>groundbreaking was over a year ago
>was supposed to start heavy construction 2 months ago
>still no progress whatsoever
HSR bros, did we get bamboozled again?

What even is the point of connecting anything to San Bernadino?

>>2045579
It connects to San Bernadino via the existing MetroLink line, the main goal is connecting LA/OC to Las Vegas alongside the I-15 because there is a lot of traffic between the two areas and it's a relatively long distance so it makes the most logistical sense for a HSR (more sense than Bakersfield and Fresno anyways)

>>2045598
they should pull a mini shinkansen since everythings already standard gauge and just couple a diesel loco at san Bernardino to pull it to la union

>>2045572 (OP)
really funny that americans think they can build a HSR when they don't even have a fundamental passenger rail system outside of the northeast. metrolink is utterly laughable for a metro area of over 13 million people

>>2045762
I mean, MetroLink probably could serve more people if it was a big enough market. The US isn't like Europe where Commuter trains have nearly a billion riders annually. The HSR isn't even meant to replace MetroLink, it's meant to serve as an intercity rail between LA and Las Vegas. I'm sure there would be more effort into improving the existing commuter lines if more people actually rode them. It's not like the issue with these trains is too much ridership

>>2045598
>let me just ride commuter rail for 3 hours then ride a HIGH SPEED RAIL for another 3 hours to go to Vegas
Literally just drive or fly with Spirit for $15

>>2045772
what do you mean big enough market? It's a market of over 13 million people! and currently the technology for what we europeans would consider the most basic commuter rail, does not even exist west of chicago. like why the fuck is there only hourly service from union station to anaheim, even in rush hour?

>>2045882
>only hourly service from union station to anaheim, even in rush hour
Most people just fly from LAX to John Wayne Airport in Orange County

>>2045882
>currently the technology for what we europeans would consider the most basic
what, not having air conditioning on trains?

>>2045882
>It's a market of over 13 million people!
Right, and annual ridership is only 5.5 million people, because the market is 5.5 million people annually, which is less than 13 million people, since most people just drive or bike places, and the market for commuter trains isn't that big

>>2045882
Sorry we only do feasibility studies in America. Because white collar always pays more. Management always pays more. So if you want to move up in the world and buy a house and start a family, you aren't allowed to create anything except paper/bureaucracy.

>>2045882
If anything infrastructure is already overbuilt in the US considering no one uses it. Los Angeles just built a giant transit center. It has two services, one of them has a daily ridership of 3,170 people, the other is somewhat better but still only 21,902 people. I don't think there is any country that would build a giant station for nearly a billion dollars with these numbers.

>>2046012
The line with a ridership of 22,000 people daily is sandwiched inside a 10-lane freeway, which leads to dark and unsafe-looking station entries and massive noise pollution on the platform. It's also light rail despite being fully grade-separated.
The line with a ridership of under 3,200 people daily had virtually no use before this month, as it didn't connect the airport directly, and it's still a glorified streetcar with median at-grade right of way and it will never offer a one seat ride from the airport to downtown LA.
The problem isn't too much infrastructure, the problem is that LACMTA don't know what the fuck they're doing, just like all other transit agencies west of Chicago. We need heavy rail to Santa Monica, the Orange Line needs to be heavy rail, the Silver Line needs to be preferably heavy rail, there should legitimately be no reason to ever build glorified trams in LA county.
Also, Union Station platforms look so basic that if it didn't have 12 tracks, I'd think it's my local railway station serving an area of maybe 5000 people. No wonder everyone takes the car when met with such hostile environments.

>>2046111
Yeah bro no one cares about your "light rail" "heavy rail" autism. In every other country people don't even know what the fuck these words mean. Your argument is basically that we need 6000 billion of rail everywhere so maybe more than 5 people will start riding it. Good luck

>>2046150
>In every other country people don't even know what the fuck these words mean
Why you lying far

>>2046111
>just like all other transit agencies west of Chicago
The transit agency up in Portland seems to know more about what they're doing.
It's California that's the basket case. Always was.

>>2046111
I live in the South Bay and there is no reason to ever take the K line to go downtown because it is so slow and the transfer to the E line is terrible.
The J line bus rapid transit is so much better because it uses the toll lanes on the freeway and the freeways are designed to get you places fast.
That bus is always packed because it's actually useful and time efficient.

>>2046385
The only people who use this "heavy rail" "light rail" terminology are autistic American foamers with a furry avatar who have this autistic need to categorize everything for some reason.
Each country has their own system, German speaking countries have S-Bahn, there are pre-metro trams in Germany, there are trams with grade separated sections outside the inner city in Switzerland, the metro in Copenhagen has shorter vehicles than many trams in other countries, there are lines that have been converted to tram lines from some other system or the exact other way around, etc This jerking off over "heavy rail" makes no sense

>>2046508
Not really, the terminology literally derives from "Stadtbahn" but even so despite all the variation it's generally accepted that it means either a tram with dedicated track or a light metro. Heavy rail/"S-bahn" will mean any commuter railway built to a loading gauge of that countries national rail system (of course since America is federalised and has transit authorities it doesn't exactly work that way but the rolling stock used for said commuter railways is interchangeable and a good amount of it is ex-Amtrak anyway). But if I still haven't made my point:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tram_and_light_rail_transit_systems
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-capacity_rail_system#List_of_medium-capacity_rail_systems

>>2045572 (OP)
I work for the company that is constructing the rail for this high speed train. AMA

>>2046479
seems like each line runs every 15 minutes so no i don't think the trimet in portland knows what they're doing for an urban area of 2.1 million people

>>2045572 (OP)
>anything ever getting built here for any reason
Yeah, not happening.
Florida's brightline will extend all the way to DC, creating one giant east coast gigalopolis, before a single mile of track is laid anywhere west of the Rockies.

>>2046150
People would ride it if your stations weren't in the middle of nowhere