New trains are very sexy, but what’s really needed is the very unsexy difficult track replacement and enforcing passenger train right of way. (Which may involve side pass extensions and/or freight train length restrictions) More people will travel if the times go down. Maybe the new trains will increase comfort which I could see being a draw.
I read the article but it doesn’t actually clarify why new trains would run slower than old trains on same track. The tracks may be in need of replacement but the current performance still exceeds the replacement performance.
Indeed. "Shinkansen" in Japanese -> "new trunk line" -- in Japan, entirely separate rail lines were built in the early 1960s to support faster train designs. There are speed limits inherent to the existing track infrastructure in the U.S.
New trains are very sexy, but what’s really needed is the very unsexy difficult track replacement and enforcing passenger train right of way. (Which may involve side pass extensions and/or freight train length restrictions) More people will travel if the times go down. Maybe the new trains will increase comfort which I could see being a draw.
I read the article but it doesn’t actually clarify why new trains would run slower than old trains on same track. The tracks may be in need of replacement but the current performance still exceeds the replacement performance.
Indeed. "Shinkansen" in Japanese -> "new trunk line" -- in Japan, entirely separate rail lines were built in the early 1960s to support faster train designs. There are speed limits inherent to the existing track infrastructure in the U.S.