US Announces High Speed Rail for 23 States - - Atlanta 3-Way Hub to AL/SC/NC/FL (transfer, buy)

[neil0311]

I'll ask again...same thing I've asked before...do we have ridership studies and details that indicate that these rail lines will be ridden and self sustaining? Or...will we have more trains to nowhere that have to be heavily subsidized by the gov't the way Amtrak has been for 40 years?

I travel back and forth to Charlotte from Atlanta at least twice per month. I would love to leave my car at home and take a train, allowing me to relax or work on the ride. However, when you look at the specifics....is it practical? How many business travelers will do it?

First, I have to drive my car to the station in Atlanta (or take a cab at some cost). I then have to pay for my train ticket, which by all assumptions from my time on the Acela riding between Boston and NYC will be high. Then, I have to rent a car or take a cab at another cost when I get to Charlotte, since I'll need to get to my office and to other appointments in the area. On top of that, I have to go and return based on the train schedule.

Contrast that with what I do now....I leave my house when I want, and I'm in Charlotte roughly 4 hours later. When I want to come home, I leave Charlotte. It costs me roughly a tank and a half of fuel.

I know many of you will make the case that it's the environmental impacts that matter, and I don't disagree, but it has to be convenient and cost effective. For many business travelers like me, it may not be.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

I think there should be a direct line between Atlanta and Savannah. That makes more sense. According the more recent map, the planned line connects to the coastal line somewhere between Savannah and Jacksonville (around Brunswick?).

Jesup--inland and northwest of Brunswick.

[Frankie117]

This is all part of the "Southeast Corridor" project, which aims to extent high speed rail from D.C. as far South as Atlanta and Jacksonville.



Southeast Corridor

As high speed service is extended down into North Carolina - which it will be within the next few years - it will then fall on South Carolina and Georgia to complete the rest of the puzzle.

[DarkWolf]

Thats not HSR , thats Intercity Rail. I really hope the FTA and FRA redo there speed classifications because there really confusing and vary region to region. You can't tell the people of the South , that 110mph is HSR and then tell the people of the Northeast that 150mph+ is HSR.

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

Hows your MARTA funding going? Its pretty predictable for the South , it will be a long time before you have any true HSR lines down there...

That may be true especially with Southwest buying out Air Tran, traveling should become easier.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by FlyiMetro

That may be true especially with Southwest buying out Air Tran, traveling should become easier.

Exactly, and air travel will always be easier when you have to go more than 200 miles. Who wants to sit on a train from Atlanta to DC when you can be there in under 2 hours by plane at the same or even lower cost?

Every time this discussion comes up, people forget that the US is not Europe or Japan, where distances are much smaller. Doesn't anyone stop to think why the railroads lost business to begin with in the 1950s? It was because of the introduction of both the Interstate highways and relaible jet service.

When I consider a short trip like Charlotte, it's currently at the break even point from a time perspective between flying and driving. Taking a high speed train could be another equal choice. When you then consider convenience and cost, as said before, driving is generally more convenient. The same calculus was true between NY and Boston, with a huge difference being that I could step off the train in Midtown Manhattan, and I had many way to get to my ultimate destination. The same is not true in Charlotte or other small cities in the south.

[testa50]

Usually I am made to sound like a broken record reiterating those very points, but neil is saving me the trouble in this thread and doing a great job at it. Thanks.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by neil0311

.. a huge difference being that I could step off the train in Midtown Manhattan, and I had many way to get to my ultimate destination.

An excellent post, Neil. The part I highlighted would be a major consideration for me, and that final leg is often complicated even in corridors with heavy transit. A few years ago I had a project that required considerable travel between NYC and New Haven and it was still difficult to make the Connecticut end work via train.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by arjay57

An excellent post, Neil. The part I highlighted would be a major consideration for me, and that final leg is often complicated even in corridors with heavy transit. A few years ago I had a project that required considerable travel between NYC and New Haven and it was still difficult to make the Connecticut end work via train.

To be clear, getting from an airport isn't much easier or cheaper in most cases, such as Charlotte. Hence the reason I drive.

When the trip is further, then driving isn't practical, so air travel is much more of a viable option, even with the need to rent a car or take a cab. A train would be the worst of both worlds. A longer trip AND the need for a rental car or cab.

[arjay57]

Right, I understand. We have to go to Savannah fairly often and have to make the same calculation. Even if you have a plane it's still a close call.