WEBVTT - How does high-speed rail work?

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com where smart happens. Him Marshall Brain with

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<v Speaker 1>today's question, how does high speed rail work? Imagine getting

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<v Speaker 1>on a high speed train in downtown New York City

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<v Speaker 1>and arriving at Union Station in Washington, d C. Which

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<v Speaker 1>is two miles away, just an hour later. That is

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<v Speaker 1>the ultimate promise of true high speed rail. Compared to

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<v Speaker 1>driving a car, are this train trip would be a dream.

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<v Speaker 1>The car ride would take about four and a half hours,

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<v Speaker 1>making the amusing assumption that there's no traffic or construction

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<v Speaker 1>along the way. Even compared to an airplane, the train

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<v Speaker 1>trip would be faster once you account for the need

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<v Speaker 1>to get to the airport an hour ahead of time,

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<v Speaker 1>the time spent sitting on the runway, the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>Dullest and LaGuardia airports are a good distance from downtown,

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<v Speaker 1>and a whole bunch of other things, the plane trip

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<v Speaker 1>might take nearly as long as the car trip. True

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<v Speaker 1>high speed rail service like this doesn't yet exist in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States, but it is common in parts of Europe, Japan,

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<v Speaker 1>and China, and it may be coming to America in

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<v Speaker 1>the near future with backing from the federal government. California

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<v Speaker 1>is actively working on a high speed rail system that

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<v Speaker 1>would run all the way from Sacramento down to San Diego,

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<v Speaker 1>a distance of about five miles, and this will probably

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<v Speaker 1>be the first installation of true high speed rail in

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<v Speaker 1>the US. The closest thing that the United States has

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<v Speaker 1>to high speed rail today is Amtrak's Acela service running

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<v Speaker 1>in the Northeast Corridor. The Northeast Corridor connects Boston to Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. And include stops in places like New York

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<v Speaker 1>City and Philadelphia. Although the Ascella trains have a top

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<v Speaker 1>speed of a hundred and fifty miles per hour, their

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<v Speaker 1>average speed is more like seventy miles per hour, so

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<v Speaker 1>the two d thirty mile run between DC and New

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<v Speaker 1>York takes nearly three hours. This is still better than

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<v Speaker 1>the car trip or the plane rides, so the Ascella

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<v Speaker 1>run is popular. Something like three million passengers traveled between

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<v Speaker 1>New York and d C every year on the train.

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<v Speaker 1>So why is the average speed of the Ascella trains

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<v Speaker 1>so low. The answer to this question helps clarify the

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<v Speaker 1>difference between normal train track and real high speed track.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the most important problems with normal track is

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<v Speaker 1>the roads that cross over the track. Many of the

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<v Speaker 1>rail lines in the United States were built with at

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<v Speaker 1>grade crossings rather than bridges. Obviously, it's not very safe

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<v Speaker 1>to have a train traveling at a hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>or two hundred miles per hour if a car canstall

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<v Speaker 1>on the track at any intersection. Another problem is the

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<v Speaker 1>radius of turns. Low speed trains can make sharp turns,

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<v Speaker 1>while high speed trains cannot. The Acela train tries to

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<v Speaker 1>get around this problem with tilting cars, but in some

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<v Speaker 1>parts of the Northeast Corridor the tracks are too close

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<v Speaker 1>together to use this tilting feature. Another requirement for high

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<v Speaker 1>speed travel is smooth welded track. This normally means a

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<v Speaker 1>good concrete base for the track rather than wooden railroad ties.

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<v Speaker 1>Also needed is overhead electric service, since high speed trains

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<v Speaker 1>are electric. In addition, a high speed train can't be

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<v Speaker 1>competing for the track with slow freight trains. All these

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<v Speaker 1>requirements mean that true high speed rail needs dedicated high

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<v Speaker 1>speed track. Building just dedicated track can get expensive, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in congested urban areas, so high speed rail projects cost

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<v Speaker 1>billions of dollars. The high speed track in California might

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<v Speaker 1>end up costing something like a hundred million dollars per

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<v Speaker 1>mile when it's all said and done. The good news

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<v Speaker 1>is that a high speed rail line takes less land

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<v Speaker 1>than a major highway, and the high speed train gets

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<v Speaker 1>its passengers to their destination much more quickly than cars can,

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<v Speaker 1>and a new six lane wide interstate highway project can

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<v Speaker 1>end up costing nearly as much as a high speed

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<v Speaker 1>rail line. You might be wondering why Europe, Japan, and

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<v Speaker 1>China have thousands of miles of high speed track and

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<v Speaker 1>service while the United States currently has none. This has

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<v Speaker 1>to do with different decisions in different priorities. The United

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<v Speaker 1>States placed its bets on the interstate highway system and airports,

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<v Speaker 1>partly because the US is so much bigger than Europe

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<v Speaker 1>or Japan. There's also the fact that Americans love cars

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<v Speaker 1>and airplanes and haven't been nearly as keen on trains

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<v Speaker 1>until recently. But a lot has changed in American thinking

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<v Speaker 1>since the nine eleven attacks and gasoline price spikes. The

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<v Speaker 1>time may finally be right for Americans to get on

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<v Speaker 1>board with high speed rail. Do you have any ideas

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<v Speaker 1>or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com.

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