Why do trains in the US take so long?

[space-time]

Do they have any security screening (TSA style) for trains? If one terrorist boards a high speed train with a bomb, the result can be just as bad as a plane crash.

[deckeda]

Paul F. wrote:
[quote=Acer]
Put $500 billion and a promise of perpetual maintenance and updating afterward, funded 90% by taxes, into passenger rail see what you get. That's what we did for the car--just the interstate system part.

What you'll get is a projected 3 trillion dollar project that never gets started because they need more money, but somehow manages to spend all $500 billion and have a staff of thousands, despite not actually building anything.
We've lost the bubble on infrastructure projects like that.
We did lose that bubble long ago, from lack of leadership. There's no way to pay for something like that today with taxes because taxes are now distrusted. It's no longer about how to do something, it's simply don't do anything because money *never* gets spent well. Leadership. Either that or we forgot how to build things.

So we get public/private partnerships, if we get anything at all, with all the inefficiencies and kickbacks that entails, because America is apparently a poor, 3rd World country lacking in resources. Maybe we should start a GoFundMe to build infrastructure. Rich businessmen will always be ready to save us and make everything great again.

[deckeda]

space-time wrote:
Do they have any security screening (TSA style) for trains? If one terrorist boards a high speed train with a bomb, the result can be just as bad as a plane crash.

Most Amtrak train stations have automatic secure environments terrorists aren't interested in, by being placed in downtown locations frequented by homeless and grifters offering to "watch your car." You don't need TSA when not even regular passengers want to show up. The only thing less deluxe is the bus station.

[Robert M]

space,

The last time I was at Penn Station in NY, I watched passengers line up for the train. Checked the boarding pass and IDs with a bit of random screening of bags. It's nothing like security at an airport.

Robert

[mattkime]

[quote=deckeda]We did lose that bubble long ago, from lack of leadership./quote]

Agreed. We can build what we want to build. It only becomes difficult and inefficient when we don't really care.

[macphanatic]

From DC to downtown Boston is roughly 440 miles. With a high speed rail on dedicated tracks, the trip should take roughly 2.5 hours with stops at major rail stations along the way. Bump it to 3 if you want to do more stops. It currently takes almost 7 hrs, partially because they have to change engines in NYC as the northern rail isn't electrified.

If the trip took 3 hrs, more people would take the train along the eastern corridor. With the time it takes to get to or from an airport and the time dealing with security/waiting for a flight, a 3 hr train from DC to Boston would be competitive with a flight. Plus, you can take your own beverages on board, don't pay for luggage (unless excessive) and get a seat that you can actually fit in.

[davester]

deckeda wrote:
[quote=space-time]
Do they have any security screening (TSA style) for trains? If one terrorist boards a high speed train with a bomb, the result can be just as bad as a plane crash.

Most Amtrak train stations have automatic secure environments terrorists aren't interested in, by being placed in downtown locations frequented by homeless and grifters offering to "watch your car." You don't need TSA when not even regular passengers want to show up. The only thing less deluxe is the bus station.
That's not really true here in California, where many of the train stations are in quite nice locations. However, unlike an airplane, it's not possible to fly a train loaded with thousands of gallons of jet fuel into a building at 600 mph so the terrorist threat is vastly lower. Also, given the multi-hour delays that frequently occur on Amtrak due to their requirement to give freight trains priority, the terrorists would never be able to plan their bombings since they would have no idea when the train was going to show up at the target destination.

[NewtonMP2100]

.......even when you trace the tracks of my tears......it is so slow......!!!

[space-time]

davester wrote:
[quote=deckeda]
[quote=space-time]
Do they have any security screening (TSA style) for trains? If one terrorist boards a high speed train with a bomb, the result can be just as bad as a plane crash.

Most Amtrak train stations have automatic secure environments terrorists aren't interested in, by being placed in downtown locations frequented by homeless and grifters offering to "watch your car." You don't need TSA when not even regular passengers want to show up. The only thing less deluxe is the bus station.
That's not really true here in California, where many of the train stations are in quite nice locations. However, unlike an airplane, it's not possible to fly a train loaded with thousands of gallons of jet fuel into a building at 600 mph so the terrorist threat is vastly lower. Also, given the multi-hour delays that frequently occur on Amtrak due to their requirement to give freight trains priority, the terrorists would never be able to plan their bombings since they would have no idea when the train was going to show up at the target destination.
They could use GPS to trigger when arriving at a certain location. Also just attack on train alone would be bad enough.

[raz]

space-time wrote:
They could use GPS to trigger when arriving at a certain location. Also just attack on train alone would be bad enough.

Like this