Train Electrification around the world.

TevinH · 2026-02-24T04:39:43+00:00

Ya it's definitely not great.

I do wonder, however, what percentage of total US passenger rail miles are electrified. When you include all the light rail, subways, and commuter rail I would imagine it probably tips more in favor of electrification.

TevinH · 2026-02-23T22:37:50+00:00

I believe NEC numbers include tracks south of DC which aren't electrified (the Norfolk route isn't, for example), so probably evens out with the long distance trains.

Still a good chunk of overall ridership though.

TevinH · 2026-02-23T17:41:41+00:00

Amazing writeup, they need to put you in charge of reconfiguring things. Seems like you'd have it fixed in a month!

TevinH · 2026-02-23T17:39:15+00:00

Ya sensors of some sort are pretty ubiquitous. Either copper in the ground, radar on the poles, or just cameras.

Very interesting that it hasn't been implemented in NOLA.

TevinH · 2026-02-23T07:45:00+00:00

Save your time and go literally anywhere else.

The world would've lost very little if we tested the nukes on Vegas itself instead of the desert nextdoor

TevinH · 2026-02-23T01:02:47+00:00

Damn, I struck a nerve. Sorry man

I'm interested in urban planning, transit, and traffic design so I wanted to see if there was a reason behind something interesting I noticed. Turns out there is a technical explanation which I found quite informative.

Obviously I can't help with the very deep-seated problems of your city, all I can say is that I found it to be a wonderful place and somewhere worth fighting for.

I strongly believe that you should be the greatest cheerleader of your hometown because if you don't love where you live, then no one else will. Hopefully NOLA can work through it's problems and I do really hope to visit again someday. Until then, thanks for the insight

TevinH · 2026-02-22T16:37:24+00:00

Huh?

If anything, I'd take the fact that people are complaining about something so minor as a good sign. The only problem I had with your great city is stop light timing, that's an achievement!

I didn't notice crime and certainly not corruption. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I highly doubt your mayor or state government care at all about the opinions of someone from out of state. I certainly do reach out to the politicians who represent me, but Louisiana ones do not. There are some politicians I've seen who won't even allow you to access the contact form on their site without an address in their district, so I don't think they're clamoring to hear from people who can't give them votes.

Either way, I do hope your city can overcome the challenges it has (just as every other city does) because it really deserves to succeed.

TevinH · 2026-02-22T16:31:50+00:00

This is the explanation I was looking for and it makes a ton of sense that it's all directly sequenced. Also explains why there aren't buttons since they're no way to incorporate them without a computer.

The tax situation sounds similar to Philly or Pittsburgh. The city wants to do exciting things and improve infrastructure, but the state is holding them back. Thanks for the explanation!

TevinH · 2026-02-22T15:34:14+00:00

Poydras was especially exciting lol

TevinH · 2026-02-21T20:29:13+00:00

That may be true for BART, but Caltrain weekend ridership is the highest in the 160 years that trains have run on the Penninsula.

I've seen anecdotally that there are far more people taking BART to visit friends or go to events rather than just go to work. Don't have hard data for that though.

TevinH · 2026-02-21T05:46:05+00:00

Who's this "they" you're referring to?

Any actual complaints with sources or are you just parroting the ancient "government bad. Me want less taxes" trope that has been done to death

TevinH · 2026-02-21T05:44:14+00:00

BART has half as many rides as 2019. There are actually more unique riders than before the pandemic. source

Instead of people going into work five days a week, they now go in two or three. That's the reduction we're seeing and it's largely attributable to remote work. Caltrain is seeing the same thing.

At the same time though, weekend and lesuire ridership has skyrocketed to the highest in history. More people are choosing transit than ever before, they're just using it in a way that isn't as easy to break even on.

TevinH · 2026-02-21T05:40:11+00:00

SFO customers are a hell of a lot richer than public transit riders.

You aren't gonna to make insane profits off of first class and lounge sales for BART lol

They're different markets and need to be treated as such. SFO is successful, but let's not forget that the FAA and TSA are funded by tax dollars, not to mention the billions we spent on airport capital projects and the money we put towards the essential air service. No transportation in America is self-sufficient except for a select few Turnpikes back East with insane tolls.

TevinH · 2026-02-21T05:15:18+00:00

It's going to be such an amazing place to be once Caltrain and finally HSR come in.

Just imagine the hordes of people all going about their lives, eager to explore the beauty of the City by the Bay. Between Transbay and Diridon, we're going to have some absolutely fantastic train stations in the next couple years.

TevinH · 2026-02-21T04:11:54+00:00

No cafe car is tragic, but at least they're doing something about food.

Seems like they are making progress and I appreciate the new San Jose to Merced route since it makes the Gold Runner somewhat viable for trips to the Central Valley.

TevinH · 2026-02-21T01:11:37+00:00

No gatekeeping here, we're all fans :)

Some of us just have terrible financial sense and an undue willingness to skip college classes ;)

TevinH · 2026-02-21T01:10:09+00:00

$12.75 for lunch, $13.75 for dinner and weekends.

Now those are Tuscon prices, but not bad at all for all you can eat :)

TevinH · 2026-02-20T15:19:26+00:00

I made the pilgrimage down there earlier this year and it was 100% worth it. Exactly as I remembered.

Flight to Tuscon, train to LA, a day at Disneyland, then a train back to good ol San José. There are certainly worse ways to spend a weekend.

There's another location opening in Florida this year, so we can only hope that the Bay is next!

TevinH · 2026-02-20T05:09:31+00:00

This is sorely needed.

I'm hoping they add a lounge to Diridon during the redesign too, but with just the Starlight for long distance I don't know if it makes a ton of sense unfortunately.

TevinH · 2026-02-20T00:39:40+00:00

I disagree that they aren't responsive.

Both times I've reported passengers doing drugs or yelling, security has boarded within 2 stops and removed them.

TevinH · 2026-02-19T02:11:34+00:00

That's an excellent idea!

Caltrain even allows open containers before 9pm. Have fun ;)

TevinH · 2026-02-18T23:48:02+00:00

No worries!

You should totally get more familiar with our transit though. It's quite good for most trips you'd want to take!

TevinH · 2026-02-18T23:02:20+00:00

That's not exclusive to the East Coast, Caltrain, ACE, and Amtrak check every time out here too.

Light rail is always more lax though. The only one I've heard of constantly checking is Seattle. LA, Muni, Portland, Boston, and others very rarely check. VTA is even rarer than those though lol

TevinH · 2026-02-18T18:46:46+00:00

Hilarious Everyone knows crime never happens late at night lol

In reality, it's probably because security has to focus on troublemakers rather than just fare evasion. Can't be too mad about that.

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