Passenger Trains > HSR 60 feet above Fresno

Frome the Fresno Bee
The agency that would build California's high-speed rail system unveiled three alternative routes through Fresno at a public forum Tuesday. All three routes would adjoin the current Union Pacific Railroad corridor as far south as Calwa, where they would switch to an alignment on the west side of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line.
Perhaps most surprisingly, all three would be elevated 60 feet above ground level for 12 miles between Clinton and Central avenues.

So do they even have UP or BNI approval to build along the right of way?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/10 10:17 by mococomike.

mococomike Wrote:
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> Frome the Fresno Bee
> The agency that would build California's
> high-speed rail system unveiled three alternative
> routes through Fresno at a public forum Tuesday.
> All three routes would adjoin the current Union
> Pacific Railroad corridor as far south as Calwa,
> where they would switch to an alignment on the
> west side of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe
> line.
> Perhaps most surprisingly, all three would be
> elevated 60 feet above ground level for 12 miles
> between Clinton and Central avenues.
>
> So do they even hanve UP or BNI approval to build
> along the right of way?

Just think about all that noise from horns!

I guess freeways are never elevated above ground level.

mococomike Wrote:
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> So do they even hanve UP or BNI approval to build
> along the right of way?

I'm not sure why you asked this question. In these affairs, if everyone is happy with the financial compensations involved, there is no issue. If not, there's the courts.

Ray

reindeerflame Wrote:
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> Just think about all that noise from horns!
>
> I guess freeways are never elevated above ground
> level.

If they are sixty feet above why would they need horns?

What is the height of Bart in the Bay Area for comparison?

The "Program EIR" developed by the High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) adopted the UP route as the basis to go forward with their plan, apparently with little or no input or dialogue with the UP. The UP subsequently voiced public objections about loss of access to freight customers, maintenance roads, and increased exposure to liability in the event of an accident on either their tracks or the HS tracks. So it is subject to a lot more negotiation and litigation before a final choice is made.

IIRC the BART tracks are about 30 +/- feet (measured at the rail) so to give about 23 feet over RR tracks and about 18 +/- feet over highways. It sounds like 60 feet will reach over the highway overpasses crossing the existing railroads.

Horns? The HS trains have no at-grade crossings, the only horn would be a warning to passengers at a platform (rarely experienced in Europe). If the HS line is at the same grade level as a parallel RR and all the cross streets are grade separated then there will be a big reduction in the horn noise from the existing RR. This could be a good outcome for the RRs and the community: less noise, less exposure to grade crossing collisions, fewer points of trespasser access.

railstiesballast Wrote:
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> The "Program EIR" developed by the High Speed Rail
> Authority (HSRA) adopted the UP route as the basis
> to go forward with their plan, apparently with
> little or no input or dialogue with the UP. The
> UP subsequently voiced public objections about
> loss of access to freight customers, maintenance
> roads, and increased exposure to liability in the
> event of an accident on either their tracks or the
> HS tracks. So it is subject to a lot more
> negotiation and litigation before a final choice
> is made.
>
> IIRC the BART tracks are about 30 +/- feet
> (measured at the rail) so to give about 23 feet
> over RR tracks and about 18 +/- feet over
> highways. It sounds like 60 feet will reach over
> the highway overpasses crossing the existing
> railroads.
>
> Horns? The HS trains have no at-grade crossings,
> the only horn would be a warning to passengers at
> a platform (rarely experienced in Europe). If the
> HS line is at the same grade level as a parallel
> RR and all the cross streets are grade separated
> then there will be a big reduction in the horn
> noise from the existing RR. This could be a good
> outcome for the RRs and the community: less noise,
> less exposure to grade crossing collisions, fewer
> points of trespasser access.


I think people are very concerned about the loud noise from HSR horns. Trains are noisy, people think.

Horns? Where we're going, we don't need horns.

ry Wrote:
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> Horns? Where we're going, we don't need horns.


Thank you Dr. Emmett Brown!