High-Speed Train - Term Paper Example

This paper will examine the merits of having a high speed train service between Las Vegas and Los Angeles There has been talk of constructing a high speed train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for almost 30 years now. Most people believe that the congestion on the I-15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles can be avoided by the construction and use of high speed trains between both cities, thus the need for effective high speed rail. According to Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, “after taking a drive to southern California, one will be able to appreciate the need for high-speed rail.” (Reid, Harry). The U.S. secretary of transport recently announced the designation of a high-speed rail corridor between these cities, and this should open up the release of federal funds for the building of the rail line. According to Secretary Ray LaHood, “8 billion dollars has been set aside for high speed rail. What jump starts our opportunity in America is the President’s initiative that Congress passed to put $8 billion in the economic recovery” (Secretary Ray LaHood, D.O.T) I believe that the construction and usage of high speed train transportation between these 2 metropolitan areas would effectively reduce pollution and congestion, as it will take many cars off the roads. It is estimated that about 170,000 vehicles travel the I-15 into Las Vegas. Woody Woodrow, who is a resident of Las Vegas and a native of Los Angeles, stated that “if the price was right and the timing was right and it took less than a flight to get here, I would absolutely take it. I think it's a great idea” (Woodward Woody, Las Vegas resident) It is paradoxical that the same people opposing the construction and usage of a speed train between these cities are the same ones who complain about the lack of an efficient mass transit system. High speed rail High speed rail can be said to be a proven technology, as decades of experience on the use of high speed rail in other parts of the world have shown. Thus, high speed rail provides a comfortable and convenient way for Americans to travel from one city to another. These 2 cities should endeavor to avail themselves of this technology in a comprehensive manner, as there has been heavy investment in this mode of mass transit. The population of both cities is expected to continue to rise significantly over the next few decades and although an inability to travel quickly by high speed rail between Los Angeles and Las Vegas might not currently look like a major deficiency, it probably would appear to be so in the next few decades. According to Wilton Woods (1989) “future intercity future intercity passenger mobility will be dependent on fully utilizing all of the available options. However, much of the criticism of high speed rail is based on concerns about its cost-effectiveness in the near to medium term. This is of particular concern since HSR is likely to rely more heavily than other modes (automobile, air, and intercity bus) on general tax revenues as opposed to user fees/taxes, although the user fees/taxes that support those other modes may not cover their so-called externality costs i.e. costs that those modes impose on other people, such as environmental pollution and deaths and injuries due to crashes” (Wilton Woods 1989) Critics of high speed rail travel say that it is not very cost effective, but numerous benefits have been cited in support of the development of high speed rail, including the reduction of pollution and energy usage in the transportation sector, the potential to alleviate airport and highway congestion, improving transportation safety, promoting economic development, the provision of more options for travelers, and increasing the reliability of transport by increasing redundancy in the transportation system. Alleviation of congestion in airports and highways High speed rail has the capability of relieving air traffic and highway congestion in heavily traveled corridors. The use of high speed rail can also be beneficial to commuter rail and freight rail movements if utilized on a separate right-of-way, as such services tend to share the same tracks used by already existing inter-city passenger train services. Thus, by the alleviation of congestion, high speed rail has the potential to reduce the need to spend money on capacity expansions in other modes. Research and studies have been conducted, showing the need for high speed rail to be extremely competitive in the area of speed and cost, in order to attract automobile travelers, because automobile travel offers more flexibility in the area of departure time, and does not require people to share their space with strangers. Although the effects of high speed rail on air traffic congestion are not very clear, it is likely that given the right circumstances, most air travelers will prefer high speed rail. This is because high speed rail is more comparable to air travel than automobile travel Literature review In a study carried out in 1997, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) estimated that about 20 to 50 percent of commuters will switch from air travel to high speed rail and even a higher percentage will switch if faster forms of high speed rail are in use. With such relatively high diversion rates from air travel to high speed rail, there would probably be a decrease in the number of flights in some travel corridors, even though air travel companies may substitute smaller air planes in an attempt to accommodate the decrease in demand. “This may also result in an improvement of accessibility to other areas and to the overall level of accessibility when taken together with high speed rail” (Federal Railroad Administration) Most studies have shown that high speed rail fares must be substantially subsidized, in order to ensure competitive rates, due to the high capital and operational costs involved in high speed rail. In heavily congested areas, “it is likely that high speed rail will be more effective and also less expensive per passenger in order to relieve air traffic congestion by the combination of certain factors. Another major advantage of high speed rail is the use of energy that relatively causes less environmental pollution than other inter-city transportation methods. According to the California high speed rail authority, “high speed rail uses 1/3 the energy of travel and 1/5 the energy of automobile travel” (California High Speed Rail Official Site) Although the physics of high speed rail generally tends to provide favorably low carbon emission and energy intensive attributes when compared to air travel and highway travel, these advantages depend to a large extent upon assumed high passenger loads. The energy and carbon emission of construction, maintenance and rebuilding of rail infrastructure may also not be fully taken into account. In 1956, the United States congress passed the high speed ground transportation act, and this led to a partnership between the United States department of transportation and some industrial manufacturers like the Pennsylvania railroad corporation. This partnership culminated in the development of a metro-liner service that was estimated to travel at a speed of about 201 kilometers per hour (125 miles per hour) The Pennsylvania-operated metro-liners were replaced 2 years later by Amtrak, and Amtrak took over the railway system. The government of the united states also continued to the viability of constructing a fast-train network as time went by, and in 1984, the Passenger Railroad Rebuilding Act of 1980 led to further funding of studies on high speed train corridors. Private sector consortia were also created in California, Ohio, Nevada, Texas and Florida. Thus, high speed magnetic levitation trains gained popularity and were officially incorporated into the railroad program. There was an endorsement of 5 high speed rail corridors in October 1992, as a result of the passing of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991 Traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas by air one would probably have to deal with the stress of delay in traffic, acquiring flight tickets, and various security-related delays inside the airport. Traveling by road could also mean that one would have to spend 8 or more hours sitting behind the steering wheel, staring at long miles of blacktop. High speed rail provides a more scenic route and ensures that problems like these are overcome, as a new generation of super trains will be introduced to transport travelers between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The journey from Las Vegas to Los Angeles will be drastically shortened by hours. At Present, high-speed railway systems exist in Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Germany, and Japan. In the United States, however, the closest thing to high speed rail is the Amtrak Metroliner, which runs between Washington and New York and achieves a maximum speed of about 130 miles per hour (Ross, 7). With highways that were originally designed to carry us into the twenty-first century already filled to capacity, most parts of the United States need an alternative form of transportation. Traffic congestion in the areas near our nation's airports, as well as air and noise pollution, and recent safety concerns show that air travel is far from an ideal means of transportation. Also, limited space for road construction, alarming numbers of traffic fatalities, and the continuous damage to the environment further emphasize the importance of a movement away from automobiles as our primary sources of transportation. The high-speed rail system proposed by the California Intercity High Speed Rail Commission would employ innovative technology to create a superior form of transportation. “A 1992 study by the New York State Thruway Authority estimated that an intrastate maglev system would carry about five million riders per year and would decrease emissions and fuel use by an amount equivalent to 300 million car miles per year” (Ross, 8). In the past, the United States has been extremely reluctant to accept the idea of high-speed rail. “A likely cause of this reluctance was the state of Texas' failed attempts at implementing a network known as the Super-train. These plans fizzled out when an American-French partnership announced that it simply could not raise the $170 million necessary to begin the project by its December 1993 deadline” (Mahtesian, 25). Since this time, the question of who will pay for these projects has long been the preventing force for proposed high-speed rail systems. In Ohio, for example, voters rejected a one cent sales tax increase in 1982 that would have helped pay for a ten billion dollar system connecting most of the state's more heavily populated cities. Part of this lack of interest by the public is due to the fact that Americans simply do not feel the need to replace their beloved automobiles. Former Chairmen of the Ohio High-Speed Rail Authority Robert Boggs articulates this fact by saying, "The opinion of many Americans is that the rail is an obsolete service that is no longer needed... We've had a hard time convincing the public of the need for another alternative in public transportation" (Mahtesian, 27). “In addition, maglev systems are almost twice as fast as conventional trains; they can reach speeds close to that of a jet plane, without the danger involved with takeoff and landing. Maglev trains also contain no moving parts, making wear and tear almost negligible. Unlike the passenger speed trains of other countries, the rail system proposed by the California Commission would carry freight in addition to passengers. Transportation experts say that by essentially cutting the transport times in half for various goods, a maglev system could significantly change the economic dynamics” (Ross, 10). Another huge benefit of a high-speed rail system is that commuters between both cities will be able to use their time in transit more efficiently. Although much of the general public does not embrace the idea of high-speed rail systems, many transportation planners feel that these systems are not only important but essential to the future of our nation. As Hale noted, “We just cannot build new airports in places like Las Vegas or Los Angeles anymore, but we do have an ongoing transportation need that has to be met” (Hale, 5) Conclusion In recent years, high speed rail options have been steadily growing more attractive due to the congestion at airports and highways, and the increasing cost of jet fuel. Higher airport security rules about electronics and liquids have also forced baggage checking of most travelers, thus leading to high speed rail option. When one considers the fact that a one-hour flight may not be necessarily faster if the time spent on the taxi ride to the airport and the time for security processing are factored in. I believe that high speed rail is more fuel efficient than airplanes, so a significant increase in the price of fuel ensure that high speed rail have an edge over air transport. Nowadays, High-Speed rail is competing directly with automobile and air travel. High speed rail is very convenient and fast, which makes it the better method of travel. High speed rail is the best solution for faster travel, and people want to travel at a faster speed. High speed rail is also cheaper and it is more reliable than other methods of transport. These days, less and less land is available for construction, but there are still millions of automobiles the highways on a yearly basis. The roads are overloaded and the congestion in the airports, coupled with increasing safety measures being taken in air travel signal the need for an alternate method of transportation like high speed rail. It is thus necessary to implement the use of a high speed rail system between Los Angeles and Las Vegas Bibliography California High Speed Rail Official Site EC Directive 96/48 defines high-speed rail in terms of speeds of the order of 125 mph (200 km/h) for existing, upgraded lines; and 155 mph (250 km/h) for lines specially built for high-speed travel. Federal Railroad Administration: Passenger Rail". http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/618. General Definitions of Highspeed". International Union of Railways. http://www.uic.org/spip.php?article971. High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan" (PDF). Federal Railroad Administration. April 2009. p. 10. http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/RRdev/hsrstrategicplan.pdf. High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan: Press Release & Highlights" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation. April 16, 2009. http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/RRdev/hsrpressrelease.pdf. Jim Scribbins (2007). The Hiawatha Story. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press Kalmbach Publishing Co. Scribbins, Jim (2008). The 400 Story. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press PTJ: Park Forest, IL Secretary Ray LaHood, (D.O.T) Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) Tracy, Dan (2009-02-27). "High-speed rail depends on Crist, board says". Orlando Sentinel. U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Guidelines for Receiving Economic Recovery Funds for High-Speed Rail". http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/press-releases/250. UTA getting aboard high-speed rail". Deseret News. September 11, 2009. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705328515/UTA-getting-aboard-high-speed-rail.html. US High Speed Rail Association Official Site Woodward Woody, Las Vegas resident Wilton Woods (1989). All Aboard High-Speed Trains. Fortune Magazine. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1989/10/23/72635/index.htm. Hale, Lysa. (1996). Are There Super Trains on California's Horizon? Mahtesian, Charles. (1994, August). The Snail's Pace of High Speed Rail. Governing, pp. 25-29. Ross, Elizabeth. (1994, May). High-Speed Rail on the Fast Track. Christian Science Monitor. pp. 7-10. Thorson, Larry. (1994, April 17). Germany Pursues High-Tech Future On Rail. New Hampshire News. pp. 68 Read More