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Mechanical Engineering Magazine Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/memagazineselect/article-pdf/138/02/36/6359634/me-2016-feb2.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 A privately funded high-speed rail line promises to whisk passengers DALLAS from Houston to Dallas at 200 mph. HOUSTON But building the project may divide rural areas even as it unites cities. PRAIRIE HOME The countryside in Ellis County, Texas, shown here, could soon be split by the grade-separated tracks of the Texas Central Railway. The high speed line will use Japanese bullet-train technology (opposite). Photo (opposite): Texas Central Railway MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 37 | FEBRUARY 2016 | P. Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/memagazineselect/article-pdf/138/02/36/6359634/me-2016-feb2.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 3dŮbcdͨ@Nbdi;X[ScgNcRS[XVWdSRd_WSNbdWNdNWXVWΌc`SSR It’s easy to believe in high-speed rail bNX[gNiΏdWSGShNc5S^dbN[ΏgNcV_X^Vd_dbNfS[dWb_eVWbebN[ when you are sitting in jammed traffi c 7[[Xc5_e^diͨGShNcͨgWSbS;X[Sc[XfScͥ7[[Xc5_e^diXcYecd on Houston’s Katy Freeway—all 26 lanes of it—or wasting four hours at c_edW_T6N[[Ncͨ`Nbd_TdWS]X[[X_^Ό`Sbc_^6N[[NcΌ8_bdJ_bdW DFW for a 90-minute fl ight. High- @Sdb_`[ShͨN^RXdcSQ_^_]iXcR_]X^NdSRPidWSQXdiͥ speed rail, such as that in Europe, GWSQ_e^diWNRPSS^dWScXdS_TdWSX[[ΌTNdSRN^R[_^VΌcX^QS Japan, and now China, is promoted as QN^QS[SRFe`SbQ_^ReQdX^VFe`Sb5_[[XRSbͨNVXVN^dXQ`NbdXQ[S beautiful, comfortable, quiet, pleasant, NQQS[SbNd_bdWNdWNRPSVe^d_PSQNbfSR_ed convenient, and, of course, fast, none _TdWSe^RSb[iX^VQWN[ZͥGWS`[NQScdX[[ of which can be said about any mode of transportation ^SSRSRRSfS[_`]S^dͼd_VSdXd_ed_T in the U.S. In Europe, dWScWNR_gc_T6N[[NcͨͽcNXR;X[Scͨ bankers take the Eu- gW_XcNfSdSbN^[_PPiXcdN^R rostar from London [_QN[P__cdSbͥ to Paris for lunch ͼG5EcSS]SRd__ŬSbNVbSNd (it’s just two hours _``_bde^Xdid_PbX^VPecX^Scc away) and then dWSbSͨͽWScNXRͥͼJSg_bZSR head back. Shouldn’t we _^N^SQ_^_]XQRSfS[_`]S^d be as civilized ce]]XdT_b7[[Xc5_e^diX^f_[fX^V when we travel, e^XfSbcXdXScͨV_fSb^]S^dͨ rather than hold- By Bridget PecX^SccͨN^RdWSQXdXScͥͽ;X[Sc ing our shoes at T_b]SRNVb_e`ͨGShNc5_^QSb^SR the airport security Mintz Testa 5XdXkS^cͨd_W_[RdWSSQ_^_]XQ checkpoint? But while high-speed rail RSfS[_`]S^dce]]Xdͥ;SdW_eVWddWSGShNc backers have spent decades trying to 5S^dbN[g_e[R`[NiNPXVb_[SX^WXc`[N^cͥ get Americans on board, it has been 4edNTdSb;X[ScN^RWXcVb_e`NddS^RSRdWSŮbcdG5E a losing battle up to now. Amtrak’s ]SSdX^VX^6N[[Ncͨ;X[SccNXRͨͼ<QN]SW_]SRe]PT_e^RSRͥ Acela, which is as fast as it gets in the GWSbSg_e[RPS^_e^RSb`NccScΒYecdPSb]cͥ<dg_e[RPS U.S., barely qualifi es as “high speed” [XZSdWS4Sb[X^JN[[ͥͽ and elected offi cials pick up more votes for slashing subsidies and can- GWSbSg_e[RPS^_cd_`cͨSXdWSbͥ;X[SccNXRdWSdbNX^ celing projects than for greenlight- g_e[RcX]`[iͼűi_fSbͽWXcQ_e^diͨgXdW^_SQ_^_]XQPS^SŮd ing them. Indeed, the Republican ShQS`d`_ccXP[iN[Xdd[SbScXReN[PecX^SccTb_]dWS6N[[Nc majority in Congress has imposed a cdNdX_^ͥGWNdgNcdWS`[N^T_bN[[dWSQ_e^dXScPSdgSS^ ban on federal subsidies for high- ;_ecd_^N^R6N[[Ncͥ speed rail projects. Even in the face of that opposi- tion, projects are going forward. In California, a long-gestating HSR project is being funded with state money. And in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S., entrepreneurs are seeking investment to build privately owned passenger railways. In 2015, for instance, the TCR obtained Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/memagazineselect/article-pdf/138/02/36/6359634/me-2016-feb2.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 $75 million in its fi rst round of fundraising, a step toward the $10 billion it will need to knowledge economy— build the route. one that isn’t limited to What those private companies are fi nding, though, is hotspots like Silicon Valley or that it is easier to draw up a business plan than to build Cambridge, Mass. a railroad. Ahn recently visited South Korea and saw how easy the Korea Train eXpress (top exas is big. Houston is about as far from El speed: 190 mph) makes business trips and Paso as Paris is from Vienna—and no one is meetings, even impromptu ones. suggesting that Texans or Americans gener- “You can meet face-to-face in one day,” ally are going to ditch their cars in favor of Ahn said. “Face-to-face builds trust. It’s dif- mass transit. But two points suggest that ferent from a video conference. If you can high-speed rail could fi nd a niche here. First, get to New York City in 45 minutes from a survey of 1,005 Americans from Septem- Boston, everything becomes one city. HSR ber 2015 showed that, once informed of opens up a lot of opportunities. It lowers high-speed rail’s benefi ts, 63 percent of them barriers to social interactions that include (including 65 percent of Republicans) would sharing ideas, which are the engines of the Tuse such a service if it were available today. Previous HSR information economy.” surveys have shown that even “car people” aren’t opposed Einhorn-Russell added, “HSR could RAIL CARRIAGES to giving up their cars for long trips. be the fuel for economic development in AND PICKUP The second point is that Amtrak hit new—positive—fi - the next decade. Lowering the barriers TRUCKS nancial records in 2014. The U.S. passenger rail company increases competitive advantages.” The Texas Central generated record revenue of $3.2 billion and the lowest The two say that there should be a na- promises a comfortable operating loss since 1973—$227 million. Moody's Investors tional strategy where local or regional HSR 90-minute ride from Service, a company that rates the creditworthiness of busi- strategies—like those in Texas, California, Houston to Dallas in modern coaches (inset nesses and government agencies, renewed the rail service's Florida, and elsewhere—are linked into a top), but the route will rating of A1, the best possible. national one. “HSR offers such an explo- bypass rural spaces Also, the business case for a high-speed rail system is sive model,” Ahn said. between the major cities. stronger than ever. Michael Ahn, assistant professor of It’s a model, however, that would have to Photo (above): Texas Central public policy, and Malcolm Einhorn-Russell, senior fellow be built. Amtrak created its Acela corridor Railway at the Center for Peace, Democracy, and Development, out of the remains of an East Coast rail net- both at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, believe work it inherited when Penn Central went that high-speed rail is the key to building a nationwide bankrupt in the 1970s. Upgrades to that network have had to fi t within the existing landscape of rail infrastructure, some of which is more than a century old, as well as the cities it runs through. Those limitations have made it well-nigh impossible to raise the Acela’s average Boston-to-Washington speed above 65 miles per hour (though individual stretches are faster). Newly constructed track running from one population center to another could in- crease that average speed considerably. In France, where TGV vehicles are designed to run at 200 mph, dedicated track was MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | FEBRUARY 2016 | P.39 built between metropolitan suburbs; those along the way. A train that serves every ven more problematic are the lines then connect to existing railroads to city—decelerating to a stop, then slowly tracks. Standard-issue freight bring trains (at slower speeds) to stations accelerating back to running speed—would track, with its joints and in the center of the city. A high-speed take forever. connections and curves, can’t trip from Paris to Marseilles, for instance, Unfortunately for businessmen in places handle a train going 200 mph. travels more than 400 miles before making like Ellis County, that means watching the The track needs tighter toler- its fi rst stop, bypassing every other city train whiz past. ances and welded joints to keep the trains from shaking themselves apart. Downloaded from http://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/memagazineselect/article-pdf/138/02/36/6359634/me-2016-feb2.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 Indeed, engineering the Etracks is one of the biggest challenges in building the TC. “Texas soils have high clay content,” said Shaun McCabe, Texas Central vice TRAILS FOR RAILS president of engineering and environ- Several routes between Houston and Dallas mental. “[This produces] high shrinkage DALLAS were studied by the Texas Central Railway, all of and swelling. Because the track has strict which incorporated existing rail or utility rights of way. The route chosen (in yellow) is a series tolerances, there will be geotechnical chal- of long straightaways and gentle curves. lenges related to civil structures and cor- Image: Texas Central Railway responding performance criteria relative to the track. The track must be relatively fl at. We can’t have shrinkage and swelling UPRR Corridor that has an impact on the track geometry. BNSF Corridor Utility Corridor We’ll investigate innovative technologies to IH 45 Corridor ensure stability both for situations where the track is elevated via a viaduct or on an embankment.” Those technologies include various methods to stabilize the soil, such as geo-membranes, which are fabrics that cover the ground to minimize changes in moisture content. Other techniques include driving pilings or using retained engineered fi ll, where each type of fi ll is designed to address specifi c soil issues. Other challenges are related to the phys- ics of high-speed travel.
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