High Speed Rail (HSR) is the favorite moniker to describe the new era of trains envisioned and partially down-paid by the recent stimulus. The idea, linking major regional corridors via fast trains that rival door-to-door times for air travel and put highways to shame, is a powerful elixir to the crunch of congested highways and airways that represented a failed – or to be more accurate, incomplete - twentieth century vision to satiate America's transport needs. Perhaps this vision, if implemented with undeterred gusto, can renew our perception of travel and convenience while simultaneously reinvigorating our gagged transportation system.
High Speed Rail
Report Calls Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail Doable
High speed rail advocates in Chicago have released a study that says building a 220-m.p.h. train between Chicago and St. Louis is an achievable goal.
Chicago Tribune
Masterplanning the Architecture of the Near Future
As the population rises, underused and empty spaces are going to fill in. How well the transition works depends on shifts in demographics and infrastructure, as well as architecture. A studio of UCLA architecture students were asked to plot that transition. But before they could be architects, they had to be planners.
What Happened to America's Trains?
In an age of rapid technological improvements in almost every aspect of life, it's difficult to understand how a technology like trains could actually be less advanced now than it was in the 1940s, writes Tom Vanderbilt.
Slate
High Speed Rail Funds on the Way for California and Florida
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said recently that California and Florida are likely to be the first recipients of stimulus funding for high speed rail projects.
The Wall Street Journal
The Planetizen News Brief - 5/7/09
4:30 minutes (4.18 MB)
Neighbors come together, cities sue the California High Speed Rail project, and London's got its eye on a "living bridge", all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
California Cities to Sue Over High Speed Rail Route
A group of cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are going to file a lawsuit next month over the chosen route for California's planned high speed rail route between the Bay Area and Southern California.
The San Francisco Examiner
CA High Speed Rail Authority's Hopes Could Be Dashed
While the HSR Authority hopes to get at least half of the $8 billion ARRA funding, it has yet to market any of the $10 billion in bonds passed by the voters because of its budget problems. Criticism abounds.
Sacramento Bee
Insufficient Funding for High Speed Rail?
The stimulus plan includes $8 billion for investments in high-speed rail, but some critics point out that this isn't nearly enough to bring these plans to fruition.
MSNBC
Japan's Bullet Trains to Top 310 MPH by 2025
High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.
Los Angeles Times
Time May Be Right for Mag-Lev From Vegas to SoCal
A magnetic levitation train link between Anaheim and Las Vegas has been on the table for 30 years. Now could be the time the project finally gets enough traction to go from idea to reality.
Las Vegas Sun
Planned SF Transit Terminal May Be Obsolete By 2030
Designs for the new Transbay Terminal in San Francisco may not be able to handle the amount of passengers expected by 2030, according to transportation officials. Some are calling for a redesign of the plans, set to begin construction next year.
San Francisco Chronicle
The Train in Spain Beats the Plane
As air travel security tightens and high speed rail expands, getting in and around Spain is becoming easier on the rails than in the sky.
NPR
Stimulus Should Get Rail Back on Track
Treehugger interviews urban designer, New Urbanist, and rail advocate Andy Kunz about the stimulus package and how it will benefit high speed rail in America.
Treehugger
Midwest Expecting High Speed Rail Windfall From Stimulus
The Midwest has high hopes on capturing a big chunk of the federal stimulus money directed towards high speed rail projects.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Stimulus For Transit, Un-Stimulus For Auto Industry
Funding in the federal stimulus package for high speed rail has been cheered by transit advocates across the country. This opinion piece argues that in addition, funds should be taken away from the auto industry.
The Boston Globe
The Planetizen News Brief - 1/29/09
4:40 minutes (4.28 MB)
Obama reverses a controversial Bush decision, the market crash spurs land conservation, and an economic stimulus gets transit moving in China -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on "Smart City".
Stimulus Gets Transportation Projects Moving - In China
While the U.S. waffles over its stimulus package, China is two months into a grand countrywide transportation facelift, building high-speed rail, expanding freight capacity and generally beefing up the country's mobility.
The New York Times
California's High Speed Rail Struggles Through Recession
The economic recession is hurting the California High Speed Rail Authority, the lead agency developing the high speed rail network for which the state's voters approved $10 billion in bonds in 2008. With no buyers, the bond money is unavailable.
San Francisco Chronicle
Federal Funding Seems Likely for California High Speed Rail
California transportation officials are confident that federal support will back up $10 billion in recently approved bond sales to fund the state's proposed high speed rail system.
San Francisco Chronicle
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TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp Webinar
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Wednesday, December 2, 11am PST/2pm EST
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TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp - Modeling Buildings
- Subway Sociology
- Free Electricity for the Poor
- Fort Collins is Feelin' Fine
- The $28 Trillion Question
- Visualizing Unemployment During the Recession
- Windsor + Detroit = BFF?
- Canada Increasing Investment in Carbon Capture
- DC Metro's Death Toll Rises
- Function Over Geometry
- 'Getting Religion' in Water Conservation
"Hoboken Daylighting" In Lieu Of Bump-Outs -- Ian Sacs
Learning from TTI -- Michael Lewyn
Automobility and Freedom: Conflicts and Resolutions -- Todd Litman
Somewhere Between Blight and Gentrification... -- Diana DeRubertis
The Future of American High Speed Rail: Regional and Slow -- Robert Goodspeed
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