Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
|
Man, I wasted so much time looking at these plans.
Thanks for the link!
The date in the plan sheets says 2013, and while it is safe to assume many things have been changed since then (there are some comments from Brightline officials discussing sections of running in the median, even though there are no such sections in these plans), I think these give a great feel for what to expect.
As ardecila said, the horizontal curves are gentler than the freeway they are following. There are 3-4 cases where they achieve this by switching sides on the freeway during a curve, so that they can get a couple hundred extra feet added to the radius of the their curve - but mostly it is done by cutting corners or straying from the alignment just enough.
What surprised me was that the vertical curves seemed to be about the same as the freeway. I know roadway designers have to plan for stopping sight distances and all of that, but I didn't realize how much flatter that made vertical curves. (Perhaps this is another point in favor of autonomous cars? Self-driving cars with faster reaction speeds could be trusted to slow down faster, thus roads could be constructed to less rigorous standards and safe costs - but I digress!) From the profile view, this train route looks like a roller coaster! Up and down, sometimes getting steeper than 4-5% (on the steeper end for a freeway). When there is a bridge over the freeway, the train tracks will often be built up high on a bridge over the road bridge! There is one location I saw where, in order to get over the freeway, the HSR tracks will be ~65 feet up in the air!
I've talked with friends who have ridden the Shinkansen in Japan, and they say that it feels very much like an airplane - when the train is going down a hill, you can feel it in your stomach. Just by looking at these plans, I think Brightline is going to have a similar suit of sensations.
Anyway, thanks for sharing!