CA releases new details on possible bullet train routes

[left-of-center2012]

"The California rail authority released four voluminous reports Friday on proposed alternatives for bullet train routes from Bakersfield to Anaheim — providing new details on how the train would traverse the Southern California mountains, cut through downtown Los Angeles, enter Union Station and reach Orange County.

The roughly 164 miles of track from the Central Valley to Anaheim will be the most technically complex, environmentally sensitive and financially taxing part of the $64-billion project to connect San Francisco to Southern California by 2029.

Among the key disclosures in the reports was a plan to enter Union Station with surface tracks, abandoning an option to arrive at the rail hub on a viaduct with an elevated platform. The state also revealed that it was considering sharing tracks with the Metrolink commuter rail service on a portion of the 12-mile stretch from Burbank to Los Angeles — which could affect the bullet train system's capacity and speed."

Read more at:
http://www.latimes.c...0409-story.html

[pangaia]

1. Having ridden the Shinkansen numerous time, it's about time America caught up !!

[CurtEastPoint]

2. And having just taken Eurostar: London to Paris, 2.5 hours, the US is waaaaay behind.

And the Eurostar, while nice and fast, is still just under 200 mph and 100 in the Chunnel.

[dana_b]

4. We took both Thalys and ICE a couple of months ago

6 hours from Munich to Paris and well under two hours from Paris to Brussels and then Brussels to Amsterdam. So nice!

Come on California - 2029?? That seems ridiculously far away.

[mackerel]

3. Wow so exciting even though it's still a long way off!

I actually might go down to Socal more often if I don't have to drive the 99 corridor and grapevine.

[shanti]

5. I want a straight shot

From Sacramento to LA. Just go right down I-5. The infrastructure is already there!

[mackerel]

6. I agree but I'm not sure they're considering that

from what I saw of one of the plans they are going to make the route out in West LA County. I'm really surprised LA doesn't have some sort of a lite rail or rapid transit system already in place. I think it has the largest population in CA.

[shanti]

7. LA does have a light rail now

the red line, i believe? it doesn't go everywhere, but it's a start. with sacramento being the state capitol, there really should be a bullet train to the south! the savings for the state regarding state worker travel would be tremendous.

[pinboy3niner]

8. L.A. has Metro Rail rapid transit/light rail and SoCal's Metrolink commuter rail

Metro Rail is a mix of light and heavy rail lines.

Los Angeles Metro Rail

Metro Rail is an urban rail system serving Los Angeles County, California. It consists of six lines, including two rapid transit subway lines (the Red and Purple lines) and four light rail lines (the Blue, Green, Gold and Expo lines) serving 86 stations. It connects with the Metro Liner bus rapid transit system (the Orange Line and Silver Line) and also with the Metrolink commuter rail system. Metro Rail, which had an average daily weekday ridership of 362,904 as of June 2012,[3] is owned and operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and started service in 1990. It has been extended significantly since that time and several further extensions are either in the works or being considered.

The Metro Rail system is the indirect descendant of Pacific Electric Red Car and Los Angeles Railway Yellow Car lines, which operated between the late 19th century and the 1960s, and utilizes many of their former rights-of-way.[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Metro_Rail

Metrolink (California)

Metrolink (reporting mark SCAX) is a commuter rail system serving Southern California; it consists of seven lines and 55 stations operating on 388.2 miles (624.7 km) of rail network.[1] It travels up to 79 miles per hour (127 km/h) and up to 90 mph on sections of the Orange County line.

The system operates in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, as well as to Oceanside in San Diego County.[3][4] It connects with the Los Angeles County Metro Rail system, the San Diego Coaster commuter rail and Sprinter light rail services, and with Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, and Sunset Limited intercity rail services.[5]

The system, founded in 1991 as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) and quickly adopting "Metrolink" as the marketing and user friendly moniker, started operation in 1992. Average weekday ridership rose to 42,265 in 2012,[6] but had fallen slightly to 41,951 in the fourth quarter of 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrolink_(California)

[mackerel]

9. You know I was down there last year looking at uni's with the boyo

and I didn't see it nor was it ever mentioned by anyone. I'm glad to hear Socal is not as backward as it used to be.