What is high speed rail? Is that like Amtrak?

Asley Quickle: According to Wikipedia: "High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200 km/h (125 mph) and faster â€" depending on whether the track is upgraded or new â€" by the European Union, and above 90 mph (145 km/h) by the United States Federal Railroad Administration, but there is no single standard, and lower speeds can be required by local constraints.".Here's probably more info than you really wanted from the U.S. FRAAllowable max speeds freight passengerExcepted 10 No passengerClass 1 track 10 15Class 2 track 25 30Class 3 track 40 60Class 4 track 60 80Class 5 track .80 90Section 213.307â€"Class of Track:Operating Speed LimitsFor several years, passenger serviceon the Northeast Corridor has operatedat 125 m.p.h. under conditional waiversgranted by FRA. Amtrak has establishedspecific procedures for this category ofspeed from which the railr! oad industryhas accumulated valuable knowledgeabout track behavior in this speed range.The speed of 125 m.p.h. is the naturalboundary for the maximum allowableoperating speed for Class 7 track.Because trainsets have operated in thiscountry at speeds up to 160 m.p.h. forperiods of several months under waiversfor testing and evaluation, the maximumlimit of 160 m.p.h. is established forClass 8. In the next several years, certainoperations, like the Florida OverlandExpress, may achieve speeds of up to200 m.p.h. Class 9 track is establishedfor this possibility. The exceptions forthe maximum allowable operatingspeeds for each class of track parallelsthe standards for the lower classes,except that a speed of 10 m.p.h over themaximum intended operating speeds ispermitted during the qualification phaseper Section 213.345.Although high speed rail is most oftenconsidered in terms of passenger travel,non-passenger high speed train service(e.g., the mail trains operated by Amtrakon the ! Northeast Corridor) is also apossibility. All equipment, wheth! erused for passenger or freight, mustdemonstrate the same vehicle/trackperformance and be qualified on thehigh speed track. Hazardous materials,except for limited and small quantities,may not move in bulk on trains operatedat high speeds. The limitations notedare similar to those involved incommercial passenger and freight airtravel.Added 1811 Edt 4/26 - The Acela Express reaches it's top speed of 150 mph in Southern Rhode Island on the Boston-New York City leg of it's trip. (I've ridden it, and it's quite impressive for a U.S. train)....Show more

Russel Gajate: amtrak can only go 70mph/ high speed goes like 200mph

Tyree Allenbrand: I live in Las VEgas. There is talk of a line from Las VEgas to Dinseyland in CAlifornia. Makes sense, there is desert out there, so construction is manageable. There was a clause in the stimulus plan to make this a reality. Some seed money for the initial stage studies. I live here and no recent acitvity. Read the papers, watch the ! TV news. It is unusual that this is a popular resort city and there is no Amtrak service to Las VEgas. Amazing....Show more

Hye Caulley: High speed rail simply means trains running at a high speed.There is some disagreement over what "high speed" means, but on an international level it generally means speeds of at least 125mph on existing (legacy) rail lines, or at least 155mph on purpose-built high-speed lines.125mph is the speed that the original Japanese bullet train travelled at; Britain's High Speed Train from the 1970s also ran (and still runs today) at this speed.However, trains in many European and Asian countries today run significantly faster than this on purpose-built high-speed lines, with China, France, and Spain running trains at more than 200mph.Currently, the only high speed rail operation in the United States is Amtrak's Acela Express, which travels between Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington at speeds of up to 150mph....Show more

!

Verena Koop: The law limits passenger trains to certain speeds based! on quality (numbered brackets) or presence of signals or Positive Train Control (PTC). The most common brackets are: 79 mph (FRA Class IV or better, signals, but not PTC) 90 mph (FRA Class V quality track, and cab signals or PTC)~100 mph (fastest a train can go across a highway crossing) 110 mph (FRA Class VI quality track, the first rank of "high speed")125 mph (FRA Class VII)Most freight track is FRA Class IV or V (80 or 90 mph passenger) but very few lines have PTC, so 79 mph. PTC is mandated by 2015, at that point Amtrak will increase to 90 mph on many routes. But that's not the problem. The problem is that Amtrak trains hit many delays enroute that are ... for lack of a better word, stupid. Having to stop and wait to switch dispatcher authority; old junctions that were never optimized for Amtrak's route; missing or wrong-way signaling; etc. April 2009 TRAINS magazine examines how a short 3-hour train encounters a dozen such delays. Based on what Obama talked about! last week, he's planning to a) fix those stupid delays, so Amtrak trains are able to highball through; and b) upgrade track to Class V/VI; and c) fast-track PTC. Possibly some highway crossing elimination as well.200 mph supertrains won't be for awhile....Show more

Mayola Sylva: High Speed rail is when trains travel at over 125 mph. Amtrak runs some high speed rail service on the Northeast Corridor (Acela Express). The Eurostar, TGV, and ICE in Europe are examples of High Speed Rail services. The US high speed rail plan has high speed rail lines being built in Upstate New York, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Texas, Washington, Oregon, The East Coast from Maine to Florida, among other areas.

Jorge Detlefs: Amtrak Acela qualifies as High speed rail, I dont know if there is a hard and fast definition but in most places true high speed rail requires dedicated lines, not shared with frieght. I hope the President upgrades all passeng! er rail systems in the US. Not just high speed rail, ridership in recen! t years has increased dramatically in almost every market. I odnt know what specific plans there are, at this point I imagine more studies are being made than actual building. Since Spain started their High speed rail system in the 1990s it has replaced a third of short and middle distance airline routes....Show more

Clare Hoard: High Speed rail is, in the USA, any train that goes over90mphAmtrak is a regional/national train service in the USA.Amtrak does own the Northeast corridor which is high-speed rail.Obama wants to implement more high speed rail lines from city to city that would be easier to travel through than by airplane (San Francisco to L.A.- NYC to Chicago) That way, we can cut back short distance air travel and can save the planet(Actually that is my opinion but it can be true.) and plus its fun to see scenery than sky!...Show more

Lyndon Mattas: High speed rail is just what it says: trains that travel at high speeds, much greater than "normal" trai! ns. I think the minimum to be considered is above 150 miles per hour.Some high speed rail trains operate in the 200 plus mph range. I think I read somewhere recently that Japan has the fastest high speed rail system, and that Europe is next in speed.No, it is NOT like Amtrak. Amtrak speeds are relatively like a snail's pace compared to actual high speed rail systems.I have no idea what Obama is planning in this arena as he has not yet provided any specific information, only talked about it in a very generalized manner....Show more

Stevie Goldey: High speed rail is a train that maintains a speed over 100 mph for long distances.Acela runs over 100 mph only south of new jersey.as this particular train comes through connectiut,because of the tight turns,it's speed is always below 100.