Snow Paralyzes The Northeast !

[Safebyahare]

Off topic: Worked for railroad for over 25yrs.
Best cup of coffee, running a train up Cajon pass during winter. (btw the front seat is the best seat)
Conductor breaks out with a cappacino maker with frother that works on little camping stove thing.
Must have been 3am, and snowing. A good cup.

On topic,,,CA should have been looking at a way to bring more water to state. Not a choo choo to Nor. Cal.

[jonriv]

Took TGV in 1990 from Paris to Swiss border( Dijon). Took german ice 3 in 2005. Brussels to cologne. Cologne to Munich. Train paralleled the autobahn and I have video of us blowing past cars on th speed limitless section. ( both ice and TGV do over 200mph). I usually take the acela from Stamford to boston( hits 150 through Kingston, ri. I often take amtrak regional elsewhere. Longest trip(s) have been via silver service ny to fla(sleeper) 4 times and one time on the autotrain


California should have copied the European HSR model- expand conventuals rail and build high speed in segments. This keeps costs down, builds ridership and helps to build support. People respond better to things they can see and use. San Diego to la should have been upgrade a long time ago to at least semi high speed. California instead tried to copy the Chinese with giant and grand HSR plans that IMO overreach. I also think the San Fran San Jose line should have been electrified years ago.

[jonriv]

Not looking for sympathy. Weather can dealt with when prepared for it. I will say the snow-cold combination is not the norm her(not to this degree). This has been more like buffalo(western ny). Snow last night came down faster than plows could keep up with and right in rush hour

[jonriv]

Also took the italian pendolino train. Stuutguart to Zurich. Zurich to como. Wife and son to italian Eurostar from Milan to Rome



My son loves trains. As a hs graduation he and I are doing a trans on trip from ny to Cali. Stopover in Chicago for some deep dish

[jonriv]

Back to the weather


3 degrees this morning and windy. Got about a foot of snow. Roads not too bad

[PDad]

... I usually take the acela from Stamford to boston( hits 150 through Kingston, ri. ...

This is the only response that is relevant to my questions. That trip is about 175 miles, so 3 hours by car (without traffic). Acela Express is usually just under 3 hours and costs $105-159. Northeast Regional only takes 20-40 minutes longer and only costs $48-64. How do you justify the extra expense of taking Acela over the Regional?

California should have copied the European HSR model- expand conventuals rail and build high speed in segments. This keeps costs down, builds ridership and helps to build support. People respond better to things they can see and use. San Diego to la should have been upgrade a long time ago to at least semi high speed. California instead tried to copy the Chinese with giant and grand HSR plans that IMO overreach. I also think the San Fran San Jose line should have been electrified years ago.

LOL You criticize and lecture us on not building HSR in developed areas when you don't have a clue how much conventional rail is here and haven't really done HSR back there.

Trains have to compete with air and car travel based on cost, time and convenience. There are specific niches where train travel is competitive and it is ridiculous to push it outside them.

[PDad]

Not looking for sympathy. Weather can dealt with when prepared for it. I will say the snow-cold combination is not the norm her(not to this degree). This has been more like buffalo(western ny). Snow last night came down faster than plows could keep up with and right in rush hour

It may not be the norm as far as happening every year, but it happens often enough that it's not that unusual. Seems like you had big winter storms just last year.

[jonriv]

Quite aware of the conventional rail and the success it has had in California.


However, although only true HSR in some sections, the service available on the Northeast Corridor is well beyond what is availbale in California. My only suggesstions was that California would have been more succesful had it upgraded conventional sections and then connected them to new HSR section in the less developed areas- that's what happened in Europe(over decades)

As fare as the Acela ride to Boston from Stamford-

There are four real options:

Driving- Three hours(if on a weekend or non-rush hour) Boston traffic on or within rt 128 is horrendous. Parking is about $30 downtown

Air- Westchester(HPN) to Logan $244 one way- plus cab or T into downtown parking at HPN $28

Acela- $105 I go straight to downtown- can do work on the train For business travel Acela, personal regional Wall Street Journal did an article on how the Acela is faster Downtown to downtown than flying

[jonriv]

Report this postReply with quoteRe: Snow Paralyzes The Northeast !by PDad » Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:56 am

jonriv wrote:
Not looking for sympathy. Weather can dealt with when prepared for it. I will say the snow-cold combination is not the norm her(not to this degree). This has been more like buffalo(western ny). Snow last night came down faster than plows could keep up with and right in rush hour
It may not be the norm as far as happening every year, but it happens often enough that it's not that unusual. Seems like you had big winter storms just last year.

One big one in the winter- snow is normal around here. This year has been tougher because th combo of cold and snow(which is not the norm on the coast) Usually the biig snow storms are a combination of cold canadian air and wet stuff from the south.

Compared to Buffalo or Vermont it is not too bad here, but with all the cars etc..... gets tough to get around with all the snow. Imagine LA traffic with 6 " of snow added News here can overblow, but it is always wise to listen to the warnings and the traffic reports

[PDad]

Quite aware of the conventional rail and the success it has had in California.
I doubt it. Easy to say without demonstrating any...

However, although only true HSR in some sections, the service available on the Northeast Corridor is well beyond what is availbale in California. My only suggesstions was that California would have been more succesful had it upgraded conventional sections and then connected them to new HSR section in the less developed areas- that's what happened in Europe(over decades)
Saying it should have been done a decade ago is criticism. The only "less developed area" along the LA-SD corridor is Camp Pendleton and I doubt the Marines want 150-200 MPH trains buzzing through while they are conducting their landing exercises.

As fare as the Acela ride to Boston from Stamford-

There are four real options:

Driving- Three hours(if on a weekend or non-rush hour) Boston traffic on or within rt 128 is horrendous. Parking is about $30 downtown

Air- Westchester(HPN) to Logan $244 one way- plus cab or T into downtown parking at HPN $28

Acela- $105 I go straight to downtown- can do work on the train For business travel Acela, personal regional
So, you can't justify the extra expense when it is your own money, only when someone else is paying for it. Championing projects they can't justify without other people's money is behavior typical of a liberal.

Wall Street Journal did an article on how the Acela is faster Downtown to downtown than flying

I said trains have their niches and short hops like that are where trains have an advantage over planes. Stretch it out to 400+ miles and planes win. For example, you can fly from Boston to Washington, DC for half the cost and in half the time compared to Acela.