This is partially in response to Clem’s excellent article about the importance of timetables. I do agree with most of what he says, however I’d like to add one point to the discussion: He makes it sound a bit as if CAHSR and Caltrain would compete, not cooperate - thus the argument that CAHSR trains might “block” Caltrain from running a proper timetable.
However, if we have CAHSR “locals” running over those tracks, say at a half-hourly interval, with timetables that are coordinated with Caltrain locals and are offering those zero-wait transfers at RWC (or wherever), then there should in fact not even be a need for Caltrain express trains? The CAHSR trains can fulfill that function. But for that to work it is very important that fares and timetables are coordinated, i.e. if I have a ticket for San Jose - San Francisco, I should be able to use any train on the route.
Recently, Arnold (Schwarzenegger, our Governor here in California) was on Newsweek’s cover being celebrated for his new greenness, however, his love for the environment doesn’t seem to translate into a support for alternative means of transportation, but maybe that’s to be expected from someone who owns and drives several Hummers … For not only does his proposed budget cut a lot of money that was supposed to go to transit - and that while gas prices are closing in on the $4 mark in some areas - but also is he just about the only person of importance left in this state that does not support High Speed Rail - at least that seems to be what this article concludes. There definitely has been a lot of positive press recently and several state legislators have voiced their renewed support for the project, but for the governor, it does not seem to be a priority. Let’s hope someone can convince him otherwise.
On April 10, SNCF started selling tickets for the new TGV Est line (service starts June 10). They are offering an introductory price of 15 Euros one way for this summer - 5000 seats per day will be available at that price. Apparently, these tickets are selling really well - according to this article, they have already sold 145,000 tickets during the first 3 days. A similar promotion is available for trips to and from Switzerland: 18 Swiss Francs from Basel and 22 Swiss Francs from Zurich (one way).
Air France seems to want to take up the fight - they currently hold a 65% market share on the Paris-Strasbourg route - and have also reduced their fares. EasyJet on the other hand seems to throw in the towel - they’re stopping their service on the Basel-Paris route at the end of June.
Over the past week, there has been quite a lot of press and also comments by otherbloggers about this new speed record. Here are a couple additional notes/comments.
Peet (in German) points to the one video clip that is the most interesting in his view, i.e. this one here. Looks like it is a direct reproduction of the onboard recording - with no added commentary by a TV reporter or some such. You can however hear the audio from the onboard intercom, i.e. between the driver and the laboratory, etc.
Philippe Herisse gives an interesting eye-witness account on his blog (in French). Philippe is an engineer with SNCF and writes articles for the French publisher La Vie du Rail. He was onboard the record-setting train.
Alstom/RFF/SNCF have set up an official site to document the record.
Somebody posted a curve showing elapsed time/distance vs. speed on the French forum “Trains en Voyage” - see this thread here (in French, registration required). Quite interesting …
Also, this record seems to have revived interest in high speed rail in California - it probably created more public and press attention for the ailing California High Speed Rail project than years of rail advocacy. Maybe we should all thank the French for inviting those lawmakers… Hmm, I wonder whether it was a coincidence that this record attempt took place in the same week as the California legislature’s spring break … After all, the CAHSR project potentially represents big business for Alstom.
With all the articles that appeared in the press, I noticed one thing: what’s it with this animosity towards the French? I often saw phrases similar to “… the French of all people …” used when talking about this record. Why would that be so surprising? Or is it just that Americans don’t like the French? I can see why the Germans would be jealous, but why should America care?
Then there was the usual Maglev vs. HSR debate: Maglev supporters were quick to point out that the Maglev record hasn’t quite been beaten (nobody claimed it was). Just to make it clear - I’m not a big fan of Maglev. Sure, it sounds interesting and is certainly intriguing from a technology point of view, but to me, it seems that Maglev is still very far from being a proven technology. Conventional High Speed Rail is proven technology, in use in multiple countries with thousands of miles of track in service and multiple manufacturers of equipment, etc. HSR today can basically be considered as being available off the shelf - just call Alstom or Siemens (or Bombardier/Talgo) and ask for a quote. Also, HSR is compatible with existing rail lines, Maglev is not (admittedly, this is less the case here in the US than in Europe, since most US rail lines are not already electrified. But that’s a minor point, compared with the fact that Maglev is a completely separate system).
You can also still watch the French TV live coverage here (probably only available for the next couple of days - you have to navigate to the “Edition du mardi 3 avril 2007″)
According to a report published by the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (of the California State Assembly) was one of the selected few passengers aboard the record setting TGV earlier today. She was visiting France together with a delegation of California Legislators led by Assembly Speaker Nunez, but was the only one actually aboard the train.
Ma was among a handful of handpicked passengers on the V150 that set a new bullet train speed record by hitting 357.2 mph. The previous record was 320.2 mph set in 1990.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has published a promotional video on their website that touts the benefits of a High Speed Rail system - I hope this will help to get this into people’s minds - there is a limit to how many freeway lanes one can practically build and at some point, one has to look for other possible solutions for the transportation problems. I don’t know about you guys, but Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown San Francisco in just a bit over 2 1/2 hours sounds pretty damned good to me …
This video describes the HST project and includes state-of-the-art 3-D computer simulations illustrating how high-speed trains will fit into California’s landscape and how the system will be integrated with existing transportation systems.
More information and also a higher resolution version of the video is available on their website.
Start thinking about how you can make sure that this year’s state budget ensures that the high speed rail project keeps moving forward. I’d like to see the train finally make it into the station someday.
