Re: CA HSR Update? SS/DD at the Runaway Money Train
Author: No
Date: 08-20-2018 - 09:27
Existing equipment (new Chargers are good to 125, but not the trains themselves) is good for 110 max - probably 90 realistically (it operates at 90 on parts of LOSSAN now. Throw in stops at Hanford, Corcoran, and Wasco (which Cal-Amtrak has to make - it supplies local transportation not flyover), and the best you could probably do is a bit under 2 hours. Cal-Amtrak trains with diesels don't accelerate as quickly as electric, so stops make a significant difference in total time.
Straight-through driving time Fresno-Bakersfield on 99, outside of peak hours, is near 2 hours (obeying the speed limit) or 1 1/2 hours (driving 90+, which much of the non-truck traffic is doing; it's F&F out there based on recent experience).