this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2023
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Just so we're on the same level here - your own article states that high speed rail as it is most commonly referred to means speeds of above at least 200km/h, more commonly beyond 250. Lower speeds are "higher speed rail" in America, or regional/local lines in Europe. My local lowest tier urban mass transit has a normal speed of 160km/h.
America has ONE Line with speeds beyond 250, and that is where all except one of its 200+ speeds lie aswell. That is, sorry, a joke. For one line a network does not make.
Look at that same graphic in the article on the high speed network in Europe and tell me they are even close to comparable.
And, if you keep reading into modern efforts under tab for current efforts, every single failure to expand and improve the networks lists political blockage, not technological.
For example, Southwest Airlines lobbying the Texan legislature into blocking even completely private funding for a high speed passenger rail service.
Thats quite true, but also political blockage prevents the projects from starting. With California high speed rail, the project is going. And we have found that, in addition to political stumbling blocks, California simply lacks access to the knowledge to build this, and must build that up. Its not 'instead of politics', its 'in addition to'.
Why would higher speed mean slower than high speed. Whoever they hired to name stuff should be fired. How can anyone possibly be that bad at their job.
They were probably high.
They should've been higher
While technically a high speed 'regional' metro(like the ones China has been building) does have a top speed of 160km/h, it is more like regional rail than a 'lowest tier' urban transit. Most metro systems have a top speed of 80km/h due to station spacing and physics (motor gear ratios tuned for accelaration).
That or you are talking about the Keisei Skyliner, which is an Airport Express service.
My nearest lowest tier rail bound mass transit system is the S-Bahn Hannover which uses Stadler FLIRT XL 3 at a top speed of 160km/h, yet they only serve Hannover and its immediate surroundings.
This is also the case with the S-Bahn Bern (using Stadler KISS), parts of the S-Bahn Rhine-Ruhr, the S-Bahn Bremen, S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland (Leipzig Halle), S-Bahn Dresden, S-Bahn Zurich and Wiener Schnellbahnen.
If you live near a big(ger) city in the DACH Region but not directly in it (meaning out of range of its Tram system) this is absolutely not uncommon.