high speed rail

[knotskeart]

i see our government is ready to subsidize the construction of high speed rail in 6-10 different areas of the country. anybody know if these or all intend to be electrified and how close they may be to actually breaking ground. i know a few years back the acela line from washington to boston employed alot of linemen from locals 42 and 104 for a couple of years working 7-12's. good money with good long term work. any info (even rumors) at this point would be appreciated.

[BigClive]

They're talking about high speed rail in the UK as well, but considering that most of the work done on our ruined rail system is done by "corporate contractors" who employ off the street with crash-course training, I doubt any British organisation could actually install a high speed system that didn't derail and crash on a regular basis. :mad:

[knotskeart]

i hear ya brother, i don't think this acela line has ever operated at the speeds it was designed for. the catanary lines were all built by union line hands in the northeast and were done to spec and are reliable (so i don't think the actual construction is to blame) but they have had endless problems with the trains themselves. not to mention that the government can't seem to ever get anything quite right. i hope that if this new rail line is going to be electrified that this work goes to union electrical contractors so it at least has a chance . also it would provide alot of long term, high paying jobs. truth is the electrical grid in the u.s. is horribly outdated and needs to be replaced, but after paying off the big wigs there just isn't enough money left to employ the people who could make it work.

[BigClive]

Suppose to be up and runnin by 14-15. Don't know if it's 'lectric or not. I'll tell ya if I find out. Did hear they were gonna be bringin in alot of "foreign" "expertice" though, cause the expertice on that shit is definately overseas.


The Germans are pretty good at that sort of thing. I guess the Japanese are too.

[BigClive]

Actually Knot....I think shit like this should be in the "Politics and Bullshit" Forum. Not the Linework Forum.


Typically the overhead lines on an electric railway network will be in the region of 25kV and have a lot in common with electrical distribution linework including the control and switching gear. The same guys that do linework can do railway overhead lines, albeit with different access equipment (steel climbers and rail riding bucket trucks.

[topgroove]

I have to agree with you swamp. We have a highspeed amtrack line that runs the northeast corridor but the average speed is only about 68 MPH it hits 150MPH in spots. I guess its great for people commuting to work in big cities like NY, Philly,Boston and Washington where traffic is a nightmare. The Orlando to Tampa line seams like a waste... What the hell are you gonna do once you get there without a car? High speed rail works where you have a large population that lives well outside of a big city but work in the city. Places like Tokyo, Paris, London. Places that are too damn expensive to actually live in the city.

[knotskeart]

i'll give you the idea that maybe this should have been in the politics forum. i was just wunderin if maybe this stimulus money would trickle down to some jobs available to the workin man. seems about the only way any of this money is gonna get back in the hands of the taxpayers that supply it.

[tramp67]

Most of it will probably go to some oversea company, most likely Mitsubishi in Japan.

[lando]

I know they talked about running it down the median of I-4 a few years ago. Be a good thing if it brings any jobs with it.

[old lineman]

Not just you but many others.
In my opinion this high speed rail thing is a pie in the sky.
From what I gather this funding they are spreading around is so fractured that if it goes ahead and is used for high speed rail there will be a short section here and there and everywhere. Nothing will be connected before the money runs out and it will be like another bridge to no where.
Can you imagine the high speed rail going through the mountainous areas of California on top of an active fault line.
They just gave up the man on the moon idea. Finally they saw through that nonsense.
This is the same money pit.
Get real, you aren't going to get the Americans or the Canadians out of their car to save a few minutes or dollars. Fix the bridges and potholes.
Go for better gas mileage and perfect the electric aspect of autos.
Time to chuck that plan along with the moon.
As for line jobs. You wouldn't even feel the breeze.
The Old Lineman