Rarely has a train caused so much trouble for its operator as the third generation ICE has for German railway operator Deutsche Bahn (DB). This was the first high-speed train to be designed by industry alone, with Siemens overseeing the creation of a vehicle that seemed to have a knack for malfunctioning. When the first trains rolled into operation 10 years ago, passengers complained of defective air conditioners and clogged toilets. Defective couplings later paralyzed ICE operations, an axle broke in Cologne in summer 2008 and recently a door flew off a train traveling at full speed.
This susceptibility to breakdowns was particularly humiliating for the Munich-based company which aimed to challenge its French competitor Alstom, a company with a glowing industrial reputation for its successful high-performance trains. Alstom holds the world record in rail travel with a speed of 575 kph (357 mph).
Why a fiasco? Because the impetus is from Siemens. Nobody even mentions Alstom.
Am I really the first one?!
“Trains good! Planes bad!”
Talgo trains are quite good. The problem is in the USA we don’t have very many seamless tracks for them to run on, because our rail infrastructure is a carryover from the 1940’s when it was basically a freight hauling system. Comfort wasn’t a huge priority so the rails are rickety and noisy.
I rode on Amtrak on long haul trips before. The main problem with Amtrak is not them, but Congress. I’m amazed the entire railway can run on the tiny amounts of money allocated to them, then Congress bails out airlines and gives them free subsidies by using taxpayer dollars to expand airports.
Amtrak has to share rails with freight, so more often than not you are at a standstill while a freight train goes by. The fastest I’ve been while on an Amtrak train was probably 80mph. Its a national embarassment but we are content to have 3rd world rail service apparently. Even the trains aren’t domestic, made by Bombardier.
If we cancelled the moronic F-35 program and took the remaining monies and made a national rail service it would be top notch.
I find train travel to be rather nice, laid back and you have more room than on an airline. You can get up, go to the observation car, hang out, have a beer from the snack bar, eat pretty nice food in the dining car, and even have a shower if you need one.
European trains are nice. No wonder everybody there uses them. I’ve been on Spanish, French, UK trains and they are as modern as American trains are ancient.
Ohio’s plan is not building a high speed rail but a conventional one first (i.e. the slow train rail), and convert it to high speed one much later. The plan is a joke, and nobody will take the train if it’s slower than driving. It’s just showing the stupidity in government planning and use of tax payer money. To make any sense on building a new train rail, it has to be a high speed one (even if it’s not a top speed one, but 2 or 3 times of conventional train speed), which will be the most efficient way for building a new rail way in Ohio.