High Speed Rail Service or Not: Journey from Amtrak's Acela to Avelia Liberty
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Note: This video is an update to a video we released in October 2020. In this video, we have added new information and the status of introducting new Amtrak Avelia Liberty train sets service along North East Corridor. Enjoy!
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#Acela#Avelia #USA High Speed Rail
@piemadd 2 жыл бұрын
It's actually a bit complex. The new sets, which you showed in some portions of the video, are able to reach higher speeds on some currently lower speed sections. The new sets have a rated top speed of 220mph (w/o tilting) and will be able to go faster and for longer along the NEC. In a few months when they start operating in revenue service, it will be interesting to see how much of an average speed increase we get.
@TheRailwayDrone 2 жыл бұрын
Nothing complicated at all. The NEC is not a high speed railway, therefore, those new trainsets will not be able to go their actual true high speed.
@banksrail 2 жыл бұрын
@@TheRailwayDrone The NEC is a high speed railway. It might not be modern, but it is high speed rail. 150mph and future 160mph on current sections classifies as HSR.
@piemadd 2 жыл бұрын
@@TheRailwayDrone Well on top of the fact that an actual high speed corridor in the northeast will be completed by 2040, the sets are able to reach the 160 mph speed on existing track and speeds closer to that on track previously limited to lower speeds (due to improved technology).
@TheRailwayDrone 2 жыл бұрын
@@banksrail No it isn't.
@TheRailwayDrone 2 жыл бұрын
@@piemadd I'll believe it when I see shovels in the ground.
@RoyMcAvoy 2 жыл бұрын
For me, to do a true HSR service, all level crossings must be eliminated. When our country started the double track and electrifying the rail on the existing old track, all the level crossing is eliminated by tunnels or flyover.
@Trainmaster909 5 ай бұрын
the NEC does not have any level crossings, just 11 crossings in a small county near a station in Connecticut
@idcanthony9286 2 жыл бұрын
I live in Colorado. Our only high-speed rail is just for testing. That is so frustrating.I remember driving on I-25 and seeing one of engines or passengers cars being transported on a flatbed truck. I got so excited thinking the state was actually wanting to test at least a diesel train on the Front Range.
@nicolasblume1046 2 жыл бұрын
If they Finally build the Boston North South rail link, the NEC could even be extended north of Boston. That rail Tunnel under Boston is badly needed
@scenicdepictionsofchicagolife 2 жыл бұрын
I genuinely hope they do extended it north. Not even from Boston but I support and all HSR projects as well as passenger rail electrification. Y'all are lucky to have a connection to the NEC. Someday I hope they connect New England with Chicago by HSR... but probably won't happen within my lifetime. Not gonna hold my breath lmao.
@IndigoSolution 2 жыл бұрын
The pathetic speeds along the section along the Connecticut coast is dragging down the entire route's average. IMO that section is the primary reason why I don't take the train between NYC and Boston - it's hard to convince myself that it's ok to pay plane ticket prices to travel at an overall speed that's not a huge improvement over bus travel and drops you off at almost the same locations (Same location in Boston, one subway stop apart in NYC)
@user-cl9yi9gm8m 2 жыл бұрын
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@qazisnotapeopleperson7167 2 жыл бұрын
That section of track is owned by Metro North, who doesn't keep up with track maintenance. It's the only part of the NEC not owned by amtrak.
@jblyon2 2 жыл бұрын
@@qazisnotapeopleperson7167 Yeah those tracks are not in the best condition, and the bridges are even worse. Even the sections in good condition have lower speed limits imposed by Metro North.
@helloworldstein 2 жыл бұрын
@@qazisnotapeopleperson7167 Those tracks are owned by Connecticut DOT and *Operated On* by metro north. Basically Metro North and Amtrak wants to upgrade it but Connecticut is unwilling to do any work due to extreme NIMBY pressure.
@d1234as 2 жыл бұрын
Acela train is a high speed rail, but the problem is the line: is useless to invest on new high speed trains if the line is a century old without constant tension catenary, with slow curves, overcrowded slow city sections, grade corossings, old bridges and old infrastructures... Acela is an high speed train that run on standard/higher speed line a higher speed service...
@nicolasblume1046 2 жыл бұрын
The catenary has no comstant tensioning? 😳
@d1234as 2 жыл бұрын
On many stretches between New Haven and Washington no, there are old variable tension catenary. In these section contact wire are old and need replacing with newer catenary system. Variable tension catenary is one of the issues that limit the line speed and increase failure and maintenence cost.
@Racko. 2 жыл бұрын
The entire line from DC-Boston and bridge all need to be upgraded, as said in the video it'll cost over $150B to make it totally high speed as seen in Europe and Asia
@arkitect156 2 жыл бұрын
@@Racko. that's if the government decides to fund it. If amtrak truly wants to modernize this they will have to suffices with realignment, longer curves etc. A new corridor from scratch sadly won't happen, we have to upgrade and build cheaply, like brightline is/has done
@Racko. 2 жыл бұрын
@@arkitect156 Brightline was able to build cheaply because it was done privately, so they didnt have government funding or anything and were able to bypass all of that, Amtrak is held by Congress, the poles and wiring systems and like 90% of tracks across the entire 450 Mile span of the NEC needs a major overall. At some point Congress will indeed need to considering the upgrade because the demand for high speed rail in the NEC is only growing
@andersonxuhui 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your video! Nice one! It is also a good memory for me, I've been in TTCI for a nearly half year for my internship.
@SaMartok 2 жыл бұрын
It's a High Speed wannabe. I'm Dutch and even regional services have a higher average speed, here and in our neighbouring countries, then the Acela. Having a highspeed trainset, doesn't mean it's a highspeed service.
@TheWoblinGoblin 2 жыл бұрын
Yes. However, you have to admit Dutch trains look ugly ;) Just kidding
@SaMartok 2 жыл бұрын
@@TheWoblinGoblin Haha, we sure have our share of ugly trains. Just look up our attempt at highspeed trainsets. The V250 Albatros, build by Italian Ensaldi-Breda in cooperation with the NMBS.
@banksrail 2 жыл бұрын
@@SaMartok Average speed doesn’t mean much if it counts stops and the layover times between those stops (which commuter trains don’t have much of). Which it does when people calculate the Acelas Average speed.
@bjturon 2 жыл бұрын
The Acela does meet the European UIC definition of HSR on upgraded track, were 125-mph is the minimum TOP COMMERCIAL SPEED, and not the average speed, which the author of this video makes it out to be 🙄 Obviously the Acela is at the lower tiers of HSR that could with investment be greatly improved in speed and frequency, but its still a high speed service like those run by Alstom Pendolinos in Europe. Speeding up the really slow parts of the Acela would do a lot to boost that average speed, especially NYC-Boston. And a 15-min layover at Penn is a big knock against the Bos-Wash average. With 160-mph running being added south of NYC, including in NJ, the NYC-DC average will see a big improvement, getting close to a 90-to-100-mph average, which is pretty standard for HSR services over upgraded mainlines. 🙂
@fugf1623 2 жыл бұрын
An high speed service with a 60mph average speed over the whole route ? An high speed service with a top speed of 125mph, for 30 miles ? I’m French and the intercity that pass near by my station has a top speed of 125mph and he keep it for 1hr, and it’s not considered as a high speed service at all
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
But the bureaucracy has to WANT those areas sped up; in Europe, they did, but not in the US - for political reasons. Congress, and the Democratic party (except Joe Biden) does not like, let alone use, passenger rail at all. They drive or fly. Worse, they see passenger rail as being "for the wealthy" which has never been true of AMTRAK at any point in it's history. Passenger rail - in both the US and Europe, uses distances too short for commercial passenger air - look at not just the NEC, but the state named services and Cascades - and those are in the US- not Europe. Where is passenger air in any of those spaces? I can tell you - nonexistent.
@fugf1623 2 жыл бұрын
@@PGHammer21A why would you take the plane to go to Lyon from Paris when TGV makes it only 2 hours, without any checks and aéroport to city shuttle ? Why would you fly to London from Paris when the Eurostar does it under 2 hours ? Same for Barcelona to Madrid, Roma to milan etc, that should be the case on the US too, not everywhere but AT LEAST on the Acela route. Like a fucking 60mph average on a route Washington to Boston via NYC, is that even serious ?
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
@@fugf1623 My point exactly. That was the very problem in Europe; despite Air France, it was impractical for distances that short. In the US, despite hub-and-spoke, commercial air is impractical for the same reason (too short). In Europe, that is INOUI turf. INOUI is their Amfleet - a low-cost subsidized people-mover.
@thefareplayer2254 2 жыл бұрын
1:23 I'm gonna be a pedant here and say that, as someone from Boston, what this maps shows as Boston is actually Providence. I still enjoyed the video though!
@IndigoSolution 2 жыл бұрын
I could swear that this mistake has been made on this channel before too. No love for Boston 😮💨
@lorton190 2 жыл бұрын
with some upgrads it could be a fantastic high speed rail,
@Critizens 2 жыл бұрын
I did ride the Acela between NYC and WAS (or tried so^^). A bit south of Philadelphia and after roughly 2 h sitting on track, our Acela was evacuated into a NE Regional. So definitely a bit unusual experience, but at least I know that Amtrak's service quality is as bad as the tracks they're running on (no free drinks, vouchers, refund or similar offered; 60+ minutes waiting in the hotline, no real costumer service in major train stations like WAS). The time I was riding with the Aclea was a mixed experience. The seats are really comfortable - better than my German ICE or Japanese Shinkansen experience. Prices are high, especially compared to German *Super saver fares*, but I would consider them OK. On-Board Wi-Fi Speed was great - maybe due to the fact that the Acela was ~20 % full (quite low for Friday afternoon, even with Corona in mind). Not so good: As seen in the video, real high-speed segments are interrupted by slower sections every few miles. Far away from Japan and France and even Germany, where there's is usually at least 30-45 min continuous high-speed before you get back on an upgraded section with 200-230 km/h (which is still faster than many Acela segments). What I don't get is why on earth the Acela train-sets are going out of service. They are only 20 years old, it's like DB in Germany would scrap the ICE-T and first ICE 3 generation. The Acela's interior definitely need an overhaul (monitors, electronic seat reservation display and stuff), but otherwise 30-40 years are a normal lifespan for High-Speed EMUs (TGV, ICE...)
@Hans-gb4mv 2 жыл бұрын
Advances in technology enable the Avelia to go faster throughg curves decreasing travel times on the service, hopefully attracting more passengers. While you could move the current sets to a different service, it's a small fleet that is expensive to maintain. So not really commercially viable.
@wasmic5z 2 жыл бұрын
Regarding lifespan of high-speed trains, 20-30 years is about average. Usually the first type of high-speed train will be overhauled and have several lifetime extensions due to service being expanded faster than trains can be procured, but subsequent generations of rolling stock will have a shorter lifespan. You can see this in both Japan and France - the 0 Series and 200 Series Shinkansen were in service for a very long time, but subsequent types were replaced more quickly. Same with TGV Sud-Est lasting a long time, and ICE 1 in Germany too. Though Germany and France haven't really gotten around to retiring their later generations of trains yet, so we'll have to see how that develops.
@piemadd 2 жыл бұрын
One of the main reasons why the old acela sets are being displaced is because they weren't a really good fit for the NEC. The new sets are able to tilt more and have a lot of new and experimental technology within them (which is one of the reasons they have taken so long to be put into service) which will allow them to achieve a higher average speed along the NEC w/o changing the tracks at all. Also, I'm glad that they've announced the massive improvements they're going to bring to line in the coming years, including more triple/quad tracking, replacing old bridges/tunnels, and eliminating more crossings. All of this is set to be done by 2035 (coinciding with their route and equipment expansions/replacements) so we're going to be waiting for a few more years for true HSR.
@banksrail 2 жыл бұрын
The real reason the Original Acela trainset is going out of service is because the lease for them has ran out. They were only leased for 20 years from Bombardier.
@josephpenn1115 2 жыл бұрын
@@banksrail In that case, I wonder who would get them next.
@TheWoblinGoblin 2 жыл бұрын
US just have to do it. The NEC would work swimmingly as a high speed route, but they have to invest in the tracks. Amtrak should just look at TGV development. Now nobody uses planes within france
@TomQuiNEstPasLa 2 жыл бұрын
All about getting a carbon tax, really. Planes are just so much cheaper than US construction costs for HSR, at least in the northeast and California so far.
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
@@TomQuiNEstPasLa there are many areas that are better for HSR basically the rust belt states
@safinahighschool2179 2 жыл бұрын
Right on track 👍 keep going
@Grinbert 2 жыл бұрын
7:40 Really crazy to see these gigantic apartment buildings under construction 😱
@hobog 2 жыл бұрын
As long as quality is good, I prefer it to USA style SFH suburbia. Construction and housing speculation are fundamental to PRC's economy. Construction results in Chinese construction labor working all those projects in Africa etc instead of local labor. Housing speculation is combined with Hukou system, which entails people's permit to live in city depending on having a job in the city or inheriting that permit
@pedromorgan99 2 жыл бұрын
Glad u cleared it up for everyone ;-))))
@YukarioMashimato 2 жыл бұрын
The Acela has an average speed lower than Brightline's route.
@Ry_TSG 2 жыл бұрын
Brightline goes less than 80 mph
@YukarioMashimato 2 жыл бұрын
@@Ry_TSG I guess you don't understand the meaning of average speed over a route
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
@@Ry_TSG due to grade crossings and their stupidity in not at least building a viaduct over it’s OWN TRACKS!!!! They don’t even need to take property
@Adumzzinthehouse 2 жыл бұрын
@@YukarioMashimato the Average speed of Brightline is 59 MPH
@YukarioMashimato 2 жыл бұрын
@@Adumzzinthehouse okay, making up your own information. But not surprised from your previous comments and your icon.
@desalpagesgator4988 2 жыл бұрын
The USA must build high-speed lines, but these lines are very expensive because the rails are specific, the catenaries are also special and it is imperative that these lines be fenced to prevent any intrusion, in addition all level crossings must be removed. France is building specific lines and high-speed trains can then use certain conventional sections. On the other hand, conventional trains cannot use high-speed lines, they would damage the rails and cause traffic management difficulties. One kilometer of expressway is expensive in urban areas (€100,000,000), less expensive in sparsely populated areas.
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
Just go very high viaducts China style
@jblyon2 2 жыл бұрын
Acela itself is high speed. Much of the rails it travels on however are not. Most of the time savings between NYC and Boston come from making fewer stops rather than the increase in speeds. Only a few short sections allow the current Acela trains to reach 150 MPH, and the regular trains are already going 120 MPH on those sections. Across the 34 miles with the potential for Acela to hit 150 MPH it's only a 3.4 minute time savings vs the regular train.
@TohaBgood2 11 ай бұрын
The Acela is full HSR by EU law. This guy is simply wrong. More than half of the NEC trackage is at or above 125 mph. That fully qualifies as a "legacy/upgraded HSR corridor." Oh, and the Northeast Regional which tops out at 125 mph would also qualify as full HSR under the same law. If you refuse to use this standard then most European HSR lines also can't qualify for HSR status. Only three countries in Europe have lines that are faster than the Acela. All of those would also have to not be considered HSR alongside the Acela.
@jillsmith3937 2 жыл бұрын
This was cool I love trains the one that was slated was neat
@30Minparking 2 жыл бұрын
I’m really excited about the NEC upgrades
@stephendoherty8291 2 жыл бұрын
$151b seems way too expensive just for one line upgrade even for a 3 state connection. The reason is likely the high land cost and critical demand placed on existing (creaking) infrastructure. It would seem alot better to just upgrade small slow sections in both directions from NY. If it can beat airline and car transit times, then thats all it needs to drive airlines to drop their service on the connecting routes. The left over funds could be used to reuse the current acala stock in another city to city route. Detroit-chicago or Atlanta to...
@Lodai974 2 жыл бұрын
Few things explain such a cost.... We have built in France for the LGV SEA (the last built), 302km of HSL, and 40km of connections, for the modest sum of 7.8 billion € (from 2017), and for the HSL Ouest (Rennes - Le mans) , 3.3 billion € for 186km. It is estimated at 35million € per km for the next LGV. The equivalent in distance of the NEC would therefore have cost us at worst 30/35 billion taking into account the urban integration of NYC (because the SEA and west were mainly outside urban areas). Most countries ensure that the HSLs in cities follow the highways because they generally have a straight path, or else in tunnels.
@stephendoherty8291 2 жыл бұрын
@@Lodai974 This is what happens when you delay major infrastructure projects. You lose the inbuilt expertise, you forget the mistakes (and the good decisions), developers are worried so they tender higher to compensate and there is a lack of will to make speedier official decisions (gov and legal). What seems strange is that the US can often build its own raw materials and building standards look weak compared to Europe. China avoids some of this, with the potential firing squad if you screw up. Nothing makes you avoid half measures on official projects like a gulag prison (firing squad at the end if you survive) and embarrassing the government. In the west, you just employ a good lawyer and split the losses
@jkeelsnc 3 ай бұрын
Why don't you ask the same question about the billions and billions spent on widening freeways and making improvements to them? No one asks that question.
@stephendoherty8291 3 ай бұрын
@@jkeelsnc because graft on US road building is acceptable and there is no obvious bribes. It's called tender inflation
@JamesBond-ko7ky 2 жыл бұрын
Can you do a video about portugal railways?
@matpk 2 жыл бұрын
EXTEND ACELA TO ATLANTA BY 2026
@elvenho4858 2 жыл бұрын
And then extend to Miami
@DevonMopiedmont1143 2 жыл бұрын
"It is all based on political will power..." That is literally 90% of the battle in the United States. Most people think of freight trains here and want nothing to do with them or find them too slow and a lost cause due to the mass amount of airports and the fact that you can drive everywhere.
@BulletTrainProductions 2 жыл бұрын
As long as the government doesn't care, there will be nothing new for America in terms of high-speed rail
@mrmaniac3 2 жыл бұрын
It's neat that they have an electrified test facility in Colorado of all places. It makes sense, there's lots of room for trains to stretch their legs unabated. It kind of reminds me of Japanese car companies and their various oval test tracks in the mountains of Japan. Seeing the overhead wires out in the arid environment of Colorado makes me want to see electrified rail out west. I also want to see the old Acela Express sets be repurposed for out west, as it's a shame for older but still functional trains to get the scrap treatment. They can be refurbished and improved even, and I don't see any reason not to, especially in the west where less tight curves would hopefully exist in the track to slow down a trainset with slower acceleration.
@BsBsBock 2 жыл бұрын
the USA had 10times more rail like 100years ago it would be 50% of all worlds railways in todays length
@homagetogreathistoricalsin9711 6 ай бұрын
It’s high speed in spots, but most of the tracks aren’t designed for it. Near Princeton Junction is a pretty cool spot where it reaches 150 mph. I was supposed to take a regional train from Philadelphia to Metropark, but I was able to upgrade to the Acela for cheap. It did reach 150 miles an hour in the area I just mentioned and it was fun, but too short.
@beback_ 2 жыл бұрын
The problem in the US is that you need a car to and from the train station so you may as well drive the entire way. This can be improved much more economically by improving active and public transport within cities, making regular trains going at only 60 or 70 mph competitive. But people are obsessed with shiny toys.
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
China had the same problem in its cities in 2008. Most of their metro systems are less than a decade old!!!!! It’s simple if many cities need a car to get to train stations then build metro networks in those cities
@SuperTrainStationH 2 жыл бұрын
@@qjtvaddict yeah, but in the US they call that communism
@blackhole9961 2 жыл бұрын
Improving public transit will hardly fix the real issue, which is Americas difference in urbanism. You can’t compare an American “urban area”(depending on what or how you define urban) to a Chinese urban area. Chinese urban areas are very dense with way more people overall due to China nearly having 5x Americas population. American urban areas like Houston DFW Phoenix and Atlanta are mainly low density urban and suburban sprawl with Euclidean style zoning and are VERY spread out. Wouldn’t even matter if public transit was improved more if your still walking 20-30 minutes or more just to get to and from a single station.
@beback_ 2 жыл бұрын
@@blackhole9961 Your analysis goes one layer deeper into the issue. It still remains that intercity passenger rail won't work as long as public transportation is weak. But as you pointed out, public transport will never work as long as we artificially sprawl out our cities by overregulation.
@TechGroupF430i 2 жыл бұрын
4:18 - The Federal Railroad Administration is *FRA. FTA refers to the Federal Transit Administration. And yes, there is a difference. Edit: The mistake is repeated at 6:46 and 6:59.
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the correction
@2011zip 2 жыл бұрын
Der TGV hält mit einer Geschwindigkeit von 574,8 km/h den Weltrekord auf der Schiene
@southmainerailfan2781 2 жыл бұрын
I don’t really care if it’s not high speed because it’s still fast
@anthonytidey2005 2 жыл бұрын
Due to most freight rr in the USA using wooden tye's, sleepers in the UK and nails to secure the rails, I would not want to push a passenger train over say 60 mph. As the rail and signaling infrstructure is outdated early 20th century equipment. We in the UK and most of Europe have fitted shoes with some sort of clip to carry the rails, since the early 1900 and post war second WW concrete sleepers. This simplifies the construction and renewal, also easing in automation, reducing labour making it cheeper and much faster to complete. Take a look at when a train crossed a grade crossing or what we call a level crossing, the bounce up from the track supported by ballast to the fixed rails in the road surface, here in the UK we have rubber mats, between the rails and on the lead up. This helps when the track is being replace, the matting is removed and replaced whe the job is over, it also helps keeping the geometry of the track, thus reducing a point where the train could derail. One KZfaq shows an oil or gas wagon riding over a loosened tye and derailing, luckley no fire ensued but it was pretty scary for the driver waiting at the crossing. The very efficient system is hindered by an out of date rail, track and signalling system, meny of which can be seen on KZfaq, especially on very long trains in excess of 2 mile being ripped apart usually at the couplings, thus causing long delays to other services, more distributed power should be used to ease the stress on thr couplings. A great description of the US rail roads. I have just found your channel and have started viewing each one. Thanks for the videos.
@kyllesyt4813 2 жыл бұрын
yes this acela is a part of the high speed railway network in us!!!
@kyllesyt4813 2 жыл бұрын
more videos please
@naruciakk 2 жыл бұрын
To be honest, in European classification Acela would be considered probably as an upgraded line, so the minimum for Vmax is 200 km/h, which it clearly reaches. The line from my city fits into the definition of the upgraded line (these 200km/h) and the trains there are going slightly slower than on Acela.
@scenicdepictionsofchicagolife 2 жыл бұрын
Chicago represent boy and girls ♥️ (Daniel Burnham quote at the start of the video)
@beback_ 2 жыл бұрын
Acela didn't feel high-speed but was certainly an enjoyable ride.
@moshedayl3064 2 жыл бұрын
Depends on the definition I suppose. The average speed does not top 90mph, but then again, MOST high-speed services in the world (be it Germany's ICE, or most HST services in Britain) also don't quite (or at least don't always) meet the threshold. If high speed service means regularly going over 100mph, then obviously Acela counts, even the older sets. Cuz for *most* of the journey (outside of most of Connecticut), the train is mostly going 100 or over when at full throttle between stations. Or high speed can just mean relative to other services. Like with the High Speed lines in Phili and Boston, which are basically just trolley lines with enough grade separation that compares to the rest of the trolleys in each city, they have faster travel times.
@sunrae3971 Жыл бұрын
"The average speed over the entire route is 70.3 mph (113 km/h)". Wikipedia
@denjo3131 2 жыл бұрын
Is it a high-speed train? Yes Is it a high-speed service? No Here we have normal intercity trains running on upgraded lines at 200 km/h; high speed trains at 300 km/h
@spacetoast7783 2 жыл бұрын
Why does the CGI render of the Liberty trains take place in the middle of the desert? They won't be used anywhere near there.
@bprogressive 2 жыл бұрын
please make some episodes on chinas HSR. though we get multiple videos on web but most of them are biased toward one or another side.
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
We already made: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l76fatqamZ6cdaM.html kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ftF-Z6if0ZbGpmw.html Enjoy!
@stevenromero1723 2 жыл бұрын
I considered The Amtrak Acela to be a USA High speed rail
@tonyburzio4107 Жыл бұрын
It might have been, but a design flaw (it's too fat) means it can't tilt enough to go fast for fear of side swiping another train.
@TheRailwayDrone 2 жыл бұрын
The Avelia liberty is a high speed train that will travel on a trunk line that is not high speed AT ALL.
@darrenchin_ 2 жыл бұрын
hi, can we get a Railways Explained on Laos' new Chinese-built high speed line?
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
Maxbe in future we will cover this project. We need to add that operating speed on this line is 160 km/h so this is not considered as high-speed line. Also, this line is designed for mixed traffic not for passenger only transportation.
@Ynhockey 2 жыл бұрын
A bit confused--is this a repost? Could have sworn that I've already seen this video on the channel.
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
Yes, we wrote that in the description
@2011zip 2 жыл бұрын
ICE Zugelassene Höchstgeschwindigkeit 320 km/h
@Rebelnightwolfe 2 жыл бұрын
It still bugs me that there is a sizable gap between the engine car and passenger cars breaking the sleek look of the train. The curvature could and should have matched. It's like looking at a completely flat piece of paper next to a slightly bent piece of paper. I hope only the test train looks this way.
@benjaminaraya8073 Жыл бұрын
Afraid not, it looks likely this the planned design of the train. I think the mostly weird shape contrast comes from the coaches themselves as they are built and design like that, but yeah I agree it looks a little funny with the gap between the engine and the coaches
@RailFam8372 2 жыл бұрын
Hi
@themoviedealers 2 жыл бұрын
Under these definitions the California High Speed Rail will be the only HSR in the US when that starts. (Or the one in Texas if that gets built.)
@Adumzzinthehouse 2 жыл бұрын
And Brightline West
@jasminadragicevic4241 2 жыл бұрын
It's not high speed...
@tehangrybird345 2 жыл бұрын
The reason why it’s not considered to be up to high speed standards of other countries is because there high speed trains are so fast and it would just be overshadowed, so to global standards, it is high speed, but for Eurasia it would be hard to compete
@caseydorn3309 2 жыл бұрын
It annoys me when people call Acela "not high speed rail". It IS. The average speed of a train has NOTHING to do with the definition! It is solely related to top speed. In fact, in many countries, trains are considered high speed if they reach *125* mph on "upgraded" conventional lines, which is what Acela is. Also, the current Acela averages 81 mph from NYC to Washington. The overall Washington to Boston average is lower due to the lower average from NYC to Boston and the 15 minute stop in NYC. It's NOT as bad as people make it out to be, and the Avelia Liberty will further increase average speed. Frankly, it is quite adequate given the track it has to run on. Average speed is NOT the measure. It's maximum speed. In other countries the train reaches the max speed for longer, and that definitely is a major difference to Acela, but again, that is not the definition. I look forward to the travel time reductions that the new sets will bring. Particularly the inauguration of 160 mph service from Trenton to New Brunswick. And based on recent documents from Amtrak it will be interesting to see if they try single pantograph operations on current 125/135 mph sections because it appears that they might be allowed to do 150/160 on those sections too.
@bjturon 2 жыл бұрын
My point exactly, the Acela meets the European UIC definition of HSR on upgraded track, were 125-mph is the minimum TOP COMMERCIAL SPEED, and not the average speed, which the author of this video makes it out to be 🙄 Obviously the Acela is at the lower tiers of HSR that could with investment be greatly improved in speed and frequency, but its still a high speed service like those run by Alstom Pendolinos in Europe.
@caseydorn3309 2 жыл бұрын
@@bjturon Yep. We are on the same page. Improvements are possible with investment, but across KZfaq and the internet the commenters decrying Acela as not high speed are incorrect. High speed trains are designed and operate differently to regular trainsets due to the tendency of trainsets to "hunt" at higher speeds. These changes mean that the high speed operation, however short, are materially different from conventional rail transport. Hence, Acela by virtue of traveling at said speeds for a distance, is high speed. Plenty of projects could bring the trains to a higher speed operation for longer, but a question arises as to which benefit is greater. You can upgrade 125 mph track to 150 mph track, or you can upgrade a 30 mph curve to 60 mph. The latter is less sexy, but it actually results in better time reductions. There are merits to both though. For the Trenton to New Brunswick section, one benefit I see is that many people will now get to experience 160mph speed that previously didn't as they didn't travel nyp-bos. And those people, many affluent movers and shakers (the acelas chief demographic), will see that change and be more receptive to rail investment. But, were it possible, reducing the curve at Metuchen or Elizabeth would by themselves be multi minute time savings. Tall order for Elizabeth given the buildup around it. But I digress. Point is, yep, lower end of HSR, but HSR nonetheless. By international definitions, the *Regional* is HSR (125mph on upgraded rail). So, if that's the case, Acela qualifies clearly.
@bjturon 2 жыл бұрын
@@caseydorn3309 Yes, I agree. Speeding up the really slow parts of the Acela would do a lot to boost that average speed, especially NYC-Boston. And a 15-min layover at Penn is a big knock against the Bos-Wash average. With 160-mph running being added south of NYC, including in NJ, the NYC-DC average will see a big improvement, getting close to a 90-to-100-mph average, which is pretty standard for HSR services over upgraded mainlines. 🙂
@connecticutmultimodaltrans8226 2 жыл бұрын
160 will most likely only be in the current short 150 sections in RI and MA, with 150 in NJ. They fucked up and ran out of money so the project isn't even going as far as they originally planned. Classic incompetence. Acela is definitely not HSR. Yeah it meets the definition but it spends way too much time slowing and accelerating for curves, stations, and literally can't go faster than 70 for nearly 70 miles. Out of 456 miles that's a lot. 33 miles going 150 doesn't change that.
@fugf1623 2 жыл бұрын
Acela is definitely not an HST, it will never be as long as they keep running it on those awful lines
@MrCubsfan3 2 жыл бұрын
8:33 this is definitely not NYC - Pittsburgh?
@RichardMigneron 2 жыл бұрын
Isn't this video a republishing of an existing vid ??
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
Yes, we wrote that in the description.
@RichardMigneron 2 жыл бұрын
@@RailwaysExplained Sorry, I didn't see it.
@Gnefitisis 2 жыл бұрын
Is this a repost?
@RailwaysExplained 2 жыл бұрын
Yes
@BattleshipOrion 2 жыл бұрын
Not to mention something obvious, but I (in a way) don't want HSR. So many smaller towns (in that apparent open country) would get bi-passed, killing already struggling towns. The US will never see lines such as the Shinkansen, ICE, or TVG. Mainly because freight still needs to move by rail, and not to mention what I like to call "feeders". The NEC has examples if you're clueless. Small regional trains that run between all the stations along a route for those who cant drive, whether it be medically, geologically, or by law. Even if I had a simple 5 car train between the two population centers (one in each direction) on a stopping on a 30 minute base, I'd take the train over a vehicle. Why? More work. My town has a population just shy of 10,000, and we have a Walmart, but no hospital. Think about that. Towns without hospitals along HSR right of way that would get bi-passed. Wouldn't that tick y'all off? Use perspective here too. Oh, and pretend you don't have a vehicle, nor a public transportation network. Also error on the author, FRA, not "FTA".
@jlust6660 2 жыл бұрын
I get that you'd be concerned for smaller towns, but I don't think HSR on the NEC would necessarily mean that regional and freighter services will disappear. On this channel there's a video about the German high speed lines, parts of which were designed for mixed traffic. That aside, even the upgrade to HSR does not have to mean all smaller stations along the line will disappear or will get no more service. HS1 in the UK runs parallel to regional lines which still get regular service.
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
Dude YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY intercity train service in the first place!!!!!! Ever heard of connecting local trains?
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
Commuter rail lines serve small towns in the NEC already!!!! And most corridors don’t have any trains once a day doesn’t count
@kennantjessavi7648 2 жыл бұрын
I don't consider it as HSR. Not yet.
@odiliusrailfans 2 жыл бұрын
Acela: 177-240 km/h Sapsan: 180-250 km/h Also Yamagata (Fukushima - Shinjo) & Akita Shinkansen (Morioka - Akita): 130 km/h Meanwhile Indonesia Jakarta Bandung HSR: 350 km/h (but the distance only 142,3 km) US: Japan, you what?
@bahnspotterEU 2 жыл бұрын
Nice job choosing the two Shinkansen lines that aren‘t actually high-speed. You know those are the exception right? They‘re even marketed as „Mini-Shinkansen“.
@odiliusrailfans 2 жыл бұрын
@@bahnspotterEU That's Indonesia beat Japan easily
@bahnspotterEU 2 жыл бұрын
@@odiliusrailfans No it doesn‘t. Top speed means little if system coverage sucks. Indonesia is only beginning with HSR now, whilst Japan pioneered the modern HSR system almost 60 years ago and has a fully built-up nationwide network running crazy frequencies with almost no delay. Japan‘s HSR obviously beats Indonesia.
@odiliusrailfans 2 жыл бұрын
@@bahnspotterEU The new Prototype called ALFA-X Shinkansen was reach 400 km/h but our Fuxing HSR was 422 km/h, Japan must think again because the CRH380A Hexie was reach 486 km/h. Indonesia wants the HSR reach the top speed at 350-380 km/h or higher not 250-300 km/h like Acela or Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen And we have The Manggarai Central station it will be beats Shin-Osaka & Tokyo station
@bahnspotterEU 2 жыл бұрын
@@odiliusrailfans Still doesn‘t change the fact that Japan already has better coverage and service level. Those two are the most important. You can‘t really compare a single line that hasn‘t even opened yet with a fully developed network anyway.
@mdavid1955 2 жыл бұрын
The NEC was designed and built 200ya..until it has a major rehabilitation is done...It will never be a true HST route.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
Quite aside from the quibbling - which is (understandably) tilted in Europe's favor - European designers had the assistance of European bureaucracy - which is largely is NOT the case in the United States - in fact, Congress - and specifically, the Democratic party, has been the largest obstacle to achieving the aim of designers of builders of tracks, systems, and other systems (such as train control).
@jlust6660 2 жыл бұрын
This is the first time I have seen bureaucracy been mentioned as an assistance. I wonder how that could be something helpful.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
@@jlust6660 In Europe - not the US. I am going by the documentation from SNCF itself (partially sourced by Railways Explained in their excellent documentation of the beginning of TGV - including the reboot from gas turbine technology to electrical power via nuclear energy.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
Without that powerful backbone, it would have been improbable, if not impossible.
@jlust6660 2 жыл бұрын
@@PGHammer21A Ah, I get it, though I don't think I'd call that bureaucracy. That term seems to, at least in Europe, be reserved for the convoluted government structures and procedures which slow down major infrastructure projects, rather than encourage them. A notable example near me is a tram network plan which, despite originating in 2004 with intended opening in 2012 has been stuck in planning ever since and has been downgraded to a single line for which the route isn't even completely decided yet, let alone construction would have started already. France's big investments in the TGV program through the 70's also were investments for the development of HSR technology, whereas on the NEC the required technology already exists. With which I also don't want to say that the lack of government support or even consideration for the railways isn't a problem for NEC high speed services.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
@@jlust6660 That is what I mean by bureaucracy - specifically Congress, and the Democratic party in particular - minus Joe Biden. Biden used AMTRAK - he is not going to cut his own throat. However, almost no other Members of Congress do or did, even those from Maryland and Virginia.(They drive in.)
@behrouzrezahatami6935 2 жыл бұрын
Take European & japanese & Chinese definition for HSR. There is no such thing American HSR so why define according to USA. Any country can lay & run 10 km HSR & claim they have HSR. Full line & minimum 500km network should be criteria for HSR. 500km is ideal/yardstick distance for HSR.
@mozomenku 2 жыл бұрын
Why do they have to put their flag everywhere, even on trains? Is it making it more freedom or something(even if the train was built by european company)?
@moover123 2 жыл бұрын
It doesn't matter whether it is high speed or not
@arkitect156 2 жыл бұрын
I'm really excited for the future of amtrak, it may not be onnpar with European and Asian intercity railways bit what it has it does relatively well. Videos by people like simply railway show compliment the food options seat pitch, leg room etc. The new diemens venture/charger sets that are replacing most if not all the equipment in the northeast will also achieve higher speeds, greater capacity and allow for easier transitions between diesel, 3rd rail, and electrified sections. As well as the 2035 plan to upgrade, and add new services. Amtraks future looks bright. (Worldwide railfan does a video on the venture sets for amtrak) And also with infrastructure improvements many commuter rails are doing station upgrades, such as septa, njt, new haven etc.
@arkitect156 2 жыл бұрын
Also I think they have dropped the separate network idea for now, the most recent stuff I found shows 117 billions for improvements such as realignments, modernization of tunnels bridges etc, tension catenaries, new signals, new tracks(triple and quadruple tracking) and more.
@archstanton5973 2 жыл бұрын
It's been stated over and over and over again that to achieve a Japan or China style HSR in the NE Corridor would involve building a totally new rail corridor that is as straight as possible and heavily elevated but the cost to achieve this is almost certainly going to cost over 100 BILLION dollars so don't expect it to happen in any of our lifetimes if ever.
@carlsmith5545 2 жыл бұрын
Forget about the Amtrak accela, just call Japan and get the maglev train..
@countdown4725 2 жыл бұрын
High speed rail = 250 km/h or more
@utkarshparate3333 2 жыл бұрын
It is not HSR... Simple
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
It can be; the issue is more that the bureaucracy does not want true European HSR in the United States. They have an outdated (since Vietnam) image of it as being "for the wealthy" - never mind that has never been true of AMTRAK at any time in it's history.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
My two ideas going forward - Liberty Duplex and Cascades Duplex - are primarily about capacity; the speed comes after track upgrades. Both are based on systems already deployed in Europe and deployable here - Liberty Duplex is based on TGV Duplex, while Cascades Duplex is based on ICE-3 melded with ALC or even ACS-64 with duplexed cars for noncaternaried lines, such as the Western US, Michigan, etc.
@PGHammer21A 2 жыл бұрын
It t let's AMTRAK address the one hole in the US is passenger transport network - short-to-medium-haul passenger service. Too short for air, but away from the NEC.
@moi20003 2 жыл бұрын
There is only one country that knows a thing or two about High Speed Rail Systems....you know who, right?
@jkeelsnc 3 ай бұрын
If they will build a dedicated HSR. Why not hire (or copy) Spain to build one. They built their HSR at 1/10 the cost of most western countries and even 1/5 the cost of China. Why wouldn't we want to do this. They have the largest high speed rail network in Europe.
2 жыл бұрын
Europeans and Asians laughing in high speed 🤣
@tonyburzio4107 Жыл бұрын
The Acela is too fat to tilt correctly, a design flaw, so because a moving train might hit a stopped train it's really slow except for a very short straight section. The Avelia is fast, but the electric catenary doesn't work, they're trying to fix it. The new Avelia can't go fast until every single Acela is retired, the FRA is afraid of a sideswipe with the fat Acelas.
@TohaBgood2 11 ай бұрын
This video's premise is nonsense. More than 50% of the Northeast Corridor trackage is at or above 125 mph. That qualifies as "sustained" speed under EU law. So from the point of view of European law itself, the Acela is considered an HSR line. Furthermore, if you look at both the Acela's median speed (125 mph), the average speed (70 mph on the whole line 90 mph between NY and DC), and the top speed (150 mph to be increased to 160 mph with the new Alstom TGV trains), the Acela is a fully compliant HSR corridor. If you choose not to use this standard that the EU has helpfully codified in law, then the vast majority of European HSR lines also fall out of the standard. So if the Acela is not HSR then most of Europe does not have HSR either. And the countries that do only have one or two HSR lines. Outside of France and Spain almost all the current HSR lines in Europe wouldn't qualify. Germany would have a grand total of three HSR lines. Italy only two. The rest of Europe would have zero HSR lines.
@srb1855 2 жыл бұрын
Amtrak is a big joke by anybody's definition... They should be ashamed to call this train "service."
@Lorre982 2 жыл бұрын
the train is for hs the rails are not, so it isn't
@carlsmith5545 2 жыл бұрын
Amtrak Accela traveling at 150 miles per hour is considered to be highspeed rail in the United States of America but considered a joke to the world. First of all, the United States loves to add stipulations to everything. They could have or build a train that travels at 300mph or more but with stipulations, it would only be allowed to trave at 100mph. If that's the case then don't build it. If you can't do something right then don't do it. Amtrak is primitive in comparison to the trains of Europe, China and Japan. The world highspeed super train race is a map where the United States dose not exsist...
@yoenyoen3121 2 жыл бұрын
i do not try to be rude... that it's not a high-speed train lol but people call a medium-speed train hahahahhahaha maybe you can ask you government to spent more money to build your public transports then spent all money for war and invasion another country
@BrooklynBound4 2 жыл бұрын
No it’s not. Not even close. I have ridden the Acela and Shinkansen trains. Not even close
@choncord 2 жыл бұрын
Lol...high speed...this is a joke right??!!😅😅
@ce1834 2 жыл бұрын
You seem to have triggered quite a few Americans lol, lets hope that infrastructure improvements are given the same focus given to rolling stock replacements in America imo
@morganangel340 2 жыл бұрын
NO.
@cliffwoodbury5319 2 жыл бұрын
the average travel time for a trip between Boston and Washington D.C is 60 m.p.h. Most highways have higher speeds; so no, the United States does not have high speed rail and it should't consintrate on conventional high-speed rail but a national hyperloop network with speeds of roughly 1,000 m.p.h. on the major routes. this netwrok should be supported by seperated grade conventional railways witch in some regionsor city groupings could/would operate at high-speed rail speeds, but the network of supporting conventional rail would be, mostly higher-speed rail.speeds that take far less electricity for power. high speed rail will do nothing for America, but hyperloop would tottally revolutionalize the nation. A conventional highspeed rial network wouldn't change thos nation but a national hyperloop network would be the start of reverting this nations car craze witch is unhealthy and unsustanable as a network like this would make building metro rail systems and rebuilding and extended regional rail lines that every city once had feasable.
@qjtvaddict 2 жыл бұрын
Hyperloop and HSR FYI Hyperloop is actually a maglev in a tube