Apparently concrete ties are better than wooden ones.
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CATS Cheif Keith Parker is leaving Charlotte for San Antonio (Why?). I wonder if its because they are going to do some rail building.
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Can high speed rail really be called transit? And if not, is the transbay terminal a multimodal transit hub? Just a thought.
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He not only lied about the bike numbers in his recent Newsweek column, he also doubled the cost in his head of the California HSR line. Apparently facts don't matter to George "Jean Shorts" Will.
4 comments:
Concrete sleepers are better unless you have a derailment. Then they often have to be replaced before their time. Another issue that wasn't mentioned, but is critical in Australia, is the water cost of each method. Cutting trees down halves the runoff.
Keith wants the money. 200k vs 300k a year by the time its said and done. Unfortunately the LYNX opponents are saying that Keith is bailing on us because he realized the 2030 plan is on life support and going to fall through. This is obviously not the case but it is sure going to make passing another 1/2 cent referrendum pretty hard.
Buses and Caltrain locals ... that's two modes. Hence, multi-modal.
It would be nice if there was a third transit mode there, because the more transit accessibility at an HSR station the better ... but if an underground people mover to the nearby BART stations were to be built, that would make three.
Appropriate tie choice depends on local climate and situation, according to what I've read. This is because the *lifetime* of the ties depends *massively* on local climate.
Wooden ties deteriorate in as little as 3 years in highly unfavorable climates like swamps. Swamps are also really hard on concrete, and plastic ties appear to be best for swamps.
In most climates, concrete ties will last longer, which is essentially why they work out better. In Florida, all swamp, wood ties die very very fast and concrete ties are far better, but plastic ties are even better.
There are, however, some climates which are really hard on concrete and even hard on plastic, but where wood ties last longer than normal. If I remember correctly, they are dry climates: deserts with windblown sand as the main cause of damage.
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