China's newest high-speed train breaks world record

[RandySF]

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/china-s-newest-high-speed-train-breaks-world-record-70381


Beijing: China's newest high-speed train - the "CRH380A" - broke the world record for the fastest passenger-capable train on Friday during an operational test, the Chinese Ministry of Railroads claimed.

The test was broadcast live by state broadcaster CCTV.

The train was measured to have hit a maximum speed of 486.1 kilometres per hour on special tracks between the Zaozhuang city and Bengbu to the south, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

[Ter]

1. Good for them

I really wish we had one. :(

[CurtEastPoint]

3. 300 mph. Think about it. NY to CA in 8 hours.

Or, NY to Miami (1288 mi) in 4+ hours.

[ThePhilosopher04]

6. Yeah, but...

you would likely have so many stops in between, that the effective speed would be reduced greatly.

[Ter]

10. Why stop?

I'd be ok for 8 hours without a stop. Maybe a short one after 4 hours.

[Initech]

11. We're gonna be last in the world to adopt HSR at this rate.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Oh, piffle.

We have the best superhighways in the world, and anyway, those trains burn so little fuel that they'd bankrupt the oil industry, which is about as unpatriotic as you can get.

[texastoast]

5. +1

What you said.

And the days have gone by in this country where this would be a big deal to not have "the biggest and best in the world," but if the best means decreasing the oil bidness's profits, then we really don't want it anyway.

[malaise]

12. +1,000 but remember

one drone can take it out.

[Richardo]

4. Catchy name

"The CRH380A Blossom Special"
"Wreck of the Old CRH380A"
"CRH380A Choo Choo"
"I've Been Working On The CRH380A"
"CRH380A Don't Stop Here Anymore"


"I'm the train they call the City of CRH380A"

[CurtEastPoint]

7. But they were going to name it...

京津高速/东五环/京沈高速/机场高速-京津高速/東五環/京沈高速/機場高速

[hatrack]

8. "Ridin' that CRH380A, high on cocaine . . . ."

"I'm the train the call the CRH380A
I'll be gone 4,000 miles before the day is done."

[lpbk2713]

17. And let's not forget that chilhood classic story ...

The Little CRH380A that Could

[onehandle]

9. Here's ours...

[Wind Dancer]

20. Great find!!

I had to laugh even though it's really not funny.

[originalpckelly]

13. France is cool, so when they do shit like this it's OK...

When China does it, it means war.

[somone]

14. Video - at 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfh5Z4zU0D8

[thereismore]

15. Sounds like things are actually happening in China. What about the US? nt

[somone]

16. We're wayyyy better

We're shutting off streetlights and turning paved roads back into gravel.

[thereismore]

22. But we're free, dammit! Not free to actually go anywhere, because that costs money we don't

have. But we think we're free and that's what matters. USA! Pass me another Coors Light.

[asdjrocky]

18. We are so lame.

I never really bought into having a flying car, or going to the moon, but you would at least think I wouldn't have to leave the country before I die to ride on high speed rail.

We've become a dirty, stupid, backward people.

[asdjrocky]

19. dupe

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

21. I saw this article and wondered, why don't we do this, too...

...I was kind of surprised by what I found. Not what I expected and perhaps not what you may expect, either.

Probing Question: Why don't we have high-speed trains in the U.S.?
April 27, 2006

Why are we so far behind?

The answer is simple, said John Spychalski, professor of supply chain management in Penn State's Smeal College of Business. The U.S. government won't pay for high-speed trains.

"(High-speed train service) is not going to be built by private enterprise, no more than the interstate highway system was built by private enterprise," Spychalski explained. "The U.S. would not have the air-transport system developed to where it is today without public-sector involvement."
A lack of political support at the federal and state levels keeps Amtrak in an annual battle just to survive, ensuring that high-speed train service is not available in most of the country, said Spychalski.

This political vacuum has been consistent over many decades among both Republicans and Democrats, he noted, and has its roots in public attitudes.

"What does the average person know of high-speed rail? Very little," Spychalski said. "Their mindset is centered on two things they know: autos and airplanes." Where trains are seen as a quaint part of our history, Americans view their cars as status symbols, an extension of ego and class distinction.

http://www.physorg.com/news65373596.html