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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes ]]></title>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35913]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Let me see if I got this straight... The NEC ridership is currently 9 million (per year I assume). so, per day they transport 25,000.  So we intend to spend $117 billion or  $4.7 million per commuter to cut their commute time in half?  Even if they double their ridership, we are talking more than $2 million per daily commuter -- just to save them an hour or two.  This is why Amtrack and the U.S.A. is  bankrupt.  They are both stupid.  Commuters decide they want to commute, so why are we subsidizing their decision?   I say, increase the ticket prices to cover the costs and let the people doing the commuting pay the bill or they should move closer to their workplaces.   Those 25,000 folks could cover the costs over 10 years  for a paltry $1,330.00 round trip ticket.   And that price would decrease as more riders scrambled to save an hour or two on their commute!  This same logic worked for the SST, that other great Euro adventure, where commuters were also not willing to pay a lot more money to save some time.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35913]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[fred64]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:01:54 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35749]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Hmmm, why not invite those horrible French to built this, and have it ready in 2020, travel faster, more comfortable and cheaper too?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35749]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[MacOSXboy]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:58:22 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35748]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Wow, speed @220mph and ready by 2040.... Why not invite the French to built this, and have it cheaper, faster and finished by 2020?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35748]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[MacOSXboy]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:57:07 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35734]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I take the Acela every other week, DC to Newark, NJ, about 2.5 hours. Regional is 30 minutes longer. Cut out some of the dinkier stops and it'd far faster, but also less able to pick-up / drop-off passengers and less relevant to some of its ridership. I am dead set against pouring HSR money down a hole.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35734]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[pranavb99@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:14:05 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35742]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[By the way, 354 km/h speed is pale by comparison to current avail top speed almost near 600km/h. What on earth was Amtrak thinking?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35742]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jeanl@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:43:13 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35741]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Been Long overdue and laughable.  Each year drag-on, the more it costs. Too much bureaucratic bs. and keep on postpone, talk the talk but nothing happen is what i think.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35741]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jeanl@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:24:58 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35731]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[How much money do we have to waste on passenger trains before people figure out they're a complete waste of money. Forty-five million people live along this corridor; only 30,000 people per day ride the current train. People don't ride trains. People only want trains because they think they will get you off the road and out of their way. If passenger trains were a good idea a private company would be doing it. Taxpayers should not have to put billions into subsidizing ticket prices on a losing idea.I hope the republicans will keep as much money as possible away from these boondoggles.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35731]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bronco46]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:43:14 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35716]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[NY to Washington DC?  It would be like flushing more money down the toilet.   The last thing we need is a faster way for congressmen to get away from DC where they are supposed to be working.  I say shut down the airport and interstates serving DC until the economy has fully recovered and the number of EMPLOYED US citizens is 75% of the adult population.Wake me up when Amtrak figures out how to have reliable a network of MODERATE speed rail to replace airline travel within the US.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35716]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[ps.techrep@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:31:39 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35722]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[How are they going to do this when the train stops every 15 minutes?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35722]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[tech_ed@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:06:54 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[lies, damn lies, and statistics]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35683]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The justification numbers by Amtrak are pie-in-the-sky estimates that won't be realized, and the 'Big Dig' costs will soar.  Telecommuting dramatically reduces the needs to travel by high speed rail.  When the taxpayers had to subsidize Washington State's 'high speed rail' by $500 million, it only will raise the speed by 4mph to an average 52mph.  And the added speed was found to create TOO MUCH NOISE for some neighborhoods, so they spray oil on the wheels when on that section of track.  Let's just say that the lobbyists and contractors took the taxpayer for a ride on a system that only operates because of subsidies.(And Popular Mechanics tells us that flying cars are just around the corner!  So I'll wait for that)]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35683]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[randydutton]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:52:58 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Too much]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35682]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[A cost of $383 for every man, woman, and child in America.The operating surplus likely doesn't include the repayment of the capital to build it.Rail is very noisy.A much better alternative would be to install a permanent magnet maglev Levx system www.levx.com, which costs between $1-2 million per mile for the track, is very fast and extremely quiet, has much lower maintenance costs than rail, requires much less energy to run than rail, can incline up to 45% and make sharper turns so it can avoid infrastructure damage, and is US invented and made.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35682]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[randydutton]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:46:37 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35638]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[We have high speed railnow and it's use sucks. save the moneyto build and operate it.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-35638]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jnemeth@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:26:20 -0800</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28494]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Not much of a &quot;vision&quot; here, I agree with most of the previous commentators. Quantum changes in perception, planning, sourcing and initial ownership of a project of this magnitude need to be achieved and spelled out before undertaking a generations-spanning and benefiting activity.Point taken from commentator about 8 miles of above-ground rail at 8 billions current dollars translates into well over 400 billions for this project. (But this is within existing bottlenecks of planning and execution)Another point brought up here, the disparity of using two service models on the same rail, i.e. freight versus passenger (using narrow rail curves planned originally for slower moving freight do not adapt to passenger requirements) is taken well.           And then the argument (rightfully so for all current practices), that all passenger rail services  can only run on heavy subsidies: That is true for Europe as well and might as well be just one way for governments to justify their presence and taxing authority!After posting the above caveats; Now here it comes: 1) Foremost has to be a re-thinking of passenger rail transportation.  It has to be way lighter and more energy efficient than previous models: A pod-like train configuration comes to mind. Only as needed the train gets added modules; all of which are made of high impact new carbon reinforced plastics. Seating and luggage allowance to mimic air travel.Forget about Locomotives the old way, way too heavy! Either distribute propelling energy over the whole train or devise new lightweight pulling/pushing engines.2) To accommodate the extra speed, lets follow federal highway lanes. Put up a second level above those streets-, no new land-gobbling schemes needed! The mono-rail-type bridge-structures required will be less capital-intensive because of advancements put into place to lighten rail traffic as above mentioned.3) Ownership during this transition phase should be with the US Government. Buy out the existing private ownership interests just like a bank bailout. Then do the job with ease because you are the Government, then sell those shares at a profit and let private interests do the running of these entities.Looking forward to comments of my approach!(simplistic, naive, never done before, etc).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28494]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[lifepactx2]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:04:01 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[jwknight, did you not read the post immediately above yours?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28398]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I think it was pretty clear.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28398]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:55:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28351]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Why is it that the U.S. is so far behind Europe, Japan and China other than very poor government and labor union interference.  China alone will double its high speed rail system, alrady with something like 2,400 miles of high speed railway, in the next 3 years (yes 3 years) while it will take the U.S. 30 years for a (gasp) few hundred miles.  Three guesses concerning airlines and airplane industry payoffs to our representatives in Washington.  If you don't think they are against rail travel cutting into their profits you have your head in the sand.  Thier lobby groups (hundreds of them) beat the congressional doors down every day.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28351]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jwknight]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:56:37 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[China has lots of advantages over us in building large projects]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28330]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[They make the decision to do it and go.  No years or decades of analysis paralysis.Concerns of locally affected parties are not an issue.  The central government has the power and they don't care what the locals think.No decade or more of environmental reviews.Land acquisition is simple.  They just take it and &quot;relocate&quot; (dump) the previous inhabitants somewhere else.  No expensive and drawn out eminent domain court battles.Tom Friedman is right in that the Chinese have a lot of advantages over us.  But then again, we're not that kind of country either, nor do I think we want to be.Oh, and dAVErSF, yes, other forms of travel are subsidized as well.  But NONE of them is subsidized to the degree that Amtrak is, to the tune of $30 to $400 per passenger per trip!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28330]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:45:02 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28309]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[1.  We at one time had dedicated passenger rail service connecting most US cities.  It mostly was scrapped in the 50s and 60s due to underutilization.  I don't see it changing.2.  I do love the idea.  Some major cities have in recent years reinstalled interurban commuter systems (Dallas comes to mind).  They are expensive, but the bill has been mostly footed by the communities that would benefit.  I have never seen one of their trains running empty.  They are heavily utilized.3.  The amount of high paying union jobs that would be created and maintained during and after construction would be a huge boon to the local economies, especially if local contracts are bidded for the corridors (keeps the money local).4.  Good God... please don't let the govt run the project.  They ruin enough already.  Trust me, I work for them.5.  ALL your major railroads in the US were built by the companies that ran them.  They had to come up with the money, not have it handed to them by the govt.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28309]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jonjonwells]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:21:24 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28322]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[This will never happen....for one thing, they will be bankrupt by then anyway, so why even bother....and cost? It's going to cost one Northern Virginia county over 4 billion dollars to build an above-ground metro rail 8 miles to Dulles Airport!...and that's above the original 3.6 billion that they *THOUGHT* it would cost...and that was only a few months ago! Look...we have trillions of dollars to pump into the middle east in the form of wars, but we certainly can do that *AND* build a world-class mass transit rail system!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28322]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[tech_ed@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:57:44 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28307]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Another fine article brought to you by Hill &amp; Knowlton...&quot;Trains Good, Planes Baaaaad. WHOO WHOO!!&quot; No Agenda...Needed!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28307]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Clint.Galliano]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:39:16 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28321]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[IN response to the comment about the subsidized cost of Amtrak - most people forget that the roadways are also subsidized - drivers don't pay toll on the vast majority of the roads in the US - all that road work going on is funded through taxes, and represent a subsidy to drivers.  That subsidy is much greater than the Amtrak subsidy (I don't remember the exact numbers, but I'm sure you could look it up).]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-4366-28321]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Turntwo]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:20:47 -0700</pubDate>
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