Comments on: Intercity Trains: How Good Do Connections Need to Be?

By: BOB2

BOB2 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:02:03 +0000

Connectivity and effective regional transit, regional rail, and corridor services are vital to making any proposed high speed systems work. Integration of these systems allows for greater flexibility and coverage by such systems. California’s “ultra” high speed system, with its fixation on maximum acheivable speed, is not building an such an integrated rail passenger system. The CHSRA is a program that threatens to become a cosstly and ineffective boondoggle, as a result. It threatens to take limited funds away from far more cost effective and environmentally beneficial investments in regional transit and reginal rail services. The poor planning and bloated design of the “ultra” high speed system in California, seems more designed to maximize the number of contracts that can be given to insiders, than to create and effective and useful high speed passenger rail system.

By: mrek

mrek — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 18:17:58 +0000

There are exceptions to everything. Burbank airport in the LA area is walkable to several nearby hotels and a train station, but except for the highest priced brands is a shuttle ride from rental cars. The train station has Amtrak and local commute train service at fairly frequent intervals (except mid-morning); a ticket from the machine can be used for the 20-30 minute ride to downtown LA on either line and serves as a transfer to most transit at the downtown end (shuttles, subway, etc.). Agree though that more typical airports are walkable only to the bus stops and taxi stands, if that. And also agree (look at what the Europeans are doing) that HSR needs to stop at BOTH downtown and the airport(s) – downtown stations will never have parking to support access (by car; transit doesn’t do this) with luggage, but airports do, and for the foreseeable future trips beyond HSR range (say, over 500 miles) will continue to be mostly by air so the transfer has to be convenient.

By: clever-title

clever-title — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:18:56 +0000

Also, there’s a good chance of an “if you build it, they will come” effect if more passengers use a train station. In NYC, NY Waterway provides several free bus routes around Manhattan, as their terminal is at the edge of the city (of course). A for-profit jitney bus service is possible if there are enough passengers. Even simpler, the city can simply reduce the restriction on the number of taxis.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:40:45 +0000

Another way to maximize the value of investing in high-speed rail is to integrate it with our existing airport infrastructure. I have a longer description of this idea here:
http://bit.ly/Ub1Sv

By: Red

Red — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:38:49 +0000

Yes, and even if the destination is not within walking distance, it’s far more likely than you can get there with a $10 cab ride instead of the $40 trip from the airport.