There is no single definition of the term, but rather a combination of elements—new or upgraded track, rolling stock, operating practices—that lead to high-speed rail operations. The speeds at which a train must travel to qualify as 'high-speed' vary from country to country, ranging from 160 km/h (100 mph) to over 300 km/h (186 mph). The countries that have high-speed rail in operation are: Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For details of current systems, see High-speed rail by country.
Although the technology has been around for over forty years, just like the modifications made to newer state of the art automobiles, High Speed Rail has progressed into a state-of-the-art, world-class transportation system that provides efficient, reliable and comfortable city-to- city travel at speeds of 120 mph or greater. High speed trains contain modern amenities and conveniences, and are time and price competitive with other modes of transportation. Currently, several high speed rail systems operate in the United States, Europe and Asia. Amtrak's Acela Express trains operate at speeds in excess of 135 mph between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.
In Florida, the proposed high speed rail system will be constructed on tracks or overhead guide ways that will be completely separated from automobile traffic. Several high speed technologies exist in the marketplace today including conventional steel wheel on steel rail systems and magnetic levitation (maglev) systems. The Authority's Request for Proposal remained technology neutral, allowing those proposing, to select the technology that worked best for their system and business plan. The authority is made up of multiple different people, but most notably the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate. To read in more detail who makes up this prominent group, click here. The Fluor Bombardier team proposed the Jet Train, a turbine propelled steel wheel technology. Global Rail Consortium proposed an electric train system, also steel wheel on steel rail. (To learn more view www.FloridaHighSpeedRail.org)
(To see more history and comparisons of bullet train technology, click the encyclopedia link below.)
Florida's Bullet Train
The proposed Florida bullet train was to be modeled after French technology, called a TGV, which is French for High Speed Rail. Called the Florida Overland Express(FOX), The "FOX" bullet train was to begin by connecting Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. The system would consist of ten car train sets, each set would hold a capacity of 295 passengers and be able to reach speeds of 200mph.
To learn more about what a TGV is, click the link provided below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV
To learn more about the specific TGV called the Florida Overland Express(FOX), click the link provided below.
http://www.cefa.fsu.edu/FOX.html
Comparison with Other Modes of Transport
High speed rail (HSR) is often viewed as an isolated system and simply as advantageous or disadvantageous as compared to other transport systems, but all transport systems must work together to maximize benefits. A good HSR system has capacity for non-stop and local services, and has good connectivity with other transport systems.
Due to current infrastructure designs in many nations, there are constraints on the growth of the highway and air travel systems. Some key factors promoting HSR is that airports and highways have no room to expand, and are often overloaded. For example, highways are continuously being expanded from four lanes to six, and soon from six to ten. Eventually there will just not be enough room to build anymore roads. HSR takes up much less space while still providing enough transportation to a significant amount of people. High-speed rail has the potential for high capacity on its fixed corridors, and has the potential to relieve congestion on the other systems. High speed trains in themselves are more environmentally friendly than air or road travel. This is due to:
- lower energy consumption per passenger kilometer
- reduced land usage for a given capacity compared to motorways
- displaced usage from more environmentally damaging modes of transport.
The poll questions and results below were taken from the "Florida Bullet Train" website. This particular information is meant to show the differences in cost to implement different projects in the Southern Florida area. To view more polls that pertain directly to this subject, click here.
Advanced Polls
High Speed Rail Segment, between Tampa and Orlando $23 and $25 Million
13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County $154 Million
Polk County Parkway $37.1 Million
Which do you think costs more, per mile, to build?
High Speed Rail Segment between Tampa and Orlando 6 Votes (21%)
13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County 15 Votes (53%)
Polk County Parkway 7 Votes (25%)
Poll Statistics - Which do you think costs more, per mile, to build?
This Poll closed on January 12, 2004
The Winner of this poll was “13 Miles of I-595 in Broward County”
Total Number of Votes: 28
Researchers say China will consume all the current world's oil consumption in 15 years. Oil prices will continue to rise and could rise to $10/gallon in a short time. What will Floridians do then? Every poll shows that people want an alternative to driving and flying--they want clean, reasonably priced, and frequent trains that go where they want to go. (www.Floridabullettrain.com)
*The following information was submitted by Bill Dunn of Miami, Florida, and lists all the positive aspects to the implementation of a bullet train in Florida. (www.Floridabullettrain.com) High-Speed Rail is just such a project. Every dollar spent by the State of Florida will be returned with interest over the thirty-year franchise and the private sector will be investing side-by-side with the State. In addition to getting our money back, we also get all the things that we expect from an economic development investment:
1. We own it!
2. We create of tens of thousands of new jobs
3. We add $ Billions to Florida’s Economy
4. We impose no new tax to finance the
investment
5. We get a new transportation alternative to
serve Florida citizens and visitors for
centuries to come
6. We set the standard for High-Speed Rail for
the nation
Yes, High-Speed Rail is the PERFECT investment because we get so much for our money, and then WE GET OUR MONEY BACK WITH INTEREST.
To better support the idea that a bullet train is the most economical solution, both the Florida Transportation Commission and the Florida Bullet Train website provide information about cost. According to both, the state of Florida has a $6.5 billion dollar annual budget. The majority of that budget is being spent of the creation and repair of roadways. The implementation of the first leg of the Florida Bullet Train however would only cost a fraction of that amount. The idea is that the Florida Bullet Train is the solution, but not a solution over night. It is a supplemental way to travel, making our society and environment a better place to live.
Table 6-2: Transportation Expenditures by State and Local Governments: 20001
(Current $ in millions)
State Total Highway Transit Air Water
Florida 7,648 5,256 709 1,341 342
Notice that the total cost of highway and air transportation expenditures reaches an estimated $6.5 billion. To build the first leg of the system (Tampa to Orlando), the state will need to provide about $75 million per year. This would be less than 1.5 percent of the state’s $7.6 billion transportation budget.
The money for high speed rail need not come from any other part of the budget or cause taxes to go up. In fact, construction of the first segment of the bullet train will create 7,000 new jobs and $9 billion in economic benefits. (www.Floridabullettrain.com)
A Look at the Proposed New Infrastructure
This picture was taken from
www.nationalcorridors.org/
A Look at Future Ticket Prices
This picture was taken from http://www.floridabullettrain.com