Private Profitable High Speed Rail in Texas?

[thelakelander]

I meant express and local as in "express" making the identified HSR stops and local serving additional stops along the corridor (ex. Brandon, Plant City, US 27 & I-4, Celebration, etc.).  Such a service would provide greater access to the system for the entire region.

The version I'm describing may be more commuter rail than HSR.  The closest thing I can relate it to is California's Caltrain and its baby bullet service.

October 2004
Grand Award:
Caltrain Baby Bullet

Weighing in at more than 400 tons, standing nearly 16 feet tall and immediately capable of racing between the Bay Area’s two largest cities in just 57 minutes, the infant delivered by 141-year-old Caltrain in June 2004 is no ordinary baby. It’s the Baby Bullet, recipient of this year’s Grand Award and the high-speed herald of a new era for weekday commuters from South of Market to the Silicon Valley.

With the new addition to the Caltrain family, passengers now can choose from 86 weekday trains â€" including 10 Baby Bullet trains which match their siblings’ top speed of 79 miles per hour but slash commute times by making only four stops between San Francisco and San Jose: at the Millbrae, Hillsdale, Palo Alto and Mountain View stations (with two morning and two evening runs also stopping at the 22nd Street station in San Francisco).

“The Baby Bullet is a cost-effective way to meet the needs of 21st century commuters by adding value to 19th and 20th century infrastructure,” observed former Caltrain executive Howard Goode, who is preparing to retire later this year as deputy executive director of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority. Conceived on a San Carlos tabletop in January 2000 by Goode, state Senator Jackie Speier (winner of this year’s MTC Legislative Award â€" see story), and senatorial aide Brian Perkins, the Baby Bullet’s gestation was made possible by $127 million secured by Speier through the state Traffic Congestion Relief Program.

The lion’s share of the money was used to help pay for a two-year construction project which included laying bypass tracks in Brisbane and Sunnyvale that allow Baby Bullets to overtake local trains; installing a centralized switching and signaling system; and making extensive station and track upgrades throughout the corridor. The remaining funding was used to purchase six spanking new gray-and-red locomotives and 17 double-deck passenger coaches. “It’s the most expensive baby I ever delivered,” joked Speier at the Baby Bullet inauguration gala held on June 7 in San Francisco.

To make the birth of the Baby Bullet as painless as possible, Caltrain opted to work weekends, suspending Saturday and Sunday service from July 2002 to June 2004 to take care of the necessary rail, switching and station work. The result is a Caltrain that’s safer, quieter and more reliable than ever. During the 23-month construction period, special bus service was established to transport weekend riders along the Caltrain corridor.

The Baby Bullet immediately endeared itself to commuters along the Peninsula corridor. Average weekday Caltrain ridership topped 30,000 in August 2004, a 12 percent increase over the August 2003 figure. The upward trend is helping to lift the system out of its post-9/11 ridership doldrums. Weekend trains returned better than ever after the delivery of the Baby Bullet as well, with new hourly service on both Saturdays and Sundays. Trains previously ran only every two hours on Sundays. To celebrate the return of weekend trains, Caltrain waived fares the first two Saturdays and Sundays in June. Each weekend, more than 20,000 riders took advantage of the free travel opportunity.

In a railroad version of a well-baby checkup, Caltrain in late 2004 will evaluate the new service levels to determine whether the current mix of Baby Bullet, limited-stop and local trains is meeting passengers’ expectations. Caltrain aims to add more Baby Bullet service as demand increases and both capital and operating funds become available. The new low-floor Baby Bullet cars carry 130 to 142 passengers, and each Baby Bullet train can accommodate up to 16 bicycles.

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/transactions/ta10-04/grand.htm

[tufsu1]

I understood Lake...I was just somewhat surprised to see that the HSR plan included some "express" and "local" trains too.

[Ocklawaha]

Light rail is not meant to go 73 miles!

tufsu1, REALLY? Have you ridden some of the LRT systems? Dallas regular operations are very near 70 mph. Under the hood, light rail cars are the same basic animal as the HSR electric trains. Even back in the day...There is no reason not to hit 70 - 80 or 90 mph, on private right of way.

Ock...I never said 70mph...I said not meant for 70+ miles....LRT is meant for distances inside urban areas.

The Baltimore line is 27 miles long and iit takes over 1 hour to travel from one end to the other (because of downtown traffic and all the stops).

My bad, my good friend, I am half blind you know, a condition which clears up only under certain influences!  So I'll repost:
Light rail is not meant to go 73 miles!

PACIFIC ELECTRIC RY 1,200 Miles - San Bernandino/LA Mainline 58 miles.
ILLNOIS TERMINAL (electric) INTERURBAN 400 Miles
SACRAMENTO NORTHERN RY 275 Miles

Ohio and Indiana were blanketed by a web of "light rail" and at one time, using connections, and spending nights in hotels, one could travel from Utica, NY to Indianapolis, IN. in 13 days! So much for 70 mile LRT.

OCKLAWAHA

[tufsu1]

wow...NY to IN in 13 days....that would definitely compete with air travel and highways :-)

[civil42806]

wow...NY to IN in 13 days....that would definitely compete with air travel and highways :-)

are you just trying to be an ass?

It probably wouldnt compete with a space rocket or a concorde either.

Its commuter rail.

We might as well abandon bike lanes while were at it.  Theyll never compete with old trolleys.

Problem is people don"t use a space rocket, and the concorde was a massive failure.  People do use airplanes and highways.  As far as bike lanes, ever saw the usage here in town?