The bull had a beautiful brown coat and impressive horns. The scene did not take place in Texas, but on the railroad tracks, west of New York, near Newark airport. As a result, all trains were delayed by at least forty-five minutes on Thursday, December 14 in the morning. New fantasy of the rail network of the Washington-Boston corridor, which experiences them so frequently.
It is the famous Baltimore tunnel, a real bottleneck for the Amtrak public passenger transport network, which delays travelers. Built more than one hundred and fifty years ago over 2.4 kilometers, it is curved, does not meet modern safety standards and imposes a speed limit of 50 km/h. It must be replaced by a new tunnel, which will cost 6 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) and will be inaugurated in… 2035. If all goes well.
Likewise, 28 new TGV Avelia Liberty shuttles, manufactured by Alstom, were to be delivered at the beginning of 2022, but due to problems with unsuitable catenaries and standards, they will not enter service before 2024. And, in any case, the connection Washington-New York-Boston is not designed for high speed. As a result, trains will never exceed 260 km/h, below the 300 km/h threshold considered to be high speed. So when the subject of TGV made in the USA is raised, Americans inevitably have a smile on their faces.
The oppressive heat of the desert
Nevertheless, the tide may be turning, even if the first instinct is to be cautious given the number of high-speed train failures in the United States. Thus, President Joe Biden – known for having been a regular user of the train during his years as a parliamentarian between Delaware, where he was elected, and Washington, DC – has just announced $8.2 billion in public funding for high-speed rail projects. He traveled to Las Vegas on December 9 to announce $3 billion in federal aid for the most advanced project, the 350-kilometer high-speed line (LGV) between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
“Trying to make that drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is really painful. This can take up to seven hours. But, soon, this will no longer be the case. We’re investing $3 billion in this rail line so people can make this trip in just over two hours.”, said Joe Biden. Indeed, Interstate 15, the highway that leads to Vegas where Californians go to drink by the millions, is frequently jammed under the oppressive heat of the Mojave Desert.
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