It's a two lane road

California's freeway building boom from the 50's to 70's is best remembered, but at the same time, the state built thousands of miles of 2-lane rural expressways, those beautiful roads with gentle curves that run through the contryside. They don't stand out to observers like the freeways do, as they are at a smaller scale that doesn't dominate the landscape like freeways.

The path of a high speed train is about as wide as a two lane road. This video shows the view out of the front of a train in Germany traveling at over 180mph.



Compare that to your last drive in the country. The high speed railway, 40 feet wide, including overhead power poles, and a rural highway, two 12 foot lanes and two 8 foot bike lanes/shoulders - 40 feet. But also understand that the high speed train line can carry more people than a much wider freeway, at three times the speed.

Commuters too...

Next fall the final phase of Britian's first high speed rail line will open for service, completing the line between Central London and the Channel Tunnel. Christened "High Speed 1", the line will carry both international Eurostar trains to Brussels and Paris and regional commuter trains.

While France had a line from Paris to the Channel Tunnel ready to go the day the Chunnel opened, it took England over a decade to forge their high speed connection. The problem was political support. The French line also carries trains to Brussels and northern France, making it useful to more than just travelers going to England. In England, the initial reaction to construction of a new high speed line was that it would only serve international travelers.

Politically, the decision was made to call for a high speed line that would also serve high speed regional commuter trains. This move built support for the line's construction. Three intermediate stations will serve local trips, and a new generation of high speed commuter trains will traverse the line and then fan out to a myriad of destinations in southeast England.

California can reap the same benefits. The entire English high speed line is no longer than about the distance from about San Jose to Tracy. Imagine the benefits of taking the current ACE commute service and making it three times faster.

High Speed Everywhere but Here

"By 2020, the country plans to have 10,000 kilometers of high-speed rail completed, placing 90 percent of the population within only a few dozen kilometers of a high-speed rail line"

Guess which country?

You probably guessed Japan or France. Those are the two countries most closely associated with high speed rail, but neither are correct. The answer is Spain.

High speed is spreading throughout the world, including projects in countries that some people couldn't find on a map, like Morocco. Everyday, people are traveling at over 150mph in Japan, Korea, Germany, Taiwan, France, England..... Why not in California?

For more on Spain:

Technology Review article on the state of High Speed Rail in Spain
Comparision between Spain's and California's 20-year rail budgets

High Speed Rail Now 101

California needs high speed rail more than most any other place on earth that does not yet have it. The charter for this blog is to provide both a visceral and technical understanding of what high speed rail is.

I hope to get you information on a regular basis as this blog unfolds. I have a large archive of information and photos that are only valuable if others can learn from them. Education- that's the goal.