Posted on 06/11/2010 7:43:40 AM PDT by Willie Green
America has a “waiting problem.”
Think about the time you spend waiting in traffic jams… at the doctor/dentist’s office… at restaurants… at the gas station.
And how about the six months of your life spent waiting at traffic lights? Or the five years you’ll spend just waiting in lines at retail stores, the post office, DMV, etc. (Early buyers of Apple’s products likely spend far more.)
And according to Robert Poole, Director of Transportation Policy at the Reason Foundation, the average air traveler now spends two to three hours waiting at the airport. Granted, much of that is due to more rigorous security screening – time that is generally well spent – but air travel delays and traffic jams are only going to get worse, as more people take to the skies and roads.
In short, we wait an average of 45 to 62 minutes every single day. And that’s less time spent with family and friends, or doing other more productive, enjoyable activities.
Other countries have already recognized the problem and have addressed it for years. But the United States has failed miserably. So how can we improve our “waiting efficiency?” There’s a solution…
A Great Idea… Until Henry Ford Drove it Off the Rails
It’s called high-speed passenger rail.
I’ll get to the high-speed part in a moment. First, a quick overview of the U.S. rail service today.
Much of America’s freight still travels by rail. In fact, more than two billion tons plowed across the country in 2007 (the latest data available). It’s the transport mainstay for coal, lumber and other heavy industrial products and machinery.
Passenger rail service in the United States dates all the way back to 1830 when the “Best Friend of Charleston” – the first steam-powered train – traveled six miles with 141 passengers on board.
Boston, Baltimore and other major cities quickly established major railroads, due to the lack of river access to U.S. inland areas. And the idea of being able to travel, regardless of weather conditions – and at high speeds, too – was a big hit with most Americans.
As a result, passenger rail service soared…
But then Henry Ford came along and changed the playing field. When he introduced the mass-produced automobile in the following decade, rail travel fell by 18%.
And today?
700 Miles and a Tank of Gas Later…
Fast-forward to 2010…
You’d think that in today’s high-tech age, we could combine speed with efficiency and wouldn’t spend so long waiting. But that’s not the case. And with transportation, it’s an increasingly expensive wait for most Americans.
Take the average car, for instance. Fully loaded with five passengers, it gets about 100 passenger-miles-per-gallon (PMPG).
And according to the Department of Energy, the average passenger jet only gets about 36 PMPG. Of course, the trade-off there is speed.
But how about that speed/low-cost equation? Especially for regional travel? Europe and Asia already manage it. And we can here, too.
The answer lies in the method that squeezes out 700 PMPG.
You got it… high-speed trains. You can string their “cars” together and carry far more passengers than the average commercial jetliner. And these trains blast along at speeds of nearly 250 MPH.
So which company is behind this rapid rail transportation?
This Company Feels the Need… the Need for Speed
Take a quick jaunt around the globe and you’ll see this company’s trains in use all over the place…
The company we’re talking about is Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) – the largest manufacturer of high-speed trains in the world.
Its Valero high-speed train technology is the world’s most successful. Siemens currently has 160 trains in operation and hundreds more on order.
And for speed-hungry America, it’s the perfect fit…
“All Aboard!”
Siemens is pushing hard to get its Valero high-speed train technology widely adopted across the U.S. rail network. Interest is high, too. There are several high-speed rail projects in the works…
Critics argue that few people will ride the high-speed rails. But frankly, that’s a myopic view. They’re not counting on expensive gasoline, because cheap gas is a thing of the past.
As if further proof were needed, U.S. politicians simply need to look around the world to see what other countries are investing in transportation and energy infrastructure.
They need to roll up their sleeves and get the same things going here.
And while you wait, you might want to hop onboard the Siemens train and pick up a few shares.
Good investing,
David Fessler
Uhhh, they need 1500 miles to make a functional rail line between Edinburgh and London. Sidings, passes, etc. means you lay more line than just the distance. I guess that's beyond your comprehension, though!
And once again, you refuse to give a number. If my numbers are bad, Willie, then what numbers are good? Barring your own set of numbers, and a realistic counter to what I've posted, it's your word against hard references, and that means you got squat.
So put up or shut up, Willie. What's the number, and what's the source?
I'll go with those numbers.
You want to spend $500 billion on high-speed rail here in the US???
Then that should produce $809 billion in extra revenue and economic benefits.
You say it costs $3 Trillion instead???
Ok, then that's $4.8 Trillion in extra revenue and economic benefits.
Bottom line: it's a good investment because it pays back more than it costs.
So no answers again, Willie. It’s OK to admit you don’t know, don’t be ashamed of your ignorance, own it then cure it.
So no answers again, WillieI come up with a linked source and numbers that show that a project that YOU selected is economically beneficial, and all you can come up with is a lame claim that I didn't come up with any answers???
Hey... if high-speed rail is economically worthwhile in Britain, it will also be worthwhile here.
And if the Brits can afford it, we can afford at least a dozen times more.
Sorry I shouldn’t pay to bring back your memories..
That’s fine, I don’t expect you to. If I need to recreate memories of traveling by train, I’ll fly to Europe. :)
The other problem with an increased reliance on train travel is the union presence. It’s not unusual in European countries for the public transportation to just stop. The workers just leave the vehicles and hang around until the strike ends. Sometimes it’s a few hours, sometimes its days.
I’m more of a car person now anyway. The magic of the Great American road trip is what inspires me!
Cushy jobs for brain dead slobs!!!
What is so bad about the Highway system?? It allowed Americans to move more freely than before..
Congestion isn’t the problem.
cost
Those strikes also happen on the highways in Europe. I was in England for a truckers strike once. Europe is always a bad example to use.
I haven’t seen or a heard of a railroad strike in Japan.
Actually we pay the cost of the highway through gas taxes and toll roads.. I take the freedom part... Why makes you think high speed rail is going to be cheaper??
Use to be that passenger railroads were privately funded. Along came the government and the interstate highway system.
By the way tolls and gas tax only pays about 70% of the cost now. The interstate system is in need of serious repair.
Cause of the money being spent on pet projects. Don’t fall for the lie that our highway system is falling apart. To me it is union propaganda. You might as well face the fact: PASSENGER RAIL IN AMERICA IS DEAD!!
As a civil engineer in the transportation industry, I can honestly assure you your opinion is dead wrong.
“The switch to diesel was done almost overnight...”
If you think twenty five years is overnight, well, okay.
The switch to Diesel was held off during WWII delaying the switch. Infrastrucure support for steam is what was turned off almost overnight. Coal and water stations were all shutdown within ten years. Steam trains had no where to go.
The last standard gauge class 1 regular service steam engine served in October of 1962. If 37 years can be considered overnight, I guess I'll agree.
It was not the purchase of diesel over 37 years it was the abandonment of the service stops of the steam train. The plug was pulled on the service stops overnight. Hence the railroads had equipment in good running condition that they could not use. And it was done virtually overnight. At the time of rapidly declining revenue the railroads needed to replace perfectly good equipment with very expensive new equipment. Most railroads made the switch in 1955 with a few lines hanging on into the 1960’s. It was a cost saving for the future but at the time it was a huge expenditure. Railroads had a few diesel engines before WWII but they were mostly running steam. Railroads did not start buying diesel engines in mass until after WWII. So within 10 years they had completely converted power.
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