The Malmö rail tunnel

@Al the Elder said:
"The basic problem with rail systems is that they don't take you from where you are to where you want to go, You have to get to a terminal, ride the train, and then get to your destination."
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You can make exactly the same argument against air travel only it isn't as simple as you make out.

Listen, if you want to go from one city center to another then rail is the best choice because you will step off the train slap bang right in the middle of your destination.

With the airport you have to travel out of the city to the airport and then travel out of the airport on the other end into your destination adding an hour onto your travel time.

All Yee imbecellical & irrationaly blind Republicans, make me wanna puke! All you care about is to insanely fillibuster anything & everything the Dems come up with, no matter how useful or benefetial their proposal may be for the nation.

But how can a whole crossection of the Right be so brain-dead, at the same time? I guess that's what the "herd mentality" is all about. And I guess it applies equally to humans as it does to the beasts. Or at least the beast in us.

High Speed Rail service is the only way of the future. The sooner the American nation & the infantile Repugs wake up to this reality, the better for all..

＠Mererid
"Plus, us Californians have the most useless governments in the whole wide world, the chances that our state government actually decide to get something, they realize they don't even have the money for it."

The Economist would be more than willing to provide evidence that Japan's governments for the past 20 years have been at least as usless (if not worse) than California's, yet the Same 20 years so expansion of the Shinkansen network by another 250 miles, and 3 generation of new trains that improved its maximum speed from 220 km/h to 300 km/h. So, ineffective or even non-existent governments does not automatically prevent HSR development.

Just look eastwards to perspicacious & pragmatic China, for inspiration, affirmation & rational support, why Europe & the US 'need' to focus on building efficient & widespread networks of "fast track" trains, both for human commuting & cargo shipment, before oil prices go through the roof & all hell breaks loose.

And trust me, this will happen sooner than later. So stop navel gazing & stir yourselves from your neo-conservative coccoons of infantile complacence.

Hit the tracks, Jack!

Writing from World leader in passenger rail transport to the World Leader in freight rail transport, America doesn't need HSR, which isn't quite fast enough for interstate travel, and is way too costly for commuting. It needs a MagLev and a decent URBAN rail network, preferably comletely SEPARATE from existing network.

The basic problem with rail systems is that they don't take you from where you are to where you want to go, You have to get to a terminal, ride the train, and then get to your destination. Waste of time and money. Why can't the "experts" recognize this fundamental fact ?

@Sredni Vashtar:

"Any chance you could be confusing Malmö with Malé?"

Last time I went to Maldives, it was snowing there, too.

You see, it's the harbinger of (man made) global warming - extremal weather episodes. Snow in Malé clearly confirmed to me that I'd not be able to visit the place again: it will sank when the lack of light train between San Bernardino and Santa Barbara leads to at least 100 f ocean rise.

to Reluctant Polluter: You are discussing an article about Sweden and you are citing cold climate? Any chance you could be confusing Malmö with Malé?

to Mererid: "Too many cities" makes passenger rail tvavel "impractical"? Are you serious? Population density along the proposed line is an argument in favor, not against it! That means there will be enough traffic overall to pay back the initial investment.
And obviously, there should be express trains for travelers going, say, from San Bernardino to Santa Barbara. That is simply evident to anyone living in a city with public transportation!

@prestwick-uk:

I loved your post! Your... ehem... intimate connotations regarding the motorists abused in every possible way in the UK (starting from driving on the wrong side) are so expressive and plainly right.

I also vividly imagined crowds of fans warm at Wembley after several beers, and even warmer after a good traditional fist-fight, packing the trains and looking forward to a meal of fish-n-chips... do they still serve them on a newspaper or the EU destroyed this robust British tradition, too?

@Reluctant Polutter: You're completely right. We've got snow flying horizontal right now and we've got a big game at Wembley Stadium, London on Boxing Day (26th December) so theres no way me or 80,000 other people are going to cycle!

Luckily we have this thing called "public transport" which takes us to Wembley so we can have a few beers and not drink & drive, etc. Gotta keep warm during those winter months y'know!

I think the fact is that no matter how you try and frame it you can't put lipstick on a pig and the pigs in this case are cars stuck in horrible traffic jams for hours and being sexually molested by the TSA at the airport and missing your flight.

Urban America needs public transport. Population density is a myth. Portland and other cities in North America have shown that it can be done.

I've just read your refered article & of course I agree! The imbecellic 'rightwing' ideological psychosis, will, assuredly play an intrinsic & compelling reason why anything to do with "trains", especially if proposed by the Dems, will face a resounding & moronic "NO! NO!" from them!

Their love affair with the automobile knows no bounds..

I know the answer to why this can't happen in the USofA, without bothering to read your referred article. And so should anyone with an open mind & an iota of commonsense.

American workers are so steeped in their self-absorbed 'entitlements' & burdened with their lacadaisical work ethics, indolence & hubris, that they spend more of their effective time playing the "victim" than getting the work done.

Add to this lethal mix the shackles of political correctness & you have a crippling & deadly receipe of labor paralysis. So how can one expect to get things done on schedule or under budget??

Railroad is just impractical in California. Besides being a car obsessed culture, there are so many cities inbetween San Bernardino/Riverside counties and Los Angeles, that it would take at least five hours to make a two hour trip to the City of Angels.

Plus, us Californians have the most useless governments in the whole wide world, the chances that our state government actually decide to get something, they realize they don't even have the money for it.

@Million Voices:

"Population density is certainly dense enough in some areas, like Boston, New York...

I think transport by automobile is old fashioned. Imagine quick, clean, great public transports, bicycles, traffic free & green (as in parks) city centres"

Yeah, I did just that: imagined cycling to an ice hockey match in Boston in December or in Chicago when it's snowing horizontally.

I know there are four seasons (in Chicago, they say, it's winter, winter, winter and the 4th of July) but you cannot expect those who need cars for 7 months a year to ditch them for the rest of the time.

@Mike McHenry

Population density is certainly dense enough in some areas, like Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington.

Flying is perphaps an even older idea then rails, and democracy, last time I checked, also has some centuries on its back, I fail to see why date of inception of an idea should relate to future validity. America has moved on to what, exactly?

In any case, I think transport by automobile is old fashioned. Imagine quick, clean, great public transports, bicycles, traffic free & green (as in parks) city centres - now THAT's fhe future!

Sorry, forgot to answer the lingua franka question:

The danes talk danish with a swedish accent, the swedes talk swedish with a danish accent. Swedish and danish are basically the same.

Dear sir,

While I do agree that for once proper project management happened and all involved should take massive credit for this, it is not only in the US big tunnel projects are over budget.

Just 100 km north of Malmö there are another tunnel project, destined to shorten travel time and increase capacity through the bottleneck of Hallandsåsen.

The project have introduced toxic substances in the ground water, was supposed to be ready by 1995 (it's not done yet) and the over spend on this project is 1000 % (yes, three zeros).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallands%C3%A5s_Tunnel

I'm an American who worked for British company for over 30 years. They were always trying push on the American subsidiary to go to market like Europe. This is sounds the same. What works in Europe doesn't necessarily work here. Population density is totally different for starters. American population is not dominated by a few urban centers. Rail is a 19th century idea America has moved on.

the beauty of america is also in the fact that it's different. what's working in the EU doesn't mean to be good for the US.
Don't get why liberals just try to copy things.
You have just great air and car network connections - what else do you need? :)