Are the trains in Spain faster than the planes?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

If you’ve ever had a chance to travel around Europe, you’re probably familiar with its various high-speed rail networks. In France, the TGV and AGV lines whisk passengers between Paris and points beyond including Brussels and Lyon at speeds over 200 miles per hour. And in Spain, the AVE rail system connects Madrid to Seville and as of 2008, to Barcelona as well.

According to a recent post at Wired, the new high speed link between Spain’s two biggest cities has had a dramatic effect on the country’s transportation network. In 2007, the airline route between Madrid and Barcelona was the busiest in the world, carrying over 70 percent of the passengers traveling between the two. Yet upon the opening of the new Barcelona rail line last year, that percentage has already dropped to 60 percent, and experts predict the number of plane and train passengers on the route will be equal within the next 2 years.

Aside from the obvious environmental benefits of traveling by rail instead of air, there’s a significant convenience advantage as well. As heavy airplane traffic continues to choke airport runways worldwide, it’s likely many of us will be turning to the railways for trips shorter than three hours. And when you think about it, by the time you’ve made it through TSA clearance, located your gate and fought for an overhead bin spot, your quick two hour plane trip has often turned into four or five. Here’s hoping the U.S. continues to look into similar high-speed rail solutions like Acela. It’s no AVE yet, but certainly a good first step.

[Via PSFK]

China plans 236 mph rail link between Shanghai and Beijing

by Scott Carmichael on

The Chinese rail Ministry has announced plans to link the nations capital with its financial capital. Beijing and Shanghai are a little over 650 miles apart, and the current rail link takes over 10 hours.

The Chinese claim to have mastered the technology required to build their own high speed trains, and plan to operate them on the new line at speeds up to 236mph (380 km/h) which should cut the current journey time in half.

Previous high speed rail projects in China include one of the first commercial Maglev links which operates between Shanghai and the airport. In 2005 a regular high speed link between Beijing and Tianjin was opened and is based on the highly successful German ICE rolling stock.

High speed rail links have changed the landscape in Europe, and dedicated high speed lines already link the UK with France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.

Being able to commute from city center to city center in under 5 hours will prove to be a very efficient solution in China, and will most certainly eat away at the airline market. The line is scheduled to be completed in 2012, a mere 4 years from now.

Why Trains Suck in America

by Neil Woodburn on

My very first trip on a train didn’t occur until after graduating from college in the U.S. and visiting Europe for the first time. Since then, I’ve been on many trains, but only one of which was in the United States.

Train travel, if not already dead, is certainly in the terminal state in the United States. Very few people bother to ever jump on a train and when they do, they discover and antiquated system of delays, inconvenient terminals, and expensive tickets. Amtrak–the major American train service in America–is an embarrassment.

In other countries around the globe, however, trains are not only a lesson in efficiency, but already existing networks and rolling stock are constantly being upgraded into the 21st century, laments David Wolman, writing for Wired Magazine.

Take, for example, the Paris-to-Strasbourg super train which zooms between the two cities at 357 miles per hour. The company which built this high speed rail is now looking for other customers in China and India. But not the United States.

Wolman points out a couple of reasons why train travel is not as popular in the United States;

Distances are much farther between cities than they are in Europe
American roads tend to be in better condition
Gas is cheap

High speed rail is not an impossibility in America, however. There has been talk for years about building a line from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. And currently, there is a bill floating around the California legislature for a high speed rail between Sacramento and San Diego. But don’t get too excited. Wolman points out that the last time such an idea was under consideration in Texas, it was squashed by a powerful Southwest Airlines lobby.

Don’t you just love America at times?

Bullet Trains in Spain

by Iva Skoch on

An interesting article (which was actually a long, but well-written advertisement!) in MIT’s Technology Review this month, talks about Spain’s push to lay high-speed rail throughout the country.

Spain had been hampered historically, from interlacing their rail system with the rest of Europe, since they used a different gauge track; but they developed high-speed switching wheels that switch gauge at the push of a button, and they’re laying new track with the European standard gauge. Their push is so big, that since 2003, Spain is putting more money in rail than in roads, seeking to link all of their major cities with high-speed rail by 2020: 10,000 km in all, servicing 90% of their population.

Already, the Seville to Madrid line is fully operational (and only 2 hours, 20 minutes), and is so efficient that they’ll refund your money if the train is more than five minutes late (which happens only 0.25% of the time). Their trains reach speeds above 200 km/hour (120 mph), and hit as high as 300 kph (185 mph).

Why the push for rail? One big reason is oil independence, and another is air pollution. Rail helps with both goals, plus, it whisks travelers right into the heart of the city.