USA 2009: A game-changing train
Albert K. Fung
Just took off from Boeing's Everett Field, in Seattle, Wash-
ington, USA. Two years late and USD billions over budget, it
is a game changer in the history of aviation. The test plane
will fly non-stop for 5 hours as part of the FAA certificat-
ion process.
Unlike Japan and China, the USA relies on trains of the sky.
Which have superior flexibilities and advantages. Sky train,
unlike its land counterpart, does not require ginormous fix-
ed investments, for example. Complemented by interstate high
-ways and multi-modal rails, the USA has a much more capable
and efficient overall transportation system for the movement
of people and goods.
The lighter and greener, all plastic, Boeing Dreamliner will
add needed efficiency with flexibility to the overall nation
-al mix. On a person-mile basis, the US system has the advan
-tages not only lower cost, but also much faster.
Than even Japan's bullet train system .... :)
Regards,
Albert K. Fung
Estancia la Serenidad/Chubut, Republica Argentina.
rst9
> The first US all plastic sky train ....
>
> Just took off from Boeing's Everett Field, in Seattle, Wash-
> ington, USA. Two years late and USD billions over budget, it
> is a game changer in the history of aviation. The test plane
> will fly non-stop for 5 hours as part of the FAA certificat-
> ion process.
>
> Unlike Japan and China, the USA relies on trains of the sky.
>
> Which have superior flexibilities and advantages. Sky train,
> unlike its land counterpart, does not require ginormous fix-
> ed investments,
Aren't you overlooked an important part of air travel? airports?
transportation to and from airports, services and personnel to
maintain the airports? These items are pretty expensive to start-up
and maintain!!! On the other hand, haven't you heard that airlines
have to drop prices to compete with the bullet trains in China?
Bullet trains have a part in life in China as well as airlines. Maybe
the U.S. should start building more bullet trains to compete with the
airline industry.
> for example. Complemented by interstate high
> -ways and multi-modal rails, the USA has a much more capable
> and efficient overall transportation system for the movement
> of people and goods.
China is a hundred years behind.
>
> The lighter and greener, all plastic, Boeing Dreamliner will
> add needed efficiency with flexibility to the overall nation
> -al mix. On a person-mile basis, the US system has the advan
> -tages not only lower cost, but also much faster.
And costlier.
For the number of people involved in China, I think China has the
right idea.
Albert K. Fung
>
> Just took off from Boeing's Everett Field, in Seattle, Wash-
> ington, USA. Two years late and USD billions over budget, it
> is a game changer in the history of aviation. The test plane
> will fly non-stop for 5 hours as part of the FAA certificat-
> ion process.
>
> Unlike Japan and China, the USA relies on trains of the sky.
>
> Which have superior flexibilities and advantages. Sky train,
> unlike its land counterpart, does not require ginormous fix-
> ed investments,
rst9:
> Aren't you overlooked an important part of air travel? airports?
> transportation to and from airports, services and personnel to
> maintain the airports? These items are pretty expensive to start-up
> and maintain!!! On the other hand, haven't you heard that airlines
> have to drop prices to compete with the bullet trains in China?
> Bullet trains have a part in life in China as well as airlines. Maybe
> the U.S. should start building more bullet trains to compete with the
> airline industry.
A high speed train (HST) system ....
Needs connection infrastructures as much as aviation system.
Building railroad is many orders of magnitude more expensive
and time consuming than a system of airports. In that light,
perhaps it is much more useful to confine the discussions to
the apple to apple comparison - operating costs from point A
to point B.
To move a passenger one mile, HST requires 3K BTU of energy.
In contrast, airplane needs only a bit more - 3.3K BTU. Boe-
ing's plastic Dreamliner, needs only 2.4K BTU per passenger-
mile. And, the newer generations of automobiles, such as the
Toyota Pirus, for example, uses only 1.7K BTU of energy, per
passenger-mile. All electric cars, such as the US Tesla Road
-ster, uses even less energy.
The per capita utilization of the US interstate highway sys-
tem is 4K passenger-miles. And the per capita goods moved is
around 2K ton-miles. A HST system, moves virtually no goods.
In Japan, the per capita usage is around 400 miles per year.
In France, it is about 300 miles per year. To the uninitiat-
ed, the statistics are a bit surprising, but upon closer ex-
amination, it is not. It is merely a reflection of an import
-ant reality, that a few use the system a lot. While most do
not use it at all.
Hence HST's Chinese nickname - white elephant .... :)