There was some good news for electric travel last week. No, I’m not
talking about the impending wave (trickle?) of electric vehicles, but
rather high-speed rail. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Friday that more than 50 high-speed rail projects across 23 states will receive a total of $2.4 billion.
More than $2 billion sounds great, certainly a step up from the paltry funding Amtrak has seen in much of the last decade. The majority of that money will go to California, Florida, Iowa and Michigan for rail projects. But to think that this funding is sowing the seeds of TGV or Shinkansen-style travel is misguided, at best.
In most regions of the world, HSR is defined as sustained travel at more than 100 mph. The latest models operating in Spain, China and other countries operate at 220 mph and beyond. However, the Detroit-to-Chicago project, which received $161 million, will top out at around 100 mph. Wow, 100 sounds a lot better than 60 mph on a highway. But so does 140 mph, which is what the Northeast Corridor’s Acela is capable of cruising along at if…
To read the full, original article click on this link: The Hoax of (Not Really) High-Speed Rail : Greentech Media
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