High Speed Rail in the USA - Menu Page

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Understanding High Speed Rail and Why we in the USA need it, now..   {See menu of HSR subjects below subject text}   High-Speed Rail and OUR Tourism Industry: High Speed Rail: To many High Speed Rail (HSR) is a 'dirty' word and a waste of taxpayer money, and to some extent history has played a part in this type of thinking. We had nationwide rail systems that were run by private industry, and many failed; the result was that we, the taxpayers, purchased the failed systems and created Amtrak, which to many is also a failed system. What many do not know, is that where Amtrak owns its right-of-way, the Northeast, the trains are making a profit, it is mainly where Amtrak does not own its right of way, but rents time on private freight tracks, and therefore is limited to slow speed, freight line schedules, and one-way only each day tracks, is where Amtrak is NOT making money. Under several presidents and state governors, we are slowly updating tracks to eliminate delays, allow double height passenger cars, etc., so that we are obtaining 'semi-HSR', at about 120 to 140 mph. This is good, but it is NOT what we need, we need 220 to 300 mph rails and trains that run on electric so that we can use Solar, Wind, and other commercially available electric sources as a means of power, thus getting rid of fuel oils as the primary power.  Magnetic Levitation would be the best as it can power single car trains with a minimum use of electric, and there are no trucks (wheels) and rails to wear out, little to no vibration, speeds up to 500 mph, and track sections manufactured in local factories. Tourism: The United States of America is one of the most visited destinations for worldwide tourism, and most of the foreign tourist spend a thousand or more dollars on airfare, rental cars, motels, restaurants, entry tickets, gifts, etc., when visiting. The vast majority of these 'foreign' tourist are from countries like Japan, China, and Europe that has had U.S.A. designed (originally) HSR systems, and therefore are familiar with 'riding the rails'. These tourist are on strict timetables and do NOT have the time to drive many hours or days between U.S.A. tour locations, this is especially true of the American Southwest, where our National Parks (NPS) are few and far between. Our airlines cater to our Business communities, and NOT to our tourist industry, therefore places like Tucson, Benson, Willcox, Tombstone, Sierra Vista, and Douglas, Arizona are NOT fully or at all served by most direct flight airlines, or any airline. There is Amtrak rail and there was in the past rail services to these popular tourist locations, but in most instances no longer. A HSR People Mover System (HSRPMS) would open up these areas to tens of thousands of additional American and Foreign Tourist, thus bringing in millions of extra dollars to the local economies each year. There are 'tourist' loops throughout the U.S.A., i.e., the Grand Circle Loop of the American Southwest that covers the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim), Zion National Park, and Lake Powell. Other nearby attractions include Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the privately owned Moqui Cave, and the largest animal sanctuary in the United States, Best Friends Animal Society. Or, the great National Park to Park highway loop that was created decades ago and went to Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Yosemite National Park, General Grant National Park (now part of Kings Canyon), Sequoia National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park. REF: Wikipedia... We are as a country building highways that will in less than 40 years become potholes and need to be totally renewed as a cost of tens of trillions of dollars. These highways will be near empty unless we convert a hundred million vehicles from fuel oil to electric or other non-oil fuel. We are already seeing fuel prices rise as tens of millions of foreigners gain wealth and use the limited amounts of oil that is available to the world. We are seeing airlines cut routes, increase numbers of seats, and increase prices to the point that many Americans can no longer afford to fly. Tourism is a major, and may become our only, profitable industry and we are neglecting it by not making it easy to get to the places that people want to see. We should turn our attention from a business to business (B2B) HSR system to a Grand Circle, or National Park to Park System HSRPMS, that is powered by wind and solar along its full route. Paying for this: The beneficiaries of these HSRPMS systems will be private industry, the tourist industry, and our taxpayers via the state and national park systems, and Amtrak. There will be less traffic and thus wear on our roads (DOT savings), more people visiting our parks (NPS profits), less vehicle pollution (EPA savings), less forest damage (USDA savings), easier tracking of foreign nationals (HS savings), and much more. Thus, each of these departments can and should contribute a portion of their budgets to the HSRPMS systems. Add to this the funds from private investors, the manufactures of locomotives, solar and wind energy products, rolling stock passenger cars, and the local Chamber of Commerce, etc., we should be able to finance this without additional taxpayer monies. There will be a fee for the passage on the HSRPMS, and this can be as little as $0.05 per mile; which for the National Park to Park route of nearly 6,000 miles would generate $300.00 per passenger minimum, naturally there would be 'upgrades or adult pricing' that can bring this to $900 or more per rider. The $300 minimum is an affordable price for seniors and children as opposed to the the nearly $2,700 that it would cost to rent a vehicle or drive one's own. The Plus: For a person to drive 6,000 miles around the National Park to Park System route would take some 100 hours or 12.5 days at 8 hours per day, therefore it will take 25 days to see all the parks, and additional hundreds for food, gasoline, insurances, and motels. The same trip can be done in 12 days with people spending 5 to 8 hours per day seeing the parks, and sleeping or riding on the HSRPMS the remainder of the days. Sleeping berths can be available at $50 per night in addition to the normal coach seating prices, if a person does not want to spend overnight at a local motel or resort. This HSRPMS system is the solution to many of our problems, it would put hundreds of thousands to work throughout the U.S.A., it would bring tens of billions of touring and tax dollars into the U.S.A., it would give Americans a better and more energy efficient way to see America, and it would cut down pollution, traffic accidents, insurance costs, and highway replacement and maintenance. Talk to your Congress, and let's see what we can accomplish, especially realizing that this type of system can be used in most of the country to tie together our natural resources, our park systems, and our tourism industry. A New Hyperloop Test Track Is Being Built In Las Vegas "Hyperloop Technologies announced on Monday that it will start building a test track at the Apex Industrial Park in the City of North Las Vegas, Nevada." "If you’ve never heard of the Hyperloop before, it’s basically superfast tube transportation system. Using tunnels that have all the air sucked out them, pods slip up and down the tubes at high speeds. The company hopes the pods will eventually be able to accelerate to over 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) per hour. The system boasts a particularly eco-friendly design, using only electricity from renewable sources." "The idea was originally envisioned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in 2013. However, he allowed it to be taken up by entrepreneurs to be developed. Two separate companies have picked up the baton since then – Hyperloop Technologies and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. This latest project is from the former, but confusingly, that’s not the same company that is building the proposed track in California." Read more on this exciting technology at: http://www.iflscience.com/technology/hyperloop-technologies-begin-building-las-vegas-test-track-next-month Other Articles to Read and from which to learn about HSR   Why does the USA need High Speed Rail Amtrak History and Rider ship Cost Taxpayer Cost of Transportation Systems Amtrak has always needed a money train. USA Advantages to Developing High Speed Rail California and HSR - Needed or NOT.. Florida's Need for HSR Where are the USA jobs? Commercial Hauling of Materials Mag Lev Why is President Obama so obsessed with high speed rail? Needed personnel and trades Where do we get the money? Where else do we get the money? The Future of the HSR in the Americas Self-Propelled High-speed rail Freight Movers   Information on External Websites   Amtrak Info Menu....  Guide books, Amtrak reform, RR pictures National Gateway Project...  CSX and Union Pacific work with the USA Taxpayer's TIGER - Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grants High Speed Rail around the World.. per CnTraveler...   {External site good as of 5/22/2016} Links to More Information on Amtrak and High Speed Rail in the USA Federal Railroad Administration Website High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0089 http://www.fra.dot.gov/search?q=downloads+for+intercity+high+speed+rail+plan National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) www.amtrak.com/ Northeast Corridor (NEC) Improvement Project http://www.fra.dot.gov/search?q=Northeast+Corridor+%28NEC%29+Improvement+Project American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) www.fta.dot.gov/index_9118.html American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. www.irs.gov/recovery Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/istea.html    Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA). www.highspeed-rail.org/Pages/ReportsandTestimony.aspx www.fra.dot.gov  › Passenger Rail  http://www.fra.dot.gov/search?q=Passenger+Rail+Investment+and+Improvement+Act+of+2008+%28PRIIA%29 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) www.dot.gov/ Definitions http://www.fra.dot.gov/search?q=downloads+for+intercity+high+speed+rail+plan     Fact Sheets - How High Speed Rail helps the economy   http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Pages/BasicFacts.aspx   "THIRD PARTY LINKS. 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