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Re: Freight on HSR tracks: a dumb idea
Author: III
Date: 05-05-2021 - 11:32
I suggest building an expensive rail line thru the Tehachapis paralleling the 1870's Tehachapi Loop alignment is poor planning. It constitutes a detour far removed from the optimal north-south route thru Tejon and will very likely be underutilized, a crappy cost-benefit ratio.
Judging from PB's performance so far they will likely allocate enormous amounts of money to keep ruling gradients below 4-5%. And the HSR clearances will be too tight for class 1 freight. But if this thing proves the financial albatross I imagine at a certain future point it could be unloaded at fire sale prices by the State.
Who knows where rail freight is going in the US looking forward, but if it booms in the extended Amazon era and if energy of all kinds becomes really expensive I could see a flush UP-BNSF gutting the PB engineering and repurposing the Tehachapi line. Perhaps diesel will be so high they will welcome the catenary already in place.
Meantime Cox was on tv news this am railing against the Valley Crazy Train so the latter could become a major controversy in the recall.
Judging from PB's performance so far they will likely allocate enormous amounts of money to keep ruling gradients below 4-5%. And the HSR clearances will be too tight for class 1 freight. But if this thing proves the financial albatross I imagine at a certain future point it could be unloaded at fire sale prices by the State.
Who knows where rail freight is going in the US looking forward, but if it booms in the extended Amazon era and if energy of all kinds becomes really expensive I could see a flush UP-BNSF gutting the PB engineering and repurposing the Tehachapi line. Perhaps diesel will be so high they will welcome the catenary already in place.
Meantime Cox was on tv news this am railing against the Valley Crazy Train so the latter could become a major controversy in the recall.
