There are many ways of showing dissent but here is one that should be a bit more endearing for the policemen, who are often tasked with maintaining order during such protests. The photo captures the policeman clearly in the moment, even with his visor down! Love stoned, perhaps? :) Why can’t more of this happen instead of tear gas canisters and stones!

Image Courtesy: MARCO BERTORELLO / Getty Images / AFP via TIME.com

Story behind the photo: An Agence France-Presse photographer Marco Bertorello snapped this image of a protestor during a demonstration over the construction of a high-speed rail in Susa, a tiny town in northwestern, Italy near the French-Swiss Alps. The rail line is expected to connect Milan and Paris, which critics say is too expensive and comes at great environmental cost. You can read more from the source: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/20/photo-the-best-protest-tactic-youve-ever-seen/#ixzz2lQEuETco

via NPR 

Heard this nice review of the “fastest train in whole of Africa” on NPR.

Via CNN

Thanks to CNN for this awesome infograph.. Who knew – Japan, with a population of~127 Million people, clocked an amazing 8 Billion trips annually, which put it at the top among nations with most number of trips by train. Interestingly,  next to Japan is India (with a population of 1.2 Billion), who despite its massive population only raked up 7.2 billion trips on its extensive rail network..

Image Courtesy: CNN

(Source: Fastlane – Sec. Ray LaHood’s Blog)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $2 billion in high-speed rail awards providing an unprecedented investment to speed up trains in the Northeast Corridor, expand service in the Midwest and provide new, state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars as part of the Administration’s plan to transform travel in America. Shortly after making this announcement, he spoke to the financial media house, CNBC, about how these investments in high-speed rail investments are distributed and how they will benefits the various states that received this huge bonanza.

Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications, competing to be part of an historic investment that will create tens of thousands of jobs, improve mobility and stimulate American manufacturing.  Here is an excerpt from the USDOT presser outlining the details of this disbursement:

The Department’s Federal Railroad Administration selected 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects as part of a nationwide network that will connect 80 percent of Americans to high-speed rail in 25 years. The dedicated rail dollars will:

• Make an unprecedented investment in the Northeast Corridor (NEC), with $795 million to upgrade some of the most heavily-used sections of the corridor. The investments will increase speeds from 135 to 160 miles per hour on critical segments, improve on-time performance and add more seats for passengers.
• Provide $404.1 million to expand high-speed rail service in the Midwest. Newly constructed segments of 110-mph track between Detroit and Chicago will save passengers 30 minutes in travel time and create nearly 1,000 new jobs in the construction phase. Upgrades to the Chicago to St. Louis corridor will shave time off the trip, enhance safety and improve ridership.
• Boost U.S. manufacturing through a $336.2 million investment in state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars for California and the Midwest. “Next Generation” rail equipment will deliver safe, reliable and high-tech American-built vehicles for passenger travel.
• Continue laying the groundwork for the nation’s first 220-mph high-speed rail system in California through a $300 million investment, extending the current 110 mile segment an additional 20 miles to advance completion of the Central Valley project, the backbone of the Los Angeles to San Francisco corridor.

Nearly 100 percent of the $2.02 billion announced today will go directly to construction of rail projects, bringing expanded and improved high-speed intercity passenger rail service to cities in all parts of the country. Thirty-two states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia are currently laying the foundation for high-speed rail corridors to link Americans with faster and more energy-efficient travel options.

Click here to read more.

(Source: Fast Company)

A new report from the American Public Transportation Association counters the GOP strategy on high-speed rail and turns the anti-HSR rhetoric argument on its head by saying it is in fact good for the economy.   This report focuses on key issues critical to private investors as they consider investments or future expansion into businesses serving the growing passenger rail markets.

Here is  the crux of the report as explained by the Fast Company: High-speed rail can be a huge driver of jobs and economic growth, and the government has already committed to at least $10 billion worth of spending, with plans for tens of billions more in the coming years.

The report, “The Case for Business Investment in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail” (PDF) by the American Public Transportation Association finds that in addition to the obvious, but temporary, construction jobs, the benefits ripple out throughout an economy. Most importantly, for each $1 billion spent on train construction, 24,000 permanent jobs are created. That’s a mere $41,667 per job, which looks downright cheap when you’re staring down 9% unemployment.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority estimates that building a high-speed rail link between L.A. and San Francisco would result in 600,000 construction jobs and 450,000 permanent new jobs. There are currently 2.2 million unemployed people in the state; high-speed rail would halve its unemployment rate.

Click here to read the Fast Co. analysis.

Shown below is the APTA presser accompanying this report.

New report shows tangible economic benefits of investments in building a 21st century rail system

Washington, DC – April 6, 2011 –The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) released a report detailing the enormous impact high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects will have in driving  job development,  while also rebuilding America’s manufacturing sector and generating billions of dollars in business sales.  This report focuses on key issues critical to private investors as they consider investments or future expansion into businesses serving the growing passenger rail markets.

The report, “The Case for Business Investment in High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail” reinforces the point that investments in high-speed and intercity rail will have many direct and indirect benefits.  Nationally, due to proposed federal investment of high-speed rail over a six-year period, investment can result in supporting and creating more than 1.3 million jobs.  This federal investment will be the catalyst for attracting state, local and private capital which will result in the support and creation of even more jobs.

According to this new report, investments in building a 21st century rail system will not only lead to a large increase in construction jobs, but to the sustainable, long-term growth of new manufacturing and service jobs across the country.

“It is evident that investing in high-speed and intercity rail projects presents one of the clearest and fastest ways to create green, American jobs and spur long-term economic growth,” said APTA President William Millar. “Investing in high-speed rail is essential for America as we work to build a sustainable, modern transportation system that meets the environmental and energy challenges of the future.”

APTA noted for each $1 billion invested in high-speed rail projects, the analysis predicts the support and creation of 24,000 jobs.

In addition to the thousands of new construction jobs, investments in high-speed rail will jumpstart the U.S. economy. The Economic Development Research Group for the U.S. Conference of Mayors studied the business impact of high-speed rail investment in different urban regions.  For example, in Los Angeles, CA, high-speed rail investment generates $7.6 billion in business sales and $6.1 billion in Chicago, IL.

“Federal high-speed rail investment is a strong driver in getting private companies to invest,” said Kevin McFall, Senior Vice President at Stacy and Witbeck Inc., a leading public transit construction firm. “This program can be a shot in the arm for the manufacturing industry.  These high-speed rail projects will give us the opportunity to put people to work building the rail infrastructure this country desperately needs.”

“U.S. businesses have been known for their cutting edge technologies and innovations, said Jeffrey Wharton, President of IMPulse NC. “We need to put this expertise to work, providing business and employment opportunities while catching up with the rest of the world in high-speed rail and its associated benefits.”

“We are excited about the prospect of putting Americans to work building the rail tracks and equipment that will keep America’s economic recovery moving forward,” said Charles Wochele, Vice President for Industry and Government Relations at Alstom Transport. “We look forward to partnering with the federal and state governments to ensure these projects get off the ground.”

Here is a related article (and some interesting comments to go with it) I posted a couple of days ago.

(Source:  Raman’s Strategic Analysis & Wikipedia)

On April 11,2011, the Government-controlled Xinhua news agency of China has disseminated from Lhasa a report on the construction of a fast rail line to connect Lanzhou, the capital of the Gansu province, with Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang province. The construction of this line, capable of carrying trains moving at 300 KMs an hour, was started in 2009 and is due to be completed in 2015. The Xinhua despatch has quoted some Chinese analysts as viewing the line as significant more from the national security and political angle than from the economic perspective.Though the Xinhua has not spelt it out in such terms, it should be apparent that the railway line will help strengthen Beijing’s control over the Tibetan and Uighur-inhabited areas of the country (11-4-11).

Some of the key highlights of this rail line as reported in the Xinhua report:

• This rail line will connect Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, with Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
• China Railway 20th Group Co., Ltd., is in charge of the construction, which began in 2009.
• Wages for construction workers is also double compared to the construction in the flatlands (due to tough  working conditions in high-altitudes)
• According to Wikipedia, the rail tracks in the section near Qilianshan Tunnel will be at 3,858 meters above sea level^[3], making it the highest high-speed rail track in the world.
• Trains will run at 350 kilometres per hour on the line.^[4][5]

Click here to read the full text of the Xinhua dispatch.

Editor’s note:  Though the pursuit of China’s high-speed in this northwestern region is discussed from the militaristic and national security-oriented perspective, it offers a glimpse of the national leadership’s desire to connect the vast outlying remote areas of rural China.  This offers an swift and safe access route for people and goods to flow between these regions and the big centers of trade/commerce and manufacturing situated along the coast line in the Eastern part of the country.  It is amazing to see how steadfast is the Communist leadership in its commitment to build this national strategic infrastructure asset.

(Source: YouTube via Wonkette)

Washington DC’s political columnist Wonkette says this video below earned cheers during this year’s Conservative Political Action Congress (CPAC).  Hey, wait a second.. aren’t the conservatives dead against all things high speed rail? At least that what one would think reading this rebuttal from House T & I Committee leadership, (chaired by FL Republican  Rep. John Mica), slamming President Obama’s proposal to spend some big money on High Speed Rail projects to prop up the economy and job market.  Watching this makes me wonder if the Republican leadership in the  has seen it already? Did he know that this idea was received warmly by fellow Republicans?

Related articles

• Republicans Begin Fight Against High-Speed Rail in US (inhabitat.com)
• Obama Administration Investing $53 Billion in High Speed Rail (ecogeek.org)
• Obama to call for $53B for high-speed rail (sfgate.com)
• Biden: Hey, let’s spend $53 billion on high-speed rail (hotair.com)
• Winning The Future With High Speed Rail (redstate.com)

(Source: AFP via Yahoo)

A Chinese passenger train hit a record speed of 302 miles per hour (486 kilometers per hour) Friday during a test run of a yet-to-be opened link between Beijing and Shanghai, state media said.

The Xinhua News Agency said it was the fastest speed recorded by an unmodified conventional commercial train. Other types of trains in other countries have traveled faster.

A specially modified French TGV train reached 357.2 mph (574.8 kph) during a 2007 test, while a Japanese magnetically levitated train sped to 361 mph (581 kph) in 2003.

State television footage showed the sleek white train whipping past green farm fields in eastern China. It reached the top speed on a segment of the 824-mile (1,318-kilometer) -long line between Zaozhuang city in Shandong province and Bengbu city in Anhui province, Xinhua said.

Click here to read the entire article.

Note: I can’t help myself marvel at how different the conditions are for High Speed Rail deployment in two different ends of the globe – China vs. USA.  Here is a story that outlines how a  political game played in Washington is wreaking havoc to any chances of deploying a successful high-speed rail network.  While American politicians are embroiled in petty politics, Beijing’s communist rulers have already bought into he value of investing in such a network, especially with an exploding demand for transportation in the decades ahead as the nation’s wealth increases, and are determined to show their commitment to a successful, wide-spread deployment.  It makes one thing clear  – we in the West are not really lacking in ideas and ambitions; our pitfalls (and therefore the poor performance in a competitive economy) are in our inability to come together and look at common good beyond party lines. Somehow we managed to convince, not just the nation but the entire world, a $744+Billions war  (an utterly unprovoked and unnecessary war whose costs are still climbing at a giddying pace) is worth bleeding for in terms of national security.  But somehow we are not willing to look past our differences to come together and execute a project that is only going to make us better. Why are our politicians adamant to not realize that such modern infrastructure projects are good for our nation’s economic security in the long run? Oh well, its gotta be the Democracy that we are trying to export as a successful model.

Related articles

• China passenger train hits 300 mph, breaks record (sfgate.com)
• China Unveils World’s Fastest High Speed Train (huffingtonpost.com)
• China Passenger Train Breaks World Record (abcnews.go.com)
• China claims new passenger train speed record (ctv.ca)
• Chinese passenger train sets new world speed record after reaching 302mph (dailymail.co.uk)
• imabonehead: China passenger train hits 300 mph, breaks record – Yahoo! News (news.yahoo.com)
• Chinese train sets speed record, Xinhua reports (cnn.com)
• Chinese passenger train breaks world speed record (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Chinese passenger train breaks world speed record (foxnews.com)
• Chinese passenger train reaches 302mph, claims speed record for unmodified trains (engadget.com)