[paul51]

Now, California must connect our major metropolitan cities with an economically viable, environmentally friendly, sustainable high-speed rail system.

I doubt it will be any of those

[Goreknowshowtocheat]

Certainly these trains are not economically viable. The ones in Japan went bankrupt and the govt ended up giving them (no capital cost) to private operators. The only way these make a profit is if the cap cost is zero (taxpayers get hosed).

[GonzoGOP]

economically viable, environmentally friendly, sustainable high-speed rail system.

At best they are going to have to pick two but you aren't likely to get all three. If it low construction and maintenance costs and low environmental impact it won't be high speed. Turn of the century interurbans and modern light rail are the most obvious example here.

If you have the 100% grade separation needed for 70 mph and higher speeds then you have crushing construction costs. Also be prepared for some real fun filling out all those environmental impact forms when you try to throw the right of way across the county side.

If you want 150 mph speeds in a hot climate like Southern California you are going to have high maintenance costs. Steel rails expand when heated by the sun and shrink at night. The heat kinks created in the rail aren't a big problem at low speed, but ruin the ride at high speeds. The French TGVs have to run special rail alignment trains every day in order to ensure proper track alignment for sustained high speed service. All of this is doable, but it isn't cheap and you won't have an economically viable railroad. The French TGVs, Japanese Shinkansen and German ICE trains all run at a loss and require large government subsidies on a per passenger basis.


There are also issues of earthquakes in Southern California, but fortunately the Japanese have developed Urgent Earthquake Detection and Alarm System (UrEDAS) for their Shinkansen to deal with exactly the same issues. Unfortunately UrEDAS doesn't come cheap.

Also be prepared to deal with the EPA complaints about noise pollution, unless you put it under ground or install noise walls along the entire line. It is a choice between environmentally friendly or more construction costs. Unless the only environmental concern you are talking about is carbon reduction.