Atlanta to Jacksonville HSR

[fsujax]

Found this in the TU today.

http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2012-06-20/story/high-speed-rail-atlanta-jacksonville-feasible-study-says

[tlemans]

This would be great for Jacksonville. The article stated it would be many years before this came into fruition. I wonder exactly how many years that would be?

[tufsu1]

like 10+ years minimum.....and take note of the projected fares.

[fsquid]

If it was really going to be high speed (meaning over 120+ mph), I was expecting the fares to be much higher.  But, it would be a good thing.

[justinthered]

Compared to the prices for hsr here in Korea, that is insanely expensive! If I take the ktx from Gwangju to Seoul, it is 3 hr and costs about $35 during the week and $50 on the weekend. That trip is 219 miles. Jax to Atlanta is 319 miles. Why would it be $150?

[thelakelander]

like 10+ years minimum.....and take note of the projected fares.

Probably more like 20+ years. 

[fsquid]

Compared to the prices for hsr here in Korea, that is insanely expensive! If I take the ktx from Gwangju to Seoul, it is 3 hr and costs about $35 during the week and $50 on the weekend. That trip is 219 miles. Jax to Atlanta is 319 miles. Why would it be $150?

In Japan it is more than that.  About $200 to go from Tokyo to Osaka which is think is about that length.  A bit more to go from London to Paris too if I remember correctly.

[carpnter]

For HSR to Atlanta to work it will need to be cheaper than flying and take less time than driving.  If they start adding stops in small towns (i.e. Brunswick) along the route it will increase the travel time to a point where it is not worthwhile to use. 

[thelakelander]

Screw HSR.  Can we get some conventional passenger service to Atlanta in the meantime?

[dougskiles]

Screw HSR.  Can we get some conventional passenger service to Atlanta in the meantime?

+1.

I understand the importance of thinking BIG.  But, we will only get there one smaller step at a time.

[fsujax]

^^that's more than likely what it would be "higher speed rail" not Maglev trains. Besides Obama Admin are the ones who keep pushing the true high speed rail, I agree better Amtrak service would have been an easier sell and easier to implement.

[simms3]

I think trains are more difficult in the south, but are a necessary step to bringing the south, and separately FL, to the next level.

Taking the train from Chicago to MKE or DC to Phila is a 1-1.5 hour max trip and would take longer using the extremely congested highways and even longer via air to get through those massive airports.  At that point Amtrak is more than just a fast and easy connection for the masses, but is also a way to commute (people in DC make that commute to Phila and people in Phila commute to NYC, and vice versa).

Atlanta to Jax is 6 hours by train or by car.  Atl to Charlotte is probably 3 hours with a stop in Greenville and/or Athens.  Atl to Nashville goes across a mountain range and would probably stop in Chattanooga, thus making that a 3-4 hour trip, and Birmingham is so small as to be nearly irrelevant (but that would be the closest at 1.5 hours).

We're a little more geographically separated down here.

There's doubtfully ever going to be a commuter pattern between Jax and Orlando.  You don't live in one for cost savings over the other and then commute.  There aren't in particular a lot of economic ties, and both metros are pretty/very small.

Still, I am for it .

[thelakelander]

Taking a train from Chicago to Milwaukee would be like taking one from Tampa to Orlando or Miami to West Palm Beach.  An Atlanta/Jax route wouldn't be for commuting.  It would basically serve as an intercity connection like taking a train from Chicago to Detroit.  I personally think this HSR talk is somewhat overboard and the focus should be actually getting something off the ground.  It's like we're a toddler and instead of trying to learn how to ride a bike, we're holding out for a Ferrari.

[simms3]

^^^Yes, like regular Amtrak.  HSR is a pipe dream.  Still, it's a more expensive efficiency/reasoning challenge to build passenger rail in the south than more densely populated "megaregions."

[Adam W]

For HSR to Atlanta to work it will need to be cheaper than flying and take less time than driving.  If they start adding stops in small towns (i.e. Brunswick) along the route it will increase the travel time to a point where it is not worthwhile to use.

I don't know about the  trains USA, but in Britain flying is almost always cheaper. By far. Which is a big part of the problem - people will almost always fly if it's cheaper and quicker.

Trains are great for commuting, but unfortunately kinda suck for long journeys. I mean, I love them and all (and would try to use them more often), but I'm not going to shell out hundreds of £££ to ride the Eurostar to Paris or Brussels or somewhere when I can get a return flight for £50 - £60 (or even cheaper).