Your California HSR videos have informed me and actually made me proud to be a Californian. I didn't think it was a real thing before, but its obviously awesome and for sure a big contribution to the future of the state.
Face-to-face conversations are really important. High speed rail is expensive, but such is life. We have to invest in people. It is a worthwhile investment. I am really glad California is investing in the future. Thank you for keeping us updated.
I think this channel has been my most rewarding sub so far. He never disappoints even when videos like this one require a ridiculous amount of work. I appreciate the effort that goes into these and I’m impressed by the progress on this project in just the last year alone.
First, I want to thank you for this content. Obviously, a lot of time and effort went into it, and your experience and subject knowledge truly make this valuable source. My comment relates to the HSR authority's lack of communication on this project. You spent some time on the air travel issue - the limited service in many parts of the state - which I had not considered. My concern is airport capacity, which is not infinite, and I think HSR should be communicating how this link will lessen intrastate use of our airports. Also, this rail link will be completely grade separated, and HSR has neither communicated the advantages of this nor how this makes this rail line a more complex issue than standard, at-grade rail. To wit: I recently retired from UC San Diego, but I have watched the construction of the blue line extension for many years. I also remember decades back when the UC was dead-set against the line. Circumstances and minds were changed, and next month the line will open for service. While the construction was complex and time consuming, the new line is completely grade separated, and for that reason I'm sure it will be a very reliable service. Again, thank you for this content - I look forward to the next segment!
The Authority actually does point it out and the 2020 Business Plan included a fair amount of discussion of the intra-San Joaquin Valley benefits from even the IOS, much less the entire system. The issue is that the negative headlines get more attention and few people take the time to bother doing stuff like riding the Business Plans-apparently including the Legislature which needs to approve the funding.
Thank you so much for your hard work on making this video John and Cody! The onboard view from the train was a nice addition and all the drone flyovers are really valuable!
People travel to Europe and ride the HS rail and then back home complain about the US not having HS rail. The politicians suggest HS rail and the same travelers say NIMBY
I recall being in a Japanese HSR station with a local train stopped to take on passengers. A through train came streaking through the station on a passing track. Are such fly by tracks included in all CAHSR stations?
I was wondering that too. Some of those rights of way are really wide, and some seem pretty narrow. Our host mentioned quad track a couple of times, but there's no way that they'd be able to fit four tracks in some of those narrow rights of way. Maybe those will be dual track instead.
Thanks for doing voiceovers for the ENTIRE video!!! For me it adds so much more with additional insights and information than a plain flyover. I know you were debating even if you gonna do a voiceover so I'm very happy you decided to put in the mountain of work that was required to a do a 1 hour and 20 minutes voice over!!! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for this. The drone altitude is just right to capture detail and surroundings. Are there any places along the route where you run into FAA issues? Do you think you will be able to cover the entire wye? The entire run to Palmdale? It looks like Google maps images are a few months older than your August shooting weekend but they are much closer to the HSR status than they were in the last update.
The only gap in the footage was along the cedar viaduct in Fresno. The hsr line briefly dips into the flight path of Fresno executive airport, so I didn’t film that, but otherwise the valley is pretty wide open lol. As construction moves to other parts of the project, I will definitely do my best to document it all!
@@TheFourFoot I really enjoy your videos and commentary. The state needs to figure out how to get this project finished. It seems a continuous viaduct through the valley would have avoided so many ground conflicts and reduce irrigated farm annexation. Obviously dirt must be cheaper. Or maybe the opposite. (-: Will the dirt borrow sites be turned into wetland habitat or go back to almond trees?
I would imagine the borrow sites will likely be used for something in the future, although I don’t know what that is. Certainly a continuous viaduct would have avoided many conflicts, but alas, I’m sure it would have been much more expensive as well.
There were complaints about the interstate highway system when it was being built back in the 60's ;since then the complainers have been using said system . You are reporting on a ground breaking project so keep up the good work and pay no attention to the naysayers.
Thanks for the update. I have been looking forward to it. It's great to see that progress is taking place, and although I wish it were moving at a faster pace, the fact is, progress is moving. All those people who lie about the project not moving along (The LA times, California Democrats (?!?!?!?!)) can use this as proof that it is moving along. It's about time people on the coasts realize that it's not just about them. The Central Valley has been left behind, as has some other parts of the country, and they need something to boost the area economically just as the coasts do. Also, how the hell were you able to get a camera on the roof of a train????
Due to BNSF upgrading crossing equipment, every train has to meet 18 axles. So a Comet was added behind the locomotive and before the bi-level California Cars.
I didn’t know the reason why that comet car was there, but it makes sense, especially since the comet car is inaccessible from the rest of the train. But yeah, it is nice to see the project moving forward!
Please , please continue the updates of the HSR. I hope we can convince more Californians to support it and I hope the Biden administration will add more funding to speed the construction. Never thought that the long mile routes have been graded. and be ready for the construction KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. Thank you again. We appreciate your effort. A good exposure will prevent mismanagement of the project
Well from a European (German) perspective this is all a bit ... weird, but also amazing at the same time. I find it really shocking how a seemingly less regulated country/state can take even longer to build new infrastructure than Germany, with even worse cost overruns. But then again it is real progress. When I think of poor infrastructure and the absolute worst way to build cities and a whole country for that matter the US immediately comes to mind, but with this HSR project I finally feel like the US is catching up. You're doing a great job documenting the progress and I really hope this project gets finished in time and will be a model for success in the long term for all of the US!
@@lutomson3496 it is however extremely densely populated, land is fricking expensive here, and we do have natural limitations in a lot of places. Take switzerland for example, almost their entire country consists of mountains above 3000m (9000ft) or valeys and they managed to build among the best railway systems in the world. I would even go as far as saying that building this kind of infrastructure is even harder than building earthquake prrof infrastructure.
@@PixelSchmiede The US though has a lot of cost factors that have nothing to do with this though, we still build way more expensively than anywhere else in the world even with weaker labor protections etc.
This project is truly massive. What a great job you did getting this filmed by drone. Thanks for setting the record straight as opposed to what the media has been saying. In the end, you will have an amazing video record of before, during and after construction. It would be interesting to have certain areas viewed side by side at different stages. BTW Dust devil at 33:54 crossing the right of way. Almost got your drone.
The whole problem with US (high speed) rail projects is the obsession with them running profitably. I mean, are Americans expecting to run roads profitably too?
The drone footage is the best I've ever seen. Your presentation is so professional that it's as if you have corporate sponsorship. HSR is an incredible resource which Californians will embrace without regret after the line is completed. Future projects will be even more expensive, so the cost overruns will be forgotten. When completed, the US will finally have true high-speed rail.
I wish this video could be downloaded directly into people's brains, and they would see what an enormous effort this is, and how transformative it will be
When you edit all 3 (or 4) sections together, have you thought about speeding the video up to match the speed of a train, kind of to simulate like the drone was "chasing" the train? Idk if it'd look cool or just too shaky? (Or maybe I'll just watch it a 2x speed. lol)
It would definitely be too shakey lol. I already speed up the video to simulate approximately 60 mph. On the youtube player you can set the video to play at 2x speed, so that will be about 120 mph lol
Thank you for the quality of your information, accompanied by image. It would be interesting to continue receiving information, regularly to be able to see the progress of the works. Every 6 months, or once a year ? They go a little slow. I don't see many machines or workers on the construction site ??
Definitely not every 6 months, but I'll try to keep doing yearly updates as long as I can! This footage was shot on a weekend, hence the lack of workers, but rest assured, it's much busier on the weekdays!
Thanks for your vids. The footage is impeccable. I spent some time on this project in 2018. If you look close you can see it is nowhere near completed. If you're looking to keeping people employed with no real end practical purpose, then the project is right on track.
I really appreciate your voice over commentary of these videos. What is the purpose of various infrastructure crossing the high speed rail at 90%/perpendicular? Thanks Bob
During the time it has taken Calafornia to plan and begin this single HSR project China has built 37,000km of HSR connecting All first and 2nd Tier Cities. China's World Class HSR lines cross the Deserts of Xinjiang and the Mountains of Tibet. These massive infrastructure projects were all completed on time and on budget.
Thank you for your input on the completing of HSR. I have heard nothing but reports that it will not be complete so always great to hear a positive report. 23:00 I would have to disagree with your view on commuters from the central valley to the Bay Area. You should drive I-580 in the morning - the commute starts at 4:00 for people coming from Stockton to the Bay Area, and they are likely in for a 2 hour or more commute on the one way, same thing at night. If you build the HSR I would think there would be people commuting from these central valley cities, but time will tell. 42:00 Also, corn used at a dairy uses the whole corn stalk - it is chopped up to make silage and is fed to the cows as their primary diet with other additives. The kernels are a high energy source tho.
I work for the public library system in central CA and drive by all this stuff all the time. Neat to see it from the air; thanks for all the hard work documenting this.
Thank you for the videos. Your commentary is great. Your knowledge, experience and opinions are great for informing all us CHSR fans. I can't wait to ride HSR. Keep up the good work.
What is the latest on the planned speed of CA HSR? I read 220 mph top speed, and later, only 150 mph? What's going on now? Would be great if you could explain this physically on site. I...and likely many others...would be disappointed if it was reduced.
Seriously, why do private companies bidding on public projects underbid the cost of projects just to win the bids? Then, public governments get blamed for selecting low bids.
@@TheFourFoot @tealice It must be the Baker Commodities' animal rendering plant, turning carcasses into "valuable commodities, such as fuel, personal care products, animal feed and fertilizer".
Just wanted to add my kudos to the work you’ve done video documenting progress of CalHSR and despite naysayers such as/Andrew Gumbel of the Guardian newspaper who recently dubbed the project a train to nowhere. You have correctly, pointed out accurately, I believe the immense difficulties inherent with this huge construction project. I have lived in Southern California for most of my life, and grew up during the period of massive highway construction in California and the LA regional area. We drove the I5 corridor for many years during its early construction from Los Angeles to Portland Oregon (now beginning to suffer from congestion at many times of the day or night) I am old enough to remember the same negative comments being made about the San Francisco BART during its construction (a system that is now widely held up as a exemplary) and more recently the same critiques of the LA Metro System. I only hope I will live long enough to ride at least the completed Central Valley segment. I enjoy following along on Google maps satellite view while viewing your videos, and if I might offer a suggestion to include a compass or some indication within the video frame of the direction of travel
Good job again on the video. I like the way you show the right of way in different angles, perspective. I think that you should continue to do that. Makes it interesting to see. Thank you for taking the time to give us the information/updates. Keep up the good work, I will continue to follow your videos.
I live in the Sacramento region were we have been told HSR will eventually reach. I strongly feel it should have been started in Sacramento for the following reasons; . There is an abandoned rail line between Sacramento ( Power Inn Rd)and Stockton, that could probably have been relatively cheap to acquire. 2. Connecting the Sacramento regions 1.5 million people with Lodi, Stockton, Modesto , Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield makes economic sense, California is more than San Francisco and LA. The distances between the these valley cities is probably too short for economical air service but perfect for rail., Now to argue against my own point if the French had been given the construction contract for their alignment along I-5 it probably would have been near completion by now.
@@TohaBgood2 Thanks for your response to my comments on HSR. I do not believe that there is majority support for HSR in California. That is why I believe that all major metropolitan areas should be included. That means Sacramento, San Diego, and the inland empire. How can we in the Central Valley support High Speed Rail if we get no benefit from it ? On the positive side , ACE is planning an extension into Sacramento that will supplement the San Juaquin's in the central valley. I have driven down SH-99 and I-5 many times the last couple of years and it is not a leisurely drive. We need HSR everywhere.
Wow....this is the kind of project the USA used to take on routinely. Did the state have to acquire property from dozens of farmers to make this happen?
Trucked in. There are a few concrete plants along the ROW (that I believe provide concrete exclusively for the project), but building a plant at each structure would be cost prohibitive.
@@TheFourFoot The construction of the Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany uses temporary on site concrete production facilities. Those facilities can be later removed.
The 3-year sequence of videos from Raiders 1967 shows how the temporary concrete facility was set up and used for construction of Allegiant Stadium. It is portable enough that the HSR construction could use a lot of them.
Concrete is made from aggregate, sand, water, cement powder, water and electricity. If all of the ingredients have to be hauled to the site by truck, its going to more efficient to haul premixed concrete to the site by truck, especially if the local cement works is supplied with raw materials by rail, as tesla berlin was.
@@theoldengineer1946 The decision to use portable concrete facilities or not would likely depend on the proximity of permanent facilities. Another factor would be the condition of the roads connecting permanent facilities to the construction site.
Instead of just stopping at Merced, I hope they can continue throughout the flat area to Sacramento. The more complex, laborious and problematic extensions such as passing through tunnels can be done when feasible or in the future.
Excellent work. The cab ride footage added a lot. Hopefully your work will sway some nay-sayers to the correct side of this great undertaking. Sorry, no money. 10-26-21 St. Joseph, MO (I'm 77)
Beijing-Shanghai High-speed rail is 800 miles long, started construction in 2008, was operational by 2011, cost a total of $34.7 billion dollars. Operate at 217mph. Now generates more than 1 billion dollars net profit each year.
In your video you say they should be laying beams over SR43 on the north end of Hanford by the time your video was published. Here we are 7 months after your video and that overpass..... moved backwards? They've come back and manually chipped away half of the east side abutment to make it into... an arch shape? Don't know if they are going to do the same thing to the west side? 7 months. No beams over the highway. I don't know what else to add.
Your comments on The Valley dying a slow death remind me of a sort of irony that California is always trying to be a leader in being an environmentally friendly "green" state. However, in terms of water usage and desertification, all those almond farms are about the worst thing the state could do to protect the environment. They can only really be grown in desert climates but also require a lot of water to mature. The state has let farms drain entire aquifers to maintain those jobs. It just isn't sustainable, and it would kind of be better for everyone if at least those farms would disappear.
US way of doing grade separation is weird. In many countries if Railway crossing small roads that use for crops machinery and small road vehicle. They build box culvert underpass with only 8-10ft height with road dip a bit lower from ground level and yes it may be like kind of this underpass every 1 mile or less because it also provides emergency waterways when flooding occurs. And I am very surprise how many of grade separation is made of Dirt embankment instead of full concrete bridge. Cheaper may be?
thank you for your service! a new video dropping and seeing the progress is always something to look out for. but i would agree that there might soon be room to get a little nervous about timely completion based on the present state of things. hopefully that turns out to be unfounded.
Texas Central Railway is building HSR from Dallas to Houston [abt 300 miles] with private money. Planning pretty much done. Dirt will start flying early 2022. It will still be completely opened before first California HSR section done. Was looking forward to riding it but the Dallas station will only be 20 miles from me and looking forward to it instead.
Good luck and may you live long enough to see even this Phase 1 section complete and be able to ride at anything clove to 185 MPH. I know I will never see this phase complete.
Is there any particular reason why, where grade separations have been completed, they are not being used? It seems like the grade separations would be pressed into service as soon as they are completed and that would benefit the existing rail service as well as traffic... Just a safer situation all around to not have traffic crossing on-grade.
He was filming from a two level car over the top of a one level car. Because the two types of car have their doors at different levels it is not possible to move between cars but this is sometimes done when extra capacity is needed. The window in the door of the two level car is above the roof of the single level car.
The video has been sped up. My new drone travels about 30 mph, and the old one tops out at 20 mph. The video has been sped up to maintain approximately 60 mph, so either 2 or 3 times.
And those solar fields powering CA HSR? Really? What happens at night and during cloudy and rainy weather? Storage is notoriously inadequate and expensive. Interested in knowing the costs of backing unreliable solar energy. In fact, even hydro is not that reliable anymore in CA, as the events of the last few years demonstrate. If CA wants 24/7 reliable, dispatchable energy, then you are talking about keeping Diablo Canyon open.
Looking at how many huge structures are built in the middle of nowhere it's no wonder the project is costing so much money. Frankly, because the HSR line requires such gentle curves and solid infrastructure, the smart thing would have been to place the entire line on the ground (where possible), and have other lines and roads pass over, or have roads especially just go through an underpass (or cut them altogether, with the area being so rural). So I've got no idea why they're doing it backwards. At this point it might have even been cheaper to go the Chinese way and just place the entire line on a prefabricated viaduct, because flyovers, especially on HSR lines, are f*cking expensive and take a lot of time to be built. 57:00 I mean seriously, why not just build an underpass for the road? 1:01:00 And why not combine both roads and build just one grade separation? It leaves me baffled as to how such a large and significant project was planned so badly.
As for the bridge at 57:00, the tracks are already at a higher elevation at that point because of the river crossings, and returning to grade to have SR-43 pass underneath wouldn't make much sense. Keep in mind, all vehicle underpass structures will be subject to flooding, not ideal for a state highway. At 101, I can see how it might be tempting to combine the two, but it would require a lot more land to be purchased than simply building two road bridges. The route is being built is by no means perfect, but theres likely dozens of reasons why each section of the alignment was chosen, and it's way too late to ever go back. Although progress has been slow, we're definitely passed to halfway point with ROW construction.
Thank you for talking in the whole video. I was the one who suggested you to talk more and even thought I do not know if you remember me or of there were other people. I appreciate that you talk the whole video and that you support this project.
@@darthmaul216 He could have meant the InterCity Express trains (given that renderings show something a Velaro-like trains, a derivative of the ICE trains), not internal combustion engine trains.
I normally don't comment but wanted to thank you for taking the time to do a voiceover for the whole video. It's much appreciated!
I’m glad you liked it thanks!
Your California HSR videos have informed me and actually made me proud to be a Californian. I didn't think it was a real thing before, but its obviously awesome and for sure a big contribution to the future of the state.
Nice! In the future I’m sure it will be hard to imagine California not having an HSR system lol
i'm constantly stunned by how this mad lad is doing such a detailed overview of the ENTIRETY of the CSR construction packages, WITH UPDATES!
Thanks! I'm a bit amazed myself lol
1hr Infrastructure and ASMR session haha. Great video as always
Thanks! I suppose it’s not too late to throw in some mic scratching lol
Face-to-face conversations are really important. High speed rail is expensive, but such is life. We have to invest in people. It is a worthwhile investment. I am really glad California is investing in the future. Thank you for keeping us updated.
I think this channel has been my most rewarding sub so far. He never disappoints even when videos like this one require a ridiculous amount of work. I appreciate the effort that goes into these and I’m impressed by the progress on this project in just the last year alone.
Thank you very much!
First, I want to thank you for this content. Obviously, a lot of time and effort went into it, and your experience and subject knowledge truly make this valuable source.
My comment relates to the HSR authority's lack of communication on this project. You spent some time on the air travel issue - the limited service in many parts of the state - which I had not considered. My concern is airport capacity, which is not infinite, and I think HSR should be communicating how this link will lessen intrastate use of our airports.
Also, this rail link will be completely grade separated, and HSR has neither communicated the advantages of this nor how this makes this rail line a more complex issue than standard, at-grade rail. To wit: I recently retired from UC San Diego, but I have watched the construction of the blue line extension for many years. I also remember decades back when the UC was dead-set against the line. Circumstances and minds were changed, and next month the line will open for service. While the construction was complex and time consuming, the new line is completely grade separated, and for that reason I'm sure it will be a very reliable service.
Again, thank you for this content - I look forward to the next segment!
The Authority actually does point it out and the 2020 Business Plan included a fair amount of discussion of the intra-San Joaquin Valley benefits from even the IOS, much less the entire system. The issue is that the negative headlines get more attention and few people take the time to bother doing stuff like riding the Business Plans-apparently including the Legislature which needs to approve the funding.
Thank you so much for your hard work on making this video John and Cody! The onboard view from the train was a nice addition and all the drone flyovers are really valuable!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
People travel to Europe and ride the HS rail and then back home complain about the US not having HS rail. The politicians suggest HS rail and the same travelers say NIMBY
I recall being in a Japanese HSR station with a local train stopped to take on passengers. A through train came streaking through the station on a passing track. Are such fly by tracks included in all CAHSR stations?
I was wondering that too. Some of those rights of way are really wide, and some seem pretty narrow. Our host mentioned quad track a couple of times, but there's no way that they'd be able to fit four tracks in some of those narrow rights of way. Maybe those will be dual track instead.
Thanks for doing voiceovers for the ENTIRE video!!! For me it adds so much more with additional insights and information than a plain flyover. I know you were debating even if you gonna do a voiceover so I'm very happy you decided to put in the mountain of work that was required to a do a 1 hour and 20 minutes voice over!!! Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much! It means a lot and I’m glad you liked it!
Thank you very much for doing this. Having done a tiny bit of editing down drone footage, this is pain-staking work.
I'm glad you liked it! I'm not trying to score points, but yeah it was a bit of work lol.
Thanks for this. The drone altitude is just right to capture detail and surroundings. Are there any places along the route where you run into FAA issues? Do you think you will be able to cover the entire wye? The entire run to Palmdale? It looks like Google maps images are a few months older than your August shooting weekend but they are much closer to the HSR status than they were in the last update.
The only gap in the footage was along the cedar viaduct in Fresno. The hsr line briefly dips into the flight path of Fresno executive airport, so I didn’t film that, but otherwise the valley is pretty wide open lol. As construction moves to other parts of the project, I will definitely do my best to document it all!
@@TheFourFoot I really enjoy your videos and commentary. The state needs to figure out how to get this project finished.
It seems a continuous viaduct through the valley would have avoided so many ground conflicts and reduce irrigated farm annexation. Obviously dirt must be cheaper. Or maybe the opposite. (-:
Will the dirt borrow sites be turned into wetland habitat or go back to almond trees?
I would imagine the borrow sites will likely be used for something in the future, although I don’t know what that is. Certainly a continuous viaduct would have avoided many conflicts, but alas, I’m sure it would have been much more expensive as well.
Thanks for this update and the effort that must have been involved. I, for one, find your "ramblings" both interesting and informative.
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it! Lol
I love California High Speed Rail.
There were complaints about the interstate highway system when it was being built back in the 60's ;since then the complainers have been using said system . You are reporting on a ground breaking project so keep up the good work and pay no attention to the naysayers.
Oh I SO agree with your statement!
Thanks a lot! And you're totally right!
Thanks for the update. I have been looking forward to it. It's great to see that progress is taking place, and although I wish it were moving at a faster pace, the fact is, progress is moving. All those people who lie about the project not moving along (The LA times, California Democrats (?!?!?!?!)) can use this as proof that it is moving along. It's about time people on the coasts realize that it's not just about them. The Central Valley has been left behind, as has some other parts of the country, and they need something to boost the area economically just as the coasts do.
Also, how the hell were you able to get a camera on the roof of a train????
Due to BNSF upgrading crossing equipment, every train has to meet 18 axles. So a Comet was added behind the locomotive and before the bi-level California Cars.
I didn’t know the reason why that comet car was there, but it makes sense, especially since the comet car is inaccessible from the rest of the train. But yeah, it is nice to see the project moving forward!
a Map of where you are where you are would be helpful and going north or south google maps doesn't show "Tulare co. Line to just south of Fresno"
Please , please continue the updates of the HSR. I hope we can convince more Californians to support it and I hope the Biden administration will add more funding to speed the construction. Never thought that the long mile routes have been graded. and be ready for the construction KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. Thank you again. We appreciate your effort. A good exposure will prevent mismanagement of the project
Well from a European (German) perspective this is all a bit ... weird, but also amazing at the same time. I find it really shocking how a seemingly less regulated country/state can take even longer to build new infrastructure than Germany, with even worse cost overruns. But then again it is real progress. When I think of poor infrastructure and the absolute worst way to build cities and a whole country for that matter the US immediately comes to mind, but with this HSR project I finally feel like the US is catching up. You're doing a great job documenting the progress and I really hope this project gets finished in time and will be a model for success in the long term for all of the US!
@@lutomson3496 it is however extremely densely populated, land is fricking expensive here, and we do have natural limitations in a lot of places. Take switzerland for example, almost their entire country consists of mountains above 3000m (9000ft) or valeys and they managed to build among the best railway systems in the world. I would even go as far as saying that building this kind of infrastructure is even harder than building earthquake prrof infrastructure.
@@PixelSchmiede The US though has a lot of cost factors that have nothing to do with this though, we still build way more expensively than anywhere else in the world even with weaker labor protections etc.
it really is quite amazing how rural this part of California is.
This project is truly massive. What a great job you did getting this filmed by drone.
Thanks for setting the record straight as opposed to what the media has been saying.
In the end, you will have an amazing video record of before, during and after construction.
It would be interesting to have certain areas viewed side by side at different stages.
BTW Dust devil at 33:54 crossing the right of way. Almost got your drone.
The California High-speed Rail Authority shi start promoting your videos. Put out the word.... What's to come.
The whole problem with US (high speed) rail projects is the obsession with them running profitably. I mean, are Americans expecting to run roads profitably too?
The drone footage is the best I've ever seen. Your presentation is so professional that it's as if you have corporate sponsorship. HSR is an incredible resource which Californians will embrace without regret after the line is completed. Future projects will be even more expensive, so the cost overruns will be forgotten. When completed, the US will finally have true high-speed rail.
You're absolutely right! and thanks! I promise there's no corporate money behind me lol
I wish this video could be downloaded directly into people's brains, and they would see what an enormous effort this is, and how transformative it will be
@@TheFourFoot you are a hero and an asset to the people. Thank you so much for your efforts!
When you edit all 3 (or 4) sections together, have you thought about speeding the video up to match the speed of a train, kind of to simulate like the drone was "chasing" the train? Idk if it'd look cool or just too shaky? (Or maybe I'll just watch it a 2x speed. lol)
It would definitely be too shakey lol. I already speed up the video to simulate approximately 60 mph. On the youtube player you can set the video to play at 2x speed, so that will be about 120 mph lol
cant wait for the next part
Thank you for the quality of your information, accompanied by image. It would be interesting to continue receiving information, regularly to be able to see the progress of the works. Every 6 months, or once a year ? They go a little slow. I don't see many machines or workers on the construction site ??
Definitely not every 6 months, but I'll try to keep doing yearly updates as long as I can! This footage was shot on a weekend, hence the lack of workers, but rest assured, it's much busier on the weekdays!
Caltrain Electrification Update soon? I am curious!
Yes, absolutely lol
Thanks for your vids. The footage is impeccable. I spent some time on this project in 2018. If you look close you can see it is nowhere near completed. If you're looking to keeping people employed with no real end practical purpose, then the project is right on track.
If you look close it’s getting done
@@darthmaul216 better known as Train Troll
Thanks for the video!
Thanks for watching!
I really appreciate your voice over commentary of these videos.
What is the purpose of various infrastructure crossing the high speed rail at 90%/perpendicular?
Thanks
Bob
Any more updates coming?
I want California High Speed Rail.
This is an project managers dream, little vegetation to clear, few people to deal with
65 Miles of work to keep you occupied.
Will you cover Empire Corridor high speed rail (still in environmental review)?
During the time it has taken Calafornia to plan and begin this single HSR project China has built 37,000km of HSR connecting All first and 2nd Tier Cities.
China's World Class HSR lines cross the Deserts of Xinjiang and the Mountains of Tibet.
These massive infrastructure projects were all completed on time and on budget.
Finally the thing is moving along it only took 20 years and like 1 year of construction to get here
Thank you for your input on the completing of HSR. I have heard nothing but reports that it will not be complete so always great to hear a positive report.
23:00 I would have to disagree with your view on commuters from the central valley to the Bay Area. You should drive I-580 in the morning - the commute starts at 4:00 for people coming from Stockton to the Bay Area, and they are likely in for a 2 hour or more commute on the one way, same thing at night. If you build the HSR I would think there would be people commuting from these central valley cities, but time will tell.
42:00 Also, corn used at a dairy uses the whole corn stalk - it is chopped up to make silage and is fed to the cows as their primary diet with other additives. The kernels are a high energy source tho.
Why isn't this train Whole network elevated? Won't it lead to animal accidents?
Chsr is a great project long lived california high speed rail authority
Might have just been better to buy some TBM's and tunnel between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
I work for the public library system in central CA and drive by all this stuff all the time. Neat to see it from the air; thanks for all the hard work documenting this.
Thank you for the videos. Your commentary is great. Your knowledge, experience and opinions are great for informing all us CHSR fans. I can't wait to ride HSR. Keep up the good work.
WOW , the amount of infrastructure that has to move and changed is kinda mind blowing.
How many flights did you have to make to get the footage for this video?
Dust devil at 34:00. Is that a risk to a drone?
What is the latest on the planned speed of CA HSR? I read 220 mph top speed, and later, only 150 mph? What's going on now? Would be great if you could explain this physically on site. I...and likely many others...would be disappointed if it was reduced.
Both. Depends on the track at that location
44:09 "whatever this facility is" ... dead cows all over the place ... hahaha
11:38 did you... Fly your drone ontop of the train?
You shoud be sponsored by Central Valley Tourist Board or somesuch :)
Lol sure
@@TheFourFoot I don’t think these videos help the central valleys case haha
Thank you for making this. It was very interesting. I am extremely curious what drone you used, how you kept track of it and followed it.
I used both a DJI Mavic 2 and Mavic pro. The app provides a map, making it pretty easy to keep track of.
@@TheFourFoot Thanks for the feedback.
California Shinkansen I think I'll call it that. Because it's fun. Yes
I’m fine with that lol
@@TheFourFoot through services from the Sanyō Shinkansen to L.A when?
Uhhh, soon lol
Because Shinkansen means "new trunk line" it is most appropriate.
@@danielcarroll3358 Is there currently a trunk line through California?
Seriously, why do private companies bidding on public projects underbid the cost of projects just to win the bids? Then, public governments get blamed for selecting low bids.
It’s all about that short term gain, unfortunately…
Sometime John's pauses with the eyrie music gave me goosebumps of what to is coming up next.
I claim artistic license lol
That facility at 44:02 looks very disturbing, with those leashed cows laying on the ground and the piles of them in the trucks.
It is. I don’t know if it’s a tannery or what, but either way, not good.
@@TheFourFoot @tealice It must be the Baker Commodities' animal rendering plant, turning carcasses into "valuable commodities, such as fuel, personal care products, animal feed and fertilizer".
Beautiful footage. The town of Conejo (Spanish for rabbit) is nearby the Conejo Avenue Viaduct that has been mislabeled as Canejo.
As others have said, but I want to reiterate, really appreciate the time and effort that has gone in to making these videos!
Thank you very much!
Just wanted to add my kudos to the work you’ve done video documenting progress of CalHSR and despite naysayers such as/Andrew Gumbel of the Guardian newspaper who recently dubbed the project a train to nowhere.
You have correctly, pointed out accurately, I believe the immense difficulties inherent with this huge construction project.
I have lived in Southern California for most of my life, and grew up during the period of massive highway construction in California and the LA regional area. We drove the I5 corridor for many years during its early construction from Los Angeles to Portland Oregon (now beginning to suffer from congestion at many times of the day or night) I am old enough to remember the same negative comments being made about the San Francisco BART during its construction (a system that is now widely held up as a exemplary) and more recently the same critiques of the LA Metro System. I only hope I will live long enough to ride at least the completed Central Valley segment.
I enjoy following along on Google maps satellite view while viewing your videos, and if I might offer a suggestion to include a compass or some indication within the video frame of the direction of travel
Good job again on the video. I like the way you show the right of way in different angles, perspective. I think that you should continue to do that. Makes it interesting to see. Thank you for taking the time to give us the information/updates. Keep up the good work, I will continue to follow your videos.
Thank you very much!
I live in the Sacramento region were we have been told HSR will eventually reach. I strongly feel it should have been started in Sacramento for the following reasons; . There is an abandoned rail line between Sacramento ( Power Inn Rd)and Stockton, that could probably have been relatively cheap to acquire. 2. Connecting the Sacramento regions 1.5 million people with Lodi, Stockton, Modesto , Merced, Fresno and Bakersfield makes economic sense, California is more than San Francisco and LA. The distances between the these valley cities is probably too short for economical air service but perfect for rail., Now to argue against my own point if the French had been given the construction contract for their alignment along I-5 it probably would have been near completion by now.
@@TohaBgood2 Thanks for your response to my comments on HSR. I do not believe that there is majority support for HSR in California. That is why I believe that all major metropolitan areas should be included. That means Sacramento, San Diego, and the inland empire. How can we in the Central Valley support High Speed Rail if we get no benefit from it ? On the positive side ,
ACE is planning an extension into Sacramento that will supplement the San Juaquin's in the central valley. I have driven down SH-99 and I-5 many times the last couple of years and it is not a leisurely drive. We need HSR everywhere.
Wow....this is the kind of project the USA used to take on routinely. Did the state have to acquire property from dozens of farmers to make this happen?
Oh yeah lol. Land acquisition has been one of the biggest hurdles in this project.
Why is this so mesmerizing
When the elevated portion of the track is being constructed will the concrete be mixed on site or trucked in from off site?
Trucked in. There are a few concrete plants along the ROW (that I believe provide concrete exclusively for the project), but building a plant at each structure would be cost prohibitive.
@@TheFourFoot The construction of the Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany uses temporary on site concrete production facilities. Those facilities can be later removed.
The 3-year sequence of videos from Raiders 1967 shows how the temporary concrete facility was set up and used for construction of Allegiant Stadium. It is portable enough that the HSR construction could use a lot of them.
Concrete is made from aggregate, sand, water, cement powder, water and electricity. If all of the ingredients have to be hauled to the site by truck, its going to more efficient to haul premixed concrete to the site by truck, especially if the local cement works is supplied with raw materials by rail, as tesla berlin was.
@@theoldengineer1946 The decision to use portable concrete facilities or not would likely depend on the proximity of permanent facilities. Another factor would be the condition of the roads connecting permanent facilities to the construction site.
Instead of just stopping at Merced, I hope they can continue throughout the flat area to Sacramento. The more complex, laborious and problematic extensions such as passing through tunnels can be done when feasible or in the future.
Although that would be much preferred, the money released for HSR construction doesn't cover that stretch yet.
1:00:54 I see nothing wrong with the curves. People forget this is high speed rail only, so the tracks will have some significant superelevation.
Yes they will lol
Excellent work. The cab ride footage added a lot. Hopefully your work will sway some nay-sayers to the correct side of this great undertaking. Sorry, no money. 10-26-21 St. Joseph, MO (I'm 77)
Thanks! It’s too bad BNSF doesn’t run as many passenger trains through St Joe as the CB&Q used to!
Beijing-Shanghai High-speed rail is 800 miles long, started construction in 2008, was operational by 2011, cost a total of $34.7 billion dollars. Operate at 217mph. Now generates more than 1 billion dollars net profit each year.
1. No lawsuits
2. No land acquisition cost.
3. Tofu grade construction
In your video you say they should be laying beams over SR43 on the north end of Hanford by the time your video was published. Here we are 7 months after your video and that overpass..... moved backwards? They've come back and manually chipped away half of the east side abutment to make it into... an arch shape? Don't know if they are going to do the same thing to the west side? 7 months. No beams over the highway. I don't know what else to add.
Well yeah, they actually cut the project back because they had needed to have time for the kickbacks to catch up 🤣😝🤣
Your comments on The Valley dying a slow death remind me of a sort of irony that California is always trying to be a leader in being an environmentally friendly "green" state. However, in terms of water usage and desertification, all those almond farms are about the worst thing the state could do to protect the environment. They can only really be grown in desert climates but also require a lot of water to mature. The state has let farms drain entire aquifers to maintain those jobs. It just isn't sustainable, and it would kind of be better for everyone if at least those farms would disappear.
Absolutely!
Would be interesting to compare corn to almonds gallon per acre .
c
not to mention that its mostly one company. That the Reznicks own.
Hopefully you can also document progress of the Sacramento Capital Southeast Connector Expressway which began construction in May 2021.
I can’t promise anything, but thanks for the suggestion!
US way of doing grade separation is weird. In many countries if Railway crossing small roads that use for crops machinery and small road vehicle. They build box culvert underpass with only 8-10ft height with road dip a bit lower from ground level and yes it may be like kind of this underpass every 1 mile or less because it also provides emergency waterways when flooding occurs.
And I am very surprise how many of grade separation is made of Dirt embankment instead of full concrete bridge. Cheaper may be?
For sure cars still get priority in the US, and I’m sure that the dirt embankments are cheaper than a bridge spanning the entire distance.
thank you for your service! a new video dropping and seeing the progress is always something to look out for. but i would agree that there might soon be room to get a little nervous about timely completion based on the present state of things. hopefully that turns out to be unfounded.
Thanks! I hope so lol
Texas Central Railway is building HSR from Dallas to Houston [abt 300 miles] with private money. Planning pretty much done. Dirt will start flying early 2022. It will still be completely opened before first California HSR section done. Was looking forward to riding it but the Dallas station will only be 20 miles from me and looking forward to it instead.
More power to them if they can pull it off, but I'll feel more confident about the TX project once serious construction starts.
texas HSR hasn't even built anything yet. . .they aren't ahead
The plantation is so similar with oil palm plantation in SEA.
Build by Ai. No human activities
You fricken rock!
Thanks a lot!
HOW ON EARTH IS IT POSSIBLE FIR A DRONE TO GO THAT FAR WITHOUT LOOSING SIGNAL!?!
With many flights lol
So we only run the train in day time?
The SR43 overpass on the north end looks exactly the same way now as it does in your video.
Bummer lol
@@TheFourFoot 3 months later..... no change
How long do you think it'll take them to complete the 36 mi tunnel through the Santa Susana mountains 15 years ❓
Good luck and may you live long enough to see even this Phase 1 section complete and be able to ride at anything clove to 185 MPH. I know I will never see this phase complete.
Is there any particular reason why, where grade separations have been completed, they are not being used? It seems like the grade separations would be pressed into service as soon as they are completed and that would benefit the existing rail service as well as traffic... Just a safer situation all around to not have traffic crossing on-grade.
How did you get the camera on top of the train?
He was filming from a two level car over the top of a one level car. Because the two types of car have their doors at different levels it is not possible to move between cars but this is sometimes done when extra capacity is needed. The window in the door of the two level car is above the roof of the single level car.
Thankyou for your voiced support of high speed rail. I am sure, when it is finished it will be a great success. 😁
Thanks! I am too!
Is those traffic really moving that fast or is the video speeds up
The video has been sped up. My new drone travels about 30 mph, and the old one tops out at 20 mph. The video has been sped up to maintain approximately 60 mph, so either 2 or 3 times.
@@TheFourFoot - It's California, so I think "yes, both"
It would be really cool to see the amtrak video side-by-side with the drone video, synced by rough location.
No, the point of the high speed rail is to get from LA to San Francisco as quickly as possible.
And those solar fields powering CA HSR? Really? What happens at night and during cloudy and rainy weather? Storage is notoriously inadequate and expensive. Interested in knowing the costs of backing unreliable solar energy. In fact, even hydro is not that reliable anymore in CA, as the events of the last few years demonstrate. If CA wants 24/7 reliable, dispatchable energy, then you are talking about keeping Diablo Canyon open.
Nuclear is remaining open and that solar field is only going to power the train part of the time, this has been done to reduce energy costs
They need at least to get to Palmdale to get around the Tehachapi mountains to connect the whole system with LA.
Amazing work! I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. Thanks
I find it so mine boggling that it takes this long just to lay out high speed rail tracks..
Looking at how many huge structures are built in the middle of nowhere it's no wonder the project is costing so much money. Frankly, because the HSR line requires such gentle curves and solid infrastructure, the smart thing would have been to place the entire line on the ground (where possible), and have other lines and roads pass over, or have roads especially just go through an underpass (or cut them altogether, with the area being so rural). So I've got no idea why they're doing it backwards.
At this point it might have even been cheaper to go the Chinese way and just place the entire line on a prefabricated viaduct, because flyovers, especially on HSR lines, are f*cking expensive and take a lot of time to be built.
57:00 I mean seriously, why not just build an underpass for the road?
1:01:00 And why not combine both roads and build just one grade separation?
It leaves me baffled as to how such a large and significant project was planned so badly.
As for the bridge at 57:00, the tracks are already at a higher elevation at that point because of the river crossings, and returning to grade to have SR-43 pass underneath wouldn't make much sense. Keep in mind, all vehicle underpass structures will be subject to flooding, not ideal for a state highway. At 101, I can see how it might be tempting to combine the two, but it would require a lot more land to be purchased than simply building two road bridges. The route is being built is by no means perfect, but theres likely dozens of reasons why each section of the alignment was chosen, and it's way too late to ever go back. Although progress has been slow, we're definitely passed to halfway point with ROW construction.
great video
Thanks a lot!
Nice
Construction site with invisible workers
As I said, it was the weekend when this video was filmed.
Thank you for talking in the whole video. I was the one who suggested you to talk more and even thought I do not know if you remember me or of there were other people. I appreciate that you talk the whole video and that you support this project.
Thanks lol. I'm glad you suggested it and I'm glad I finally finished it!
Thoroughly enjoying this. FYI, 44:54 the Hanford Expwy. is SR-198, not 148.
Thanks! I honestly can’t remember if that was a typo or if I can’t read lol
Great shots! Thanks
Thanks a lot!
Do you get ICE trains??🇾🇪👍
Not for high speed rail. In fact it’s impossible
@@darthmaul216 He could have meant the InterCity Express trains (given that renderings show something a Velaro-like trains, a derivative of the ICE trains), not internal combustion engine trains.
great video! it would be nice to see high speed rail open in the us one day.
yeah, it sure would lol