(Written by an American expat hi-speed rail traveler's first hand experience living in the European Union) (Updated August 15th 2011)
Isn't it time for America to finally get on board with hi-speed rail green technology?
We've all heard about and all read the unsettling sometimes appalling stories of travelers who are subject to invasive pat downs by the TSA. Therefore this diary accepts that as a given. I've also been told about how travelers feel degraded by body scanners, and how they object to the radiation that this exposes them to. I accept that also. Therefore as this has already been so well covered, let's move on to looking at hi-speed rail as a badly needed upgrade, which is an environmentally friendly, great alternative to air travel which would create new green jobs which can't be outsourced, and provides a weary traveling public with a great alternative, that actually lets you see America passing by. Hi-speed rail works not only all over Europe, Japan, China, and Russia, it can work in America as well. It should be noted that America's fastest train line is the Acela Northeast corridor between Washington and Boston, which only goes 70 miles an hour. When in fact true hi-speed rail goes twice that speed in excess of 140 mph. This from a nation that put a man on the moon, surely we can do better than that!
Hi-speed rail for many destinations can offer a quick as air travel alternative, that is competitively priced and offers a viable alternative to the gridlock at America's airports and on America's highways. The simple truth and fact of the matter is this, for the so called richest nation in the world, which boasts having over 400 billionaires in it, it is a real black eye and in fact a national embarrassment to have a public railway transportation system which moves at a speed that was in existence in the 1950's, because the American economy is held captive by private economic interests in the airline and automotive industries, which prevents investment in a new critical infrastructure that is hi-speed rail, which in fact is a green technology. As such this action diary takes a look at those issues in some detail, while concurrently looking at what the experience of this American expat is with hi-speed rail as someone living in the European Union. As such please feel invited to read on beyond this introduction.
Most Americans have no experience with hi-speed rail from a passengers perspective. Therefore this diary tries to give some background as to what your experience maybe on hi-speed rail.
(Photo on the left is the Belgium Thalys hi-speed train which offers a service from Koln, Germany to Paris, France in 3 hours.)
As an American expat living in the European Union I was recently able to travel in a German hi-speed rail train, clipping along at excess of over 300 kilometers an hour from Frankfurt to Cologne. It was a very smooth ride, much smoother than any airplane I've ever been on. It was also much quieter than any plane I've ever been on, and of course there were more bathrooms than any plane I'd ever been on. I kept my tray during my trip in the upright position, except when I was using my laptop, which I was able to plug in under my seat. Instead of being served that really tacky tasting airline food, I was able to go to the dining cart and pick out from a full menu of tasty dishes. During the ride I was able to use my cell phone as well as wireless internet, and of course there could be no luggage lost, because I was able to keep a hold of my luggage, not just a carry on. Then let me state the obvious there was no pre-flight check in, no pat downs, no scanners. When you buy your ticket, you don't even have to go to a ticket counter, you can buy it from a vending machine. If you miss your train it is never a problem, because there will be another train usually within the hour. Watching the German countryside whisk by at a speed of over 300 kilometers an hour was breathtaking, as well as beautiful. It beats looking out your window at clouds that's for sure.
Stewards came by with a cart at regular intervals filled with refreshments, for those who did not want to get up and stretch their legs and go for a bit of a walk. Oh by the way did I mention they had more toilets than any flight I've ever been on. Hmm oh yes, I guess I did. How about this, the bathrooms were larger than any airline toilet I've ever seen. The food was better than any airline food I've ever tried. I grant you there was no in flight movie, but with the breathtaking scenery going by of castles, rivers and charming countryside who has time to watch yet another cheesy Hollywood production. There were a lot of radio stations you could jack in to through your headset. I especially like the ones that play classical music. You could go with reserve seating for about 3 Euros (just under $5), or do the al La Carte thing and change seats if you felt like it. Try doing that on an airliner sitting next to someone that doesn't stop snoring!
(This is a picture of a French hi-speed rail train)
Well is there more, yes there is more. The seating was comfortable in first class as well as coach. I've traveled both. The seats reclined. They had footrests, and for any one who is traveling by air, the trains get this, stop right at the airports in multiple German cities to include Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich. Of course this scenario is repeated through the entirety of Europe in London, Paris and Rome to name but a few. Of course within the European Union there is no customs or border controls, so traveling is convenient and easy, as well as comfortable and convenient. It should also be said that main German railway stations as is the case throughout the European Union usually connect to subways and other local transportation networks directly.
German rail stations in major cities are spacious. There are a large number of restaurants, something for everyone's palate and budget ranging from Subways to McDonalds to Starbucks or original German restaurants, grocery stores, bookstores, newsstands, any shop you can find at an airport, you'll find three of those (smile) at a rail station and vicinity. For first class passengers there is always a first class lounge for waiting travelers in Germany. Unlike most of the airports, the train stations in Europe are usually centrally located, such as Kings Cross or Victoria station in London. It is convenient because believe it or not you can get from London to Paris by train quicker than you can by air now that the Channel tunnel is in operation. The train journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, when we take the 1 hour time zone difference between Paris and London into account. Here is a typical timetable for schedules.
http://www.eurostar.com/...
What about freight transport with hi-speed rail in the not too distant future in America?
Now to be clear this is an action diary and not a rail travel guide through the European Union. This action diary asks you to write your member of Congress today and tell them to get on board with hi-speed rail. While much has been written about America's love affair with the automobile, with rising gasoline prices and long driving times, the American traveling public has also had a long time love affair with air travel. Now with America's airports and interstate highway system in a state of perpetual gridlock, especially at peak travel times, isn't hi-speed rail quick as air travel an idea whose time has come. Or do we perpetually want to invest in operating the only antiquated railway system of this size and scope of any major industrialized nation in the world, that operates at speeds that have been in existence since the 1950's. Therefore the word hi-speed rail for Americans has become science fiction instead of science and engineering fact. This is directly attributable to the fact that America's plutocracies economic interests in the automotive and airline industry have prevented the investment of hi-speed rail which they see as an economic rival which provides a badly needed upgraded in America's critical transportation infrastructure network.
Creating a hi-speed rail critical infrastructure would involve laying a lot of hi-speed rail track. That's one more way that hi-speed rail would create a lot of new jobs for Americans that cannot be outsourced! This is one more reason to get on board hi-speed rail. Do you agree?
Let's also talk about the future of America. In future America will there be such a thing as hi-speed rail freight transportation! If so how will future America look without hi-speed rail freight transportation in a future geo-global economy?
HIGH-SPEED RAIL FREIGHT
But now, another transport revolution is poised to taking place alongside it – high-speed rail freight.
http://www.railway-technology.com/...
Let's be clear hi-speed rail doesn't just move passengers, it can also be used theoretically to move freight. To which as an MBA I'd like to offer a professional opinion from a business perspective that if America doesn't get on board with hi-speed rail, the far reaching deleterious effects will further cripple the American economy in time, because it will eventually disable just in time supply delivery methodologies for stock. This will cause wholesalers and retailers to have to horde warehouse and maintain large buffer stocks to prevent disruptions in the supply chain. Obviously buffer stocks will be expensive to maintain, warehouse and manage, therein lowering the profitability of the American economy as a whole by the maintenance of a rail system with critical infrastructure moving at the same speed of many developing nations railway systems in the world today! But perhaps more to the point, is the reality that buffer stocks will be necessary increasingly in the future, as America's air freight and freight trucks fleets will find themselves mired in gridlock, both at the airports and the interstate highway system. So it's not just hi-speed rail passenger service that is an issue here, but also eventually the advent of hi-speed rail freight infrastructure is an issue that is coming here also. Just how long do Americans think that America can compete as a so called economic superpower with a rail transportation network moving at the speed of the 1950's. Which begs the question, shouldn't we ask our members of Congress to get on board with hi-speed rail today!
Nevertheless, high-speed rail is an idea whose time has come — at least for environmentalists. According to Environment America, high-speed rail uses a third less energy per mile than auto or air travel, and a nationwide system could reduce oil use by 125 million bbl. a year. In addition, high-speed rail represents the kind of long-term infrastructure investment that will pay back for decades, just as the interstate highway system of the 1950s has.
Read more: http://www.time.com/...
We can do better than this and that's not off the rails either. Please call your member of Congress and please tell them to get on track with hi-speed rail. It's a green technology, as quick as air on many routes,
it creates jobs that can't be outsourced , and it can serve the American traveling public as an alternative to air travel on many routes. While concurrently providing a socially leveling and generally affordable critical infrastructure for a
public option in transportation which is America's future. If we ignore this reality in America then we're certain to continue on the path of a superpower in decline, and while it is possible for us to be proud Americans, clearly we don't have to be proud of America's broken social safety net, or its broken public transportation network. There we can, should and must do better if America is to avoid being downgraded still further in the future from the double AA S & P grading structure. We have to show the world that if we want them to invest in America, then we must be willing likewise to invest in America's future, and that means investing in a new critical infrastructure for transportation which is hi-speed rail. To reiterate it should be noted that America's fastest train line is the Acela Northeast corridor between Washington and Boston, which only goes 70 miles an hour. When in fact true hi-speed rail goes twice that speed in excess of 140 mph. This from a nation that put a man on the moon, surely we can do better than that!
To read other diaries I've written, here is the link below:
http://www.dailykos.com/...