General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Time for High Speed Rail in the U.S.A. [View all]DFW
(54,302 posts)Most of our rails date from 50 (or more!) years ago. Here in Europe, they are being constantly renewed.
The fastest train in the world is useless if the tracks upon which it runs will only safely support traffic at 75 mph. What used go be an 8 hour train trip from Madrid to Barcelona can now be made in two and a half hours on a nonstop high speed train that runs every hour on special tracks. Building the tracks took a loooong time and was horribly expensive. Same with Paris-Brussels (was 3 hours nonstop, is now 80 minutes nonstop). Düsseldorf-Frankfurt was 2:45, is now 1:25. Düsseldorf-Berlin was 7:30, now its 4:00 or less. I havent flown the route in 20 years or more, and Im in Berlin a couple of times a year.
You need the land, the will, the time, the resources and the money. Leave out even one of those factors, and your high speed rail route remains a fantasy.