The big advantage of switching passenger service to the line in the I-5 corridor is the UP line through Klamath Falls tends to be rather congested with freight and really can’t handle increased passenger frequencies. The line through Medford is rather lightly used so freight conflicts aren’t really a problem.

The curves are an issue on the Shore Line north of New York. The Pennsy “Standard Railroad of the World” south of NYC would be pretty much ready for 150+ with the catenary replacement. It’s already engineered with very broad curves.

Except for the freight trains and the 90 mph Clockers and NJT Arrows.

Until some way to get NS trains into Baltimore without running on the NEC south of Perryville is provided the route can’t be upgraded to true HSR. But 135 mph seems to be doing very well already. It’s really not that far between New York and Washington.

I didn’t know that Frank was a member of the Central Committee in Beijing, too. (“just like in China!”) This is a great advantage for Washington in its quest for trade with the PRC!

(Joke…)

But tellingly, such controls do not exist on the domestic train routes in either the US or Canada.

You don’t need to be an authoritarian state to build things well.

Yes, it’s amazing what you can do in a Communist country when the government controls ALL of the money. I hear they build a mean hydroelectric dam, too.

Emulate THAT? No thanks.

Editor, The Seattle Times:

Time for North America to emulate China’s High-Speed Rail

The story about China announcing the fastest rail line in the world (at over 217 mph) and plans to build and complete at least 42 more lines stretching over 8400 miles by 2012 stands in stark contrast to our nation’s misguided automobile-centric transportation policies, as well as the Treasury’s financial deficit situation that limits options.

A U.S. economic stimulus package for high-speed rail allocates $8 billion to “study” the issue. While the I-5 corridor between Vancouver, B.C. and Eugene OR is one of ten potential high-speed rail corridors that will be studied, the first U.S. line will probably be built between San Diego and San Francisco, where California voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue last fall.

Meanwhile, China is slated to spend over $300 billion through 2020. While I certainly have major issues with China’s poor records with worker safety, due process, political freedom, and environmental degradation, at least it is embarking on an ambitious program that promises millions of new jobs, a cleaner, greener future and society-wide benefits for the common citizen.

Our unwillingness to embrace, support and build public transportation infrastructure will increasingly put our nation in competitiveness disadvantage compared to other developed and developing economies.

Leo N. Egashira

An explosion on a train doesn’t kill everyone on board, unlike with aircraft – trains can be built to be able to derail without deaths. So terrorists and saboteurs typically target tracks, not trains.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/RAIL/docs/Publications/railplan01.pdf

The document details each and every rail line in the state, and on page 98 discusses each potential route for intercity rail. Most rail lines in Oregon are not very well suited for intercity rail without a lot of money. So buses that link to rail stations make a lot of sense.