Posted on 02/13/2010 7:22:39 AM PST by Willie Green
GUANGZHOU, CHINA ----
China's investment in high-speed trains will push it into a leadership role in the industry, the vice president for policy and development at Amtrak said.
With $100 billion of China's stimulus funding funneled into building tracks and trains, "the sheer volume of equipment that they will require and the technology that will have to be developed will simply catapult them into a leadership position," Amtrak executive Stephen Gardner said, The New York Times reported Friday.
China will have 42 separate high speed train routes by 2012 with 5,000 miles of track that can accommodate 155 mph trains and 3,000 miles that can handle trains running 215 mph, the deputy chief engineer of China's railway ministry Zhang Shuguang said.
Currently, the fastest bullet train in China runs from Guangzhou to Wuhan, traveling 664 miles at and average speed of 215 mph.
By comparison, in the United States, the first high speed train is scheduled to open in 2014, an 84-mile jaunt from Tampa to Orlando, Fla., in a train that will run about 170 mph.
In Florida in January, President Barack Obama said, "Other countries aren't waiting (to invest in high-speed trains). They want those jobs. China ... Germany ... they are going after them hard, making the investments required."
Also check out how fast trains operate in Europe and Asia; they do NOT slow down when going through towns, crossing roads, or bypassing stations. Compare that to AMTRAK where slowing down for each crossing or town in required. Going from Shanghai to Nanjing takes about 2 hours via train; going from Seattle to Portland, OR takes 5. They're the same distance. The reason is the at-grade crossings (US has many; China has few and doesn't slow down for those that still exist) and speed through bypassed towns and stations.
China has a much denser population with 358 people per square mile. The USA has 95 people per square mile.
Neither nation has a homogeneous population distribution.
Both have densely populated urban areas as well as remote, sparsely populated regions.
So those population density statistics are pretty irrelevant.
Besides, it would be pretty myopic to wait until AFTER a region becomes more densely populated before trying to acquire right-of-way.
Yet that's what many rail opponents suggest, hoping to stall consruction until further development makes right-of-way acquistion even MORE costly than it already is.
It's called density. China has it, we don't. When you have four times the density or more in multiple cities in China as compared to the densest city in the US, well, you find that massive transit solutions are used.
I just addressed the "density" issue.
IMHO, it's a red herring.
Only a myopic fool would wait until urban population density increases to levels that would make right-of-way acquisition cost prohibitive.
The Chicoms can get away with it because they're... well... because they're Chicoms...
If 250K Chinese have homes where the Chicoms need to put a rail line, the Chicom government just bulldozes 'em out of the way. They have so many people, nobody even notices that they're missing.
Then post on Daily Kos instead.
So, what are you going to do about it, Big Shot? Rant on FR? Yell, Go Pat Go!?
It seems you are not aware or concerned about the Democrats being the real darlings of Wall Street while painting the Republicans as such. Does the neat little relationship between the Clinton administration and now the Obama administration with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP MOrgan, and AIG mean anything to you? How about all that Democrat pork which was supposed to do exactly as you want, build infrastructure, but didn't. Instead, it went into Democrat supporters and politicians pockets. Still love them?
Mona Charon wrote your biography awhile back. It was titled Useful Idiot.
Then post on Daily Kos instead.
Thank-you for the invitation, but I have other major issues that are totally incompatible with you libtards.
Excellent summary of the situation!
It seems you are not aware or concerned about the Democrats being the real darlings of Wall Street while painting the Republicans as such. Does the neat little relationship between the Clinton administration and now the Obama administration with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP MOrgan, and AIG mean anything to you?
You really think that having either a "D" or an "R" attached to their names makes a spit of a difference?
And you did it - poorly. The density of China's Eastern coast is miles beyond the US NE corridor (where we are densest). Between Nanjing and Ningbo - a 5 hour drive - you have 60 million people. Beijing to Ningbo - 10 hours - has over 100 million. The density of Eastern China is simply way beyond anything in the US.
Only a myopic fool would wait until urban population density increases to levels that would make right-of-way acquisition cost prohibitive.
Hmmm... You mean like China's doing with the Guangzhou to Wuhan line? Both cities have over 10 million people, and you're pushing this line as a sign of how to it, but now according to you it's myopic and foolish.
So you propose building high speed rail between which 10+ million population US cities?
And you didn't address the issue of speed through cities, stations, and at-grade crossings...
If 250K Chinese have homes where the Chicoms need to put a rail line, the Chicom government just bulldozes 'em out of the way. They have so many people, nobody even notices that they're missing.
It doesn't work that way, however. Do you know how it really works, or only the stories you've read here? Do you want to know what happens when the Chinese Government uses eminent domain, or do you want to simply continue in your ignorance?
In general, yes!
The picture you selected takes the issue completely out of context as I suppose you are aware.
My Senators are John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchisen and my Congressman is John Carter, all Republicans. I am well pleased with all of them. If you don't like yours it is up to you to do something about it.
Alright, then just GO AWAY.
You have senility. Don’t know about “seniority” though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.