The Return of Rail

[dpeilow]

On the other hand: High-speed rail line to San Jose faces delay - San Jose Mercury News

California's proposed high-speed rail project hit a major bump Wednesday when a judge called into question the environmental report backing a controversial route that would bring the bullet trains over Pacheco Pass into the South Bay and up the Peninsula.

 

[dpeilow]

Bar raised to 380 km/h: Corporate > Media Centre > Press Releases

The new trainsets will be an integral part of an evolving high speed rail capability in China, which is developing more than 6,000 km of new high speed lines to create one of the most advanced high speed rail networks in the world. The trains, with maximum operating speeds of 380 kph, are based on Bombardier’s next-generation ZEFIRO high speed rail technology, and powered by a highly energy efficient BOMBARDIER MITRAC propulsion and control system.

The ZEFIRO 380 trainsets will also incorporate Bombardier’s advanced ECO4 energy saving technologies to create best-in-class energy and operating efficiencies. Bombardier launched its ECO4 technology package in 2008 as part of an ongoing focus to extend rail’s position as the most sustainable form of transportation in the world. Bombardier is first in the industry to create a new formula for total train performance with a portfolio that can create substantial overall energy savings of up to 50%.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Stimulus money will spur construction on California high-speed rail project, officials say - latimes.com

High speed rail is finally coming to California.

 

[johnr]

Stimulus money will spur construction on California high-speed rail project, officials say - latimes.com

High speed rail is finally coming to California.

This is a very ambitious project, and it will take many years to complete, but it's great to know we have the funding to move forward. The high speed rail line would be a great economic boost in the long run. It would be faster and easier than air travel and make a significant dent in our air pollution.

 

[dpeilow]

No, this is a very ambitious project:

King's Cross to Beijing in two days on new high-speed rail network - Telegraph

China is in negotiations to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe with trains that capable of running at over 200mph within the next ten years.

Wanna bet against them?

Mr Wang said the route of the three lines had yet to be decided, but that construction for the South East Asian line had already begun in the southern province of Yunnan and that Burma was about to begin building its link. China has offered to bankroll the Burmese line in exchange for the country's rich reserves of lithium, a metal widely used in batteries.

See, on topic!

 

[dpeilow]

China Offers High Speed Rail to California - NYTimes.com

Toyota is shutting a big assembly plant in Fremont, Calif., that it once operated as a joint venture with General Motors, and one idea under discussion is converting the factory to the assembly of high-speed rail equipment, said Mr. Crane, who is also a member of the state’s Economic Development Commission.

Rail parts from China would then come through the nearby port of Oakland, in place of auto parts from Japan.

 

[TEG]

Caltrain data shows path to bankruptcy without electric railroad - San Jose Mercury News

 

[dpeilow]

Chinese set new world record for an unmodified train - 486 km/h or 302 mph

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/03/AR2010120300324.html

 

[dpeilow]

Pretty impressive - watch the egg...

 

[PeterW]

The egg is impressive.

What gets thrown up onto the track at around 1:15-1:18 after the train goes past? Not what I would like too see happening if I was going to go for a ride.

 

[dpeilow]

Yeah I saw that too. I understand that the line is still a construction site, so I presumed it was one of strips that they put around pallets of concrete blocks or something like that. Someone should have cleared it first though.

 

[dpeilow]

UK Gov spending £4.5bn on the world's first "plug-in" high-speed diesel/electric hybrid trains: Green light given to Hitachi for £4.5bn train fleet order | City A.M.

This should stop the wasteful practice of running for hundreds of miles down electrified tracks on diesel, just to get to somewhere a few more miles past the end of the wires.

The battery means they benefit from regen when running autonomously and can even run in EV mode when pulling out of stations.

 

[dpeilow]

There's probably some wider geopolitical significance to this: China, Kazakhstan to jointly build high-speed railway - People's Daily Online

Oil rich Kazakhstan doing a deal with their eastern neighbours. It's also a short hop from Almaty to an existing project across the Chinese border. If they joined that up, they'd be 2/3 of the way from Beijing to Moscow.

 

[AndrewBissell]

The Hitachi electro-diesel hybrids are an excellent idea.

Btw, I was really pleased yesterday to have a 100% multi-modal electric transport day on a trip from Edinburgh to the Ecobuild show in London's Docklands:

Tesla to the station
Electric InterCity 225 train to London
Electric Underground (tube) train
Electric Docklands Light Railway

And return

Power it all renewably, and that's the future. (can someone tell Brian ...)

 

[dpeilow]

EU could ground short-haul flights in favour of high-speed rail | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[neroden]

There's probably some wider geopolitical significance to this: China, Kazakhstan to jointly build high-speed railway - People's Daily Online

Oil rich Kazakhstan doing a deal with their eastern neighbours. It's also a short hop from Almaty to an existing project across the Chinese border. If they joined that up, they'd be 2/3 of the way from Beijing to Moscow.

I've been following this for quite a long time. The plan is actually not to go to Moscow. The geopolitical significance is competition between China and Russia for freight (and secondarily passenger) transport links between the Far East and Europe. The current dominant forms are airplanes (getting less and less affordable), and for freight, ships (both slow, and dealing with pirates off the Somalian coast). Russia is busily upgrading the Trans-Siberian Railroad to seize the business. However, if China can develop an all-standard-gauge rail route to Europe, it will outflank Russia, whose route requires gauge changes as it enters and leaves Russia. China has been scouting out all the routes through Central Asia to Iran, while assisting in funding Iranian and Turkish railway upgrades to finish the link to Europe. (Iran and Turkey are unavoidable for a land route which avoids Russia, but there are multiple routes from Iran to China.) Of course, dominating the transport route will also help with "economic colonialism" of the intervening states.

Now you know.

 

[Jaff]

Both very interesting & informative...thanks for the update Sir!

 

[Talkredius]

imported from : New Charging Point in Germany, Hueckelhoven

Talkredius - I noticed it's just 126 km from you to the DB Autozug terminal in Dortmund- so for some people you are a great recharge point on the way to/from a car carrying train to/from Southern Europe.

Autozug – Autoreisen auf die bequeme Art - Startseite

I did a ride with a Autozug 40 years ago with my parents, looks as if they are still using the same wagons. The ride itself from Duesseldorf to Innsbruck (Austria) was very smooth and comfortable, no traffic jam etc.
But to get the car to the terminal onto the wagon from there to the passenger wagon was not so easy.

But lets dream of what the future might bring to us ::love:

Arriving at the terminal you can just drive onto the platform, double so broad as normal. You park your car just in front of your passenger wagon, which is actually a two floor wagon. Something like this :
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=DateiB_670_Prototyp.jpg&filetimestamp=20060513125848

A smart machine pushes your car gently from the side into the ground floor of the wagon, which is equipped with charging points. Then you enter the first floor where you find sleeping cabin, coffee bar, TV etc. When you arr drinking your first coffee (or beer) and listening to U2, Beautiful Day, the train takes off and takes you to the Alps or the sunny beaches of Italy, France , Spain,.....

hmmm, before I get to enthusiastic, I should stop dreaming, wake up and go to bed...:smile:

 

[dpeilow]

Of course we saw a Roadster on the Autozug going to the Copenhagen climate conference a while back, so it has been done.

Now that we know the P&O ferry from Rotterdam to Hull is offering charging, there is an easy route between the UK and south Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and southern France. Both the DB Autozug terminal at Düsseldorf and the NS Auto Slaap Trein terminal at 's-Hertogenbosch are within one charge range of Rotterdam port.

 

[AndrewBissell]

Hey - what's this "one charge range" business? Talkredius has beers chilling and electrons waiting - he *wants* people to stop off en-route from Rotterdam to the Autozug. So lets promote the idea of arriving at the Autozug with almost a full charge (it's just 50km* from his place to the Dusseldorf Autozug) thanks to his kind hospitality! Btw - this actually makes sense given the train doesn't yet offer charging. Allows you to drive a couple hundred kms after you arrive.

PS nice map. Of course for me the Newcastle Amsterdam route opens up Europe - and for many continental Europeans should open up Scotland for Tesla Touring now - more on that shortly.

PPS *not 126km away in Dortmund as I incorrectly said elsewhere. I think Google identified the DB Autozug headquarters in Dortmund - David's map put me straight!