Ohio had a high speed rail system in planning that could go almost 43 mph!!!
Ohio had a high speed rail system in planning that could go almost 43 mph!!!
Based on 60 Minutes tonite there's No chance for High Speed Rail with the state and federal govts about ready to default on pension plans for civil servants, teachers, safety workers, and military. Looks like a massive 'controlled bankruptcy' like GM has is in store for state and federal govts. I expect pensions plans to be cancelled and paid out as is health care insurance eliminated for existing employees. New employees won't be offered any pensions or insurance.
CiCi Ya Later! wrote:
Dallas has the Dart rail system. Very helpful and very convinent.
http://www.dart.org. I wish more US cities adatped this idea. I mean Dallas is one of the cities in the US who is trying to survuve the recession and the just opened up a whole new rail line and have more ont he way.
DART really has nothing to do with the high speed rail systems discussed in this thread, but since it's been brought up:
Systems like DART rail are obscenely expensive. I tend to think that an attempt should be made to use advanced bus systems when possible instead of rail. Bus rapid transit has been implemented successfully in quite a few cities around the world. In these systems, buses operate on their own right of way and employ a number of methods to improve speed and reliability relative to traditional buses. The capital cost for light rail averages about $35 million per mile (though this varies widely depending upon terrain). The per mile capital cost for existing BRT systems within the U.S. has been about $13.5 million. The bus systems are able to move just as many people as rail. One system that I am aware of carries 35,000 passengers per direction per hour at peak (Bogota's main corridor).
Rail has a few benefits over bus, but not enough to justify paying double the cost in most cases. BRT is gaining a bit of popularity in the U.S. and cities should be looking to implement these types of system instead of rail when possible.
Not a Chance in Hell wrote:
Based on 60 Minutes tonite there's No chance for High Speed Rail with the state and federal govts about ready to default on pension plans for civil servants, teachers, safety workers, and military. Looks like a massive 'controlled bankruptcy' like GM has is in store for state and federal govts. I expect pensions plans to be cancelled and paid out as is health care insurance eliminated for existing employees. New employees won't be offered any pensions or insurance.
I'm amazed that pension plans even exist anymore. People should be able to save for their retirement themselves. Paying out money to a former employee for 20+ years? What are companies thinking?
You need a combo of rail systems to get rid of gas guzzling buses and cars, and to avoid PITA airline travel with delays, intrusive searches, and Nickle and Dime fees.
Undergroud Sub Ways are cool since they don't have to contend with traffic. In Tokyo, the Sub Ways do not switch tracks at all which eliminate accidents.
Trams are electrified light rail cars in cities that fit well within the current infrastructure. Trams blend in with traffic and make many stops which are nice for old folks.
Fast Trains go 80-100MPH between towns and smaller cities. The better ones never cut through a road for safety purposes and use bridges and undergrounds instead.
High speed trains go 150-350MPH between large cities and to cross large regions withing 1/2 a day. The best systems have service every 5 to 20 minutes during peak hours from 4AM to 12 Midnight.
Most people can't add two fractions. How are they ever going to figure out how much they need to save for retirement when they don't know what the cost of living is going to be, how long they are going to live, and how much of their living expense is going to be subsidized by the government?
Beyond that we would need a complete overhaul to our culture that makes cable TV/internet a necessity along with Wii/Playstation consoles and games. Cell phones with every app imaginable and unlimited calling/texting plans are almost a must among kids in school. With the help of slick marketing we have forgotten how to identify necessities versus luxuries. We have parents that are sacrificing nutritionally sound food for cheaper fast food so that they can keep these luxuries.
People would have to learn to live within their means, after they have set aside the money for their retirement. How are we ever going to accomplish that as long as the government keeps taking care of us? Clearly, recent federal legislation is only moving us further down that path towards dependency and financial irresponsibility.
Our economy is going to go through a series of collapses. Each time those in power will find a way to "save" their hides and will put off making any serious changes by promising some type of candy to the masses. More people will be lost in the mire of poverty. Eventually the poor masses will revolt creating anarchy and fertile ground for a new society. It's going to get ugly with the inevitible only being put off by periodic appeasements of the masses.
Depressed about the Future wrote:
Most people can't add two fractions. How are they ever going to figure out how much they need to save for retirement .
10%
Mr Mountain wrote:
Depressed about the Future wrote:Most people can't add two fractions. How are they ever going to figure out how much they need to save for retirement .
10%
Yup, 10-15%. Have it come off paychecks automatically so they don't have to think about it. They will be fine, especially if they have their house paid off by the time they retire.
laughingostrich wrote:
I'm amazed that pension plans even exist anymore. People should be able to save for their retirement themselves. Paying out money to a former employee for 20+ years? What are companies thinking?
I think company's owe something to there former employees who worked their asses off day-in-day-out. If it wasn't for them the company wouldn't exist, and no one would have a job. This would require sacrifice from those that still work at the company, especially those in upper management positions. While I agree that 20+ years is not sustainable, I struggle to determine what is appropriate.
And what about those that can't afford 10-15% a month? Those working at low-paying jobs, who for one reason or another outside their control.
Contrary to the Declaration of Independence, NOT "all men are created equal". It wasn't true then and isn't true now. Personally, I understand I was given a better chance than most, but I haven't forgotten about those who been less fortunate. Life is not always easy but shouldn't we do what we can to make it better all of us as a whole? To me that is America. The one were we show compassion unto one-another and common bond with every man, women, child, regardless of race, gender, sex, religion. Maybe I am an idealist but the opposite is just to depressing.
-cracky b
In addition to all of the great points already mentioned, another major problem in the US is most of our railroad ties are made out of wood, which would not be safe enough for high speed rail.
None of the marginal productivity gains (gains with vs without HSR)justifying building these white elephants.
The 28,000km of Shinkansen in Japan cost ~$25mm/km in current costs (>$40mm/mile), and bankrupted the national railway in 1971.
The productivity they generate in Japan is 500bn Yen/yr, or $18/passenger. These are meaningless gains. If the one country in the world w/ a hardon for these things cannot make them pay for themselves, who else can?
The size of the US would make building and PROTECTING these things unreasonable.
Another example of the American love affair with, "the big fix", when better solutions are at hand.
The 1800s Manifest Destiny has bankrupted the US. We'll all lose our high school track coaching pensions soon. The rotten Imperialists waste money of moon programs, imperialism, oil, cars, and pollute the earth. The US is in for 100 years depression. Europe and Japan are next.
In addition to all of the great points already mentioned, another major problem in the US is most of our railroad ties are made out of wood, which would not be safe enough for high speed rail.
Mag Lev trains needs a new track.
High Speed Rail trains can't use freight rails.
100% ALL Electric Cars, Bicycles, Trams, HSR, and Maglev are the future. Fossil Fueled cars should be outlawed. Diesel Trucks can wait until technology improves. I want to see ZERO Gasoline sold in the USA by 2020.
The promise of the future is High Speed Rail, Magnetic Levitation, All Electric Cars, Trucks, and Buses. But we've squandered our future by spending and borrowing for imperialist adventures with no profit and no benefits for mankind. We're broke as a nation.
US taxpayers spend hundreds of billions subsidizing the airlines, car companies, oil companies, coal mines, offshore oil drilling, and trucking companies, then get sick on the pollutions and subsidize medical research, hospitals, Medicare, HMOs, and drug companies. Fossil fuels are the death of America.
cracky b wrote:
I think company's owe something to there former employees who worked their asses off day-in-day-out.
-cracky b
Yup, me too. That is why the company pays the employees while they work.
And part of that pay includes a pension - which is a promise to pay later for work done now.
If the company wants to pay me the whole thing and let me make my own pension arrangements then I'm fine with that, but, guess what - companies can't afford to do that, so they promise to pay slightly more in a deferred payment than you could get now.
I can't comment on much of your post, but I do disagree about the cutoff point for HSR effectiveness.
I travel around Europe a lot, and the night trains are by far the most civilised way to get around. The Palatino (which isn't particularly high-speed compared to TGV) Paris to Rome sleeper leaves at 6 minutes to 7 p.m. and arrives in Rome about ten past 10 a.m. the next morning. Both services run from city centre to city centre, the cabins have showers, and the food isn't "airline plastic".
HSR and night trains would make train travel feasible for a lot more of Americans.
People have this silly idea that workers with a pension are somehow making more overall than workers who do not receive a pension. As if the choice is between paying a guy $50K per year with no pension and paying the same guy $50K per year with a pension. Of course, this is ridiculous.
The company doesn't decide that a worker is worth $50K, offer them $50K in base salary, and then throw the benefits and pension on top of that. The company decides that a worker is worth $50K and then offers a package where the total amount that they are paying for everything including the pension does not exceed $50K.
Likewise, the worker looks at all compensation when deciding whether or not to take a job.