Given its unprecedented “scale and scope”, California's bullet train poses a plethora of complex challenges to engineers and train planners, reports Ralph Vartabedian, yet it also seizes their imaginations.
A modern attempt is now underway to echo the bold effort that connected the Bay Area and Southern California by rail in 1874. This time, "[t]unneling machines as long as a football field will have to be jockeyed into mountain canyons to do the heavy, back-breaking work once left to Chinese laborers," writes Vartabedian.
"The sheer scale and scope of the bullet train's push into Southern California, including traversing complex seismic hazards, would rival construction of the state's massive freeway system, water transport networks and its port complexes."
The project will traverse not only the Tehachapi Mountains, but also the San Gabriel Mountains, arguably "the greatest design challenge of the $68-billion project" says Vartabedian. Running through a geographical obstacle course, it will soar over canyons, duck in and out of tunnels, and climb some of the steepest high-speed rail inclines, all the while maintaining a speed of 220 mph.
Among other things, engineers must figure out the best, and perhaps straightest, route that will allow the high-speed train to fulfill a legal mandate that they travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than two hours and 40 minutes. Vartabedian adds, "[i]f completed as planned, [the project will] close a gap in the state's rail network. Today, Amtrak passengers have to take a bus from downtown Los Angeles to Bakersfield to catch northbound trains."
Though unprecedented in Southern California, more complex projects than this have been completed in China and Switzerland, and project managers, engineers and experts remain confident.
FULL STORY: Bullet-train planners face huge engineering challenge
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.