansen was partially reopened yesterday, and at least some service will be provided today (March 12). San’yō Shinkansen experienced some delays as a result. Opening of the Kyūshū Shinkansen extension is scheduled to go forward as originally planned today, but special events and ceremonies will be postponed. JR East’s Shinkansen service was suspended all of yesterday and will be out all of today as well… Not surprising given they are closest to the epicenter of the quake.
There was one report of at least one train on a conventional line (JR Senseki Line) being struck (?) by the tsunami, but there’s no information on how many passengers, if any, were on board at the time.
James Fujita Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Australian news has been giving heavy coverage to some Australian members of Parliament who were stuck on the Shinkansen after the earthquake.
No damage, no injuries, but the power was down. They’re off the train now. The following is quoted from the Sydney Morning Herald:
Mr Jones, the federal Labor member for Throsby in NSW, told Sky News the mood on the train was “remarkably calm” given the circumstances.
“You have got to hand it to the Japanese people. They are really taking this in their stride,” he said.
Ms Rishworth, the federal member for Kingston in South Australia, said commuters made phone calls, read books and worked on laptops.
“It’s a very serene sort of situation.”
quashlo Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
According to one Yomiuri news report, Jōetsu and Nagano Shinkansen lines will re-open afternoon of March 12. However, I cannot confirm this via JR East’s website. Also, just a few minutes ago, there were aftershocks up to M6 in Nagano and Jōetsu areas, so this may result in further delays:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20110312-OYT1T00098.htm
Spokker Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Japan is getting double teamed by earthquakes on the West and East coasts of Honshu. Amazing stuff. The USGS is creaming at all the data they are going to get on this natural phenomena from Japan’s advanced instruments.
Spokker Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I mean, they are going to learn so much about 8.9 magnitude earthquakes from data that is more accurate and reliable than ever before. The USGS said that early findings indicate that some parts of the island of Honshu moved 8 feet.
Looking at the globe, or Google Earth, it appears Alaska would see a tsunami before Hawaii. No news that I see out of Alaska.
Andy M. Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 6:40 am
This might answer your question
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51638000/jpg/_51638289_japan-quake-time-map.jpg
The Paris-Lyon LGV (266 miles), although its ROW is 131ft wide, occupies exactly half the surface of Paris CDG airport. The LGV takes up far less land than the corresponding autoroute.
The ecological impact of a highway is far from negligible. Subsurface hydrology is affected, which impacts water tables, and water runoffs contain pollutants from car exhausts. Plants absorb water pollution by their roots and air pollution by their leaves.
The advice given in booklets to mushroom and herb pickers: never pick anything near a highway.
It doesn’t take a science doctorate to understand that the impact of a narrow electrified set of tracks is nothing comparable to that of a wide impermeable surface covered with pollutant-spewing vehicles.
Andy M. Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 6:59 am
Yes, and I think you’ll find that being Europe’s first LGV, and because they didn’t have as much experience at the time, that they were more generous with the no man’s land on either side of the tracks than more recent LGVs were. Paris-Lyon has a generous grass strip on either side with one barbed wire fence by the tracks and another on the outer perimiter. On the Paris- Brussels LGV there are places where the famers fields extend all the way to the foot of the LGV earthworks and there is only a single fence.
ant6n Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Fair enough. But the ecological impact of rail is not negligible itself. Does your surface estimate of the Paris-Lyon LGV include the station areas and parking (which is included for the CDG airport)?
Andy M. Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
This is a tricky comparison. Neither Paris nor Lyon has extensive surface parking, as both terminii are embedded in dense historic cities. Some of the intermediate stations may have extensive parking though. People catching the train in Paris or Lyon can often cycle to the stations or use public transport. Both stations pre-date the TGV by more than a century and the transport system has grown around these hubs meaning they are easy to get to from numerous locations. Especially Paris has a dense suburban rail system. This is not really comparable to airports which were built on green sites and have not developed into ground transportation hubs to the same degree. Often indtead they are served by a single line that has been tacked onto the periphery of the syytem. Hence more people will drive and park there and fewer use public transport. A totally fair comparison would have to take this into account along with the percentage of road space required to serve these locations.
Andre Peretti Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Then, to have all things equal, you must also include autoroute toll gates, when 2×3 becomes 2×20 lanes. This photo from the newspaper “La Provence” represents only half of the lanes (the northbound ones). They create major disturbances for farmers who have their fields flooded during rainstorms.
The only part of a rail station that has a hydrological impact is the parking lot but its footprint can be reduced by having several levels. Even slab tracks have near-zero impact, being far narrower than highway lanes.
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee is having a hearing now. “Finding Ways to Encourage and Increase Private Sector Participation in Passenger Rail Service.” It is televised here: http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=1149 .
This posting argues along the lines of trains can reduce the numbers of cars on the road and hence create more space for trucks which means farmers can ship their produce more easily.
But in view of rising oil prices, what level must oil prices reach for rail freight to become economic over short distances of the type we are considering here, ie, that farmers won’t be trucking their produce into the cities any more but just to the nearest rail freight terminal?
adirondacker12800 Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Not all of California produce ends up in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The stuff going over the Sierra is commonly shipped East by rail.
This piece argues that HSR construction replaces highway space. That link may seem obvious, but is there any data to back that up? How many cars does HSR actually replace, given that it may induce more demand than it replaces.
The issue of HSR inducing development and possibly sprawl is also overlooked, which effect may be greater than the above one.
Andy M. Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:45 am
I’d have to do a bit of googling but I have read that highway traffic on Paris-Lyon has risen at a notably slower rate than on highways not paralleled by HSR. That’s not the same as a reduction, admittedly, but it is an impact against a background of generally increasing mobility.
Andre Peretti Reply:
March 12th, 2011 at 8:18 am
The Paris-Lyon-Marseille motorway is Europe’s main North-South axis. It’s known as “the motorway to the sun”. Its traffic is more and more European and less and less French. Paris-Lyon drivers are drowned in the mass.
The only opportunity to measure the market share captured from highways would be a train stoppage forcing people back into their cars. This has not happened these last years as TGVs continued to run almost normally during strikes, contrary to suburban and regional trains of which only 1/4 run on these occasions.
Travis D Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 11:50 am
What development is induced will be higher density and use less space.
And really improving infrastructure in any way will always induce some growth. But think about the type of development that would be induced if they widened all the freeways instead.
And HSR won’t so much take cars off the road that are there now as prevent new ones. The freeways likely won’t see much reduction in use but won’t see much of a rise in use as well.
Eventually CA99 will have to be rebuilt. It’s pavement is failing in many areas and parts of it are dangerous due to flawed design. But HSR will make it so that the rebuild won’t have to be as dramatic as it would have to be if there was no HSR option.
ant6n Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
While I agree with you, I think there’s a lot of guessing going on, here. And these guesses are presented as fact by the OP, which doesn’t make for a very strong argument.
adirondacker12800 Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
The rule of thumb for a lane of highway is 2000 vehicles per hour. It drops somewhat once you get over three lanes in each direction. Drops if there is congestion too. An HSR track can handle 12-15 trains an hour. A highway lane and track are roughly the same width.
I guess with the earthquake we might have to kiss that $20 billion loan from Japan goodbye.
synonymouse Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Who is going to front billions for Stilt-A-Rail thru the Tehachapis without ironclad payback with interest guarantees?
PB might be content with amnesia concerning the events of 1952 but I am sure Japanese analysts would not go for the usual “It can’t happen here” or “Nothing can possibly go wrong”.
StevieB Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Rep. John Mica, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure says the Japanese for one will put up money.
At the hearing this morning Mica promised the transportation bill will provide for investment opportunities for profit minded investors.
Do you feel the drag yet, synonymouse?
synonymouse Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
NdeM redux. Be sad to see them cut down the wires to salvage all that copper.
thatbruce Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
1952? Curly died, right?
( actually I assume that you’re referring, in your particular way, to the Treaty of San Francisco which formally ended the war between Japan and most everyone else )
synonymouse Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
http://www.data.scec.org/larse/images/KCrail2.jpg
adirondacker12800 Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 2:40 pm
When that happens on the surface it can be repaired or replaced in days. When it happens in a tunnel it takes a lot longer, assuming the tunnel is still safe.
synonymouse Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Stilt-A-Rail via the Loop is sans tunnels?
thatbruce Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Butbutbutbutbut QANTM! TRAC! Straight lines on a map! Technology solves everything! Maglev! I’m not listening! Nowhere to nowhere! LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa!
( Event referred to was the 1952 Kern County Earthquake on the White Wolf fault leading north/east from the San Andreas/Garlock intersection at the CV foot of the Tehachapis. Irrespective of the TRAC or CAHSRA routing, it needs to be crossed, meaning that historic seismic events along this particular fault aren’t a factor in deciding the coarse routing across it. )
synonymouse Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
99 crosses the White Wolf fault on its way from Bakersfield to the Grapevine?
thatbruce Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 9:30 am
A little map showing surface ruptures in the 1952 quake implies that it does.
D. P. Lubic Reply:
March 11th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
He’s referring to an earthquake in California in 1952. Worst damage railroad-wise was to some tunnels on the Southern Pacific line up Tehachapi; the road wound up daylighting them. Keep in mind, though, none of these were lengthy base bores.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1952_07_21.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Kern_County_earthquake