Bernie Sanders: America's railroads were once the envy of the world....

[Playinghardball]

(video) http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-maglev-train-sets-speed-record-375-mph-2015-4

Japan's maglev train just set a world record speed of 375 mph (over 600 kph) during a manned test run on April 21. Central Japan Railway plans to launch the service of the magnetically levitated train in 2027, connecting Tokyo and Nagoya, a distance of around 186 miles, in just 40 minutes.

The average speed of the maglev train is to be set around 310 mph once it is operating commercially


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-maglev-train-sets-speed-record-375-mph-2015-4#ixzz3YGGSHwib

[Brickbat]

1. Oooh, are we nationalizing railroads now?

[sabrina 1]

15. We could outsource the building of our railroads. I like the idea of

nationalizing them actually. It would certainly be good for Union workers.

[Brickbat]

16. Outsource the building of railroads to whom?

Who do you think builds them now?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Or, we could sell them to Japan.

[hobbit709]

3. And that's not the only thing that has fallen apart.

[House of Roberts]

4. We have a train that can get close to 187 mph?

Did Bernie do his math on that one?

Rail would improve immensely if the companies had to post realistic bonds based upon how much damage a train could do, how many people might get killed. These rail companies run as shell companies with no assets, so they can be dumped into bankruptcy whenever something goes wrong, leaving nothing to sue. I wouldn't ride on one at 60 mph, let alone faster.

If 'we' have to pay for the upgrade to railroads, 'we' won't share in the profits of the rail companies. Let the insurance companies force the upgrades onto the derelict rail tycoons.

[jeff47]

5. The Acela hits 150mph in parts of New England.

Close enough to "half" for a statement.

Real high speed rail requires new track (be it steel rails or maglev) and right-of-ways. So it wouldn't just be a matter of repairing the rails owned by the freight companies.

[LongTomH]

11. Average speeds are less than half!

From Wikipedia's article on high-speed rail in the US::

The travel time between Washington and New York is 2 hours and 53 minutes (compared to 2 hours and 30 minutes for PRR's nonstop Metroliner in 1969), or an average speed of 79 mph (127 km/h). Schedule between New York and Boston is 3 hours 34 minutes, an average speed of only 63 mph (101 km/h). With a 15-minute layover in New York, the entire end-to-end trip averages 68 mph (110 km/h)

Bernie is right; trains like the Metroliner were the envy of the world!

[upaloopa]

6. You pay for air terminals and airline subsidies.

We took the Amtrak Coast Starlight to Seattle from San Luis Obispo. Very nice ride. Took 36 hours. In the dining car each table seats 4 persons. You have to sit with strangers and it was a very good experience. The people we met were very interesting. I'm glad you weren't on the train. We may have had to listen to you complain about the service.

[Surya Gayatri]

7. Then there's France's contribution to high-speed rail technology:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV

A TGV test train set the record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on 3 April 2007. In mid-2011, scheduled TGV trains operated at the highest speeds in conventional train service in the world, regularly reaching 320 km/h (200 mph) on the LGV Est, LGV Rhin-Rhône, and LGV Méditerranée.

[appalachiablue]

8. Took it from Paris to Bordeaux R-T, very nice esp. the fields of sunflowers.

[Surya Gayatri]

10. Have loved the TGV from the day it was born. Smoooooth ride!

[appalachiablue]

12. We did Paris a couple days, the Musee D'Orsay & the Louve. Then headed sw on the suberb TGV

for my friend/college roomie's wedding in Bordeaux. Lovely summer affair, eve reception at a small chateau. Next day all toured the medieval Dordogne castle, Chateau de Beynac, home of barons like Rich. Coeur de Lion, Francois I. Saw charming Saint Emilion and lunch in Brantome-en-Perigord at an old restaurant/inn/abbey from Charlemagne's time!- Moulin de L'Abbaye recommended by friends. Lovely and I recall those cute ducks waddling around the terrace over the river.

Friend is an artist and instructor m. to a French sculptor. She's very happy there after working as a graphic designer in Atlanta and Boston. She RAVED about the TGV weeks before we went over. Thanks for jogging the memories, good ones. But now I'll be on a French jag for a bit, it happens!






*I couldn't resist...the Video. Aber das leid der Nazi Deutschen- 'Der Faterland'? nein, nein!
Mais 'La Marseillaise' toujours! Vive la France et Vive La Hollywood!

[Surya Gayatri]

14. Good morning, appalachiablue...I've only just logged on today.

My favorite scene from Casablanca! Allons enfants de la patrieeee-eh ! !

Ah, the Dordogne - one (among many) of France's gifts to mankind.

What a fairytale petit châteaux and setting. Where is it, do you know? Some where in the Dordogne, maybe? Thanks for that!

[appalachiablue]

18. Bon jour, the *Abbey Mill Inn is in Brantome (Perigord) a small town in the Aquitane, the

southwestern France district where Bordeaux is located. I recall the drive from Bordeaux to Brantome was about 2 hours. We lunched on the outside terrace at *La Moulin de L'Abbaye, then returned to Bordeaux where we were staying.

La Moulin is as charming as they get; the old mill/inn/restaurant is highly rated with excellent cuisine and atmosphere. Wish we'd had more time to see the surrounding town of Brantome and the famous old Abbey.

In several days we managed to do a lot before returning to Paris a la TGV, then flying back to DC. Never forget those amazing yellow fields of Sunflowers looking out the windows of the train.

There's so much more to do in SW France, the wines! esp. Saint Emilion; Lascaux, incredible thousands of years old Paleolithic cave paintings first discovered in 1940; Gascony and the Basque region.

In southeastern France there's Toulouse and more; yesterday met someone who had lived there. Brantome is also on the pilgrimage road, the Camino de Santiago to Spain which I didn't realize at the time. Ah, France.. .

-Appa



http://www.moulinabbaye.com/en/

http://www.northofthedordogne.com/brantome.php



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

[Surya Gayatri]

19. This is one I'm keeping for future reference...!

La Moulin de L'Abbaye

[appalachiablue]

21. Absolutely! ENJOY. I love lighthouses, will you ever bring yours back?

[Surya Gayatri]

22. Yes, I plan to. But, it's an extraneous jif and only star members can use those.

When I can make a decent donation and get my star back, I'll bring back the lighthouse.

I LOVE lighthouses, too. I always visit if there's one in the area. They're so wonderfully symbolic - a light in the darkness.

[bloomington-lib]

9. Extractive economies have no need for new infrastructure

[appalachiablue]

13. There was a very good recent post saying that repair and upgrade of our common

public infrastructure is not the plan. It's to let the roads, hwys., bridges, water, sewer and other systems and properties decline, so they're cheaper for private corporations to buy up and take them over for profit.

[DirkGently]

17. Our collective idea of what makes a country "best"

... is apparently limited to how rich our zillionaires are, and maybe how many weapons we have.

We could have free college education, national healthcare coverage, a retirement program that allows people not to barely survive, but to LIVE.

But that might require preventing investment firms from stuffing the world's economy into its pockets. It might mean we couldn't afford as many mercenaries and drones and general violent screwing around all over the world.

It might mean putting less of our working population in prison.

We have a three-year-old's idea of priorities. Not like a smart three-year-old, either.

[appalachiablue]

20. Well said; yes we're 'the best' alright- No. 2 for the first time in the middle class behind Canada

now No. 1. The US has sunk to no. 17 in education worldwide after being No. 3. and 4 for a while. And in the world quality of living index, we're quite low for an 'advanced' country. In billionaires, bombs and weapons however, we excel, like prison inmates.