The New York Times

December 30, 2005

Overseas, the Trains and the Market for Them Accelerate

By JOHN TAGLIABUE

 

KREFELD, Germany - Even more high-speed trains? Europe must be kidding.

 

In one vast hall, workers in blue overalls are putting the finishing touches on what would, on an old-fashioned train, be a locomotive, except that it houses a spacious conference room with a large table and seven comfortable armchairs.

 

........

This article was posted on another thread, but it is a very good story about the European attitude toward passenger rail and how different it is from attitude here in the United States.

Yeah, I had forgotten most of the article and only realized that I'd read it before when I got to some of the quotes midway and towards the end.  It's a very nice balanced article with pros and cons represented.

Very good article. Having been to Europe and Japan, these systems are a godsend. I can't think of anyone I know of whose been over there and hasn't liked it.

Maybe after the U.S. stops being "world policeman" and tends to its own business (and Americans debt themselves out of their automobile addiction) we can hope for similar infrastructure improvements in this country.

______________

 

China announces plan to build 11 high speed railways

04.07.2006, 08:27 AM

 

BEIJING (AFX) - China set out an ambitious blueprint for the construction of over 12,000 kilometers of high speed railways to connect its major urban centers, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The plan calls for four north-south high speed lines, four east-west tracks and three inter-city networks, Su Shunhu, a leading Ministry of Railway official was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

 

Train speeds are expected to exceed 200 kilometers per hour on the new lines, he said.

 

The plan was unveiled only days after the central government gave the go ahead for two new high-tech, high-speed railway lines, with the rail ministry announcing on Monday that the construction of a high-speed rail line between Beijing and Shanghai would begin this year and that services would start in 2010. The expected costs for these lines are over 140 bln yuan.

 

........

 

[email protected]

My suggestion is to follow the overall European model. The first upgraded their system with the 100+ mph Trans-Europe Express network, which used existing but rebuilt tracks and stations. They built the ridership to the point that the busiest segments were augmented starting in the early 1980s with dedicated high-speed only rights of way. Thus, a trunk route offered trains a normal cruising speed of 180 mph and where the trunk route ended, tracks split in multiple directions on the old TEE system, where the high-speed trains could still maintain 100+ speeds. At the other end of the trunk, such as in Paris, the high-speed trains used existing tracks and stations. More and more of these dedicated high-speed trunk lines were built, the end result of which is a system with very high average train speeds, numerous destinations reached on new and old lines and great interconnectivity among systems. Consider the famed TGV system in France (which has a similar population density as Ohio!) -- only 25 percent of which uses dedicated high-speed track. The rest uses track upgraded for the old Trans-Europe Express and has seen additional improvements since (see the TGV map below)

 

So my suggestion is to follow this model -- which is pretty much what the Ohio Hub plan would do. Build a system using existing rights of way (either next to or on freight lines -- which choice depends on how frequent the freight traffic is). Operate at 90-110 mph speeds, ensure the end-to-end average speeds are at or near 80 mph, offer at least six trains in each direction and start planning for the next step. My first choice for the post-Ohio Hub step is a TGV-style trunk line between Chicago and New York via Toledo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia with TGV-caliber branches to Detroit from Toledo and to Baltimore and Washington from Harrisburg. (See - http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6637.0 ). Average speeds should be at least 110 mph with tops speeds of 200. The city-pair combinations offered by this trunk line are pretty incredible. Secondary branches offering 110-125 mph (top speed) service could go to numerous cities -- Columbus, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Toronto and many others.

 

TGV System (color lines are the newly built high-speed lines -- black lines are TGV services using older railroad lines upgraded to higher speeds):

 

 

 

The Ohio Hub System and its key place in the national network:

 

 

 

My variant of the USA-style TGV system with services over connecting lines (in blue) appears below:

 

In China, the world's highest train bridges a land of superlatives

Updated 7/21/2006 4:08 PM ET

By Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

 

ABOARD THE BEIJING-LHASA EXPRESS — Her husband lies groaning on newspaper on the railcar floor, pole-axed by a raging altitude-induced headache. But Chinese tourist Deng Yuzhi is not one to panic.

 

Looping oxygen tubes around her husband's ears and into his nostrils, Deng squat downs and massages his temples, and soon Gao Yongwen drifts off to sleep. His wife regains her window seat with a smile, just in time for a view of stunning Tsonak, among the highest freshwater lakes on Earth, where grazing yaks flee the train's approach.

 

Welcome aboard the shiny new railway to the roof of the world: the record-shattering, yak-scaring, Beijing-to-Lhasa Express, which began service on July 1, thanks to the newly completed Qinghai-to-Tibet portion. Those shaggy bovines outside windows with ultraviolet filters to deflect the sun have every reason to be startled. Man and his machines are rare sights on the lofty Tibetan plateau.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-07-20-china-tibet-train_x.htm 

Link to photo gallery:[http://www.usatoday.com/travel/tr070620_train/flash.htm/b] 

It's a Rocky Mountain high — highest climb in North America  

Updated 7/21/2006 11:31 AM ET

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

ABOARD THE ROCKY MOUNTAINEER — "Bear on the left! Bear on the left!"

Train attendant Yamina Abassi is shouting, frantically, and pointing at what, indeed, appears to be a big black bear lumbering in a clearing just out the window.

 

Or is it a brown bear? Zipping by at 25 mph, it's not all that easy for the two dozen passengers scrambling to the windows to make the distinction.

 

"There are three kinds of bears that we'll be seeing on this trip," the ever-cheerful Abassi, 28, says moments later, setting up one of her favorite jokes as the furry giant disappears behind us. "Black bears, brown grizzly bears and stump bears — those that actually are stumps."

 

Luckily, blink-and-you-miss-it bear sightings — real or imagined — are just a small part of the appeal of Rocky Mountaineer Vacations' new upscale tourist train across the Canadian Rockies, the Fraser Discovery, which launched in May.

 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-07-20-rocky-mountaineer_x.htm 

 

The reason I posted these is to show how far behind the curve we are in developing passenger rail (and rail in general) in this country.  The China-Tibet railroad in the first article is an entirely new line.  Can you imagine that happening here?  I can't.... at least not under the current administration in Washington and (in fairness) the previous ones didn't do much better.

 

 

OK, here's one.....

 

http://www.engineerlive.com/rail-international/2221/a-new-crossroads-for-europes-railways-after-eu-expansion.thtml

 

Rail Industry International July 22, 2006

 

A new crossroads for Europe's railways after EU expansion

 

Earlier this year, the hub of Europe's railway network moved well to the east as 10 countries, formerly part of the Soviet Union, accessed to the European Union.

 

The countries are Cyprus, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Slovenia.

 

This near-doubling in size of the EU is matched by its plans to improve railways throughout Europe led by 10 so-called Helsinki Corridors, intermodal road and rail links that will provide fast and reliable passenger and freight transport throughout the region with links eastward to Asia.

 

More at link above:

If you'd like to see something fascinating (at least I think it is), The Guardian newspaper has a special section on the $8.2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link project (see below).

 

This all-new rail line, only 68 miles long, costs that much because 16 miles of it is in tunnels, including its entrance into London. That entrance is scheduled to open next year (half the UK route is already open, closer to the Channel), replacing 90 mph operation over existing tracks with 190 mph service over the new line. That will cut nearly an hour off the trip from London to Paris, to 2 hours 15 minutes, and put Brussels within 2 hours flat of central London!

 

Here is the link to the special section in The Guardian:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/ctrl/0,,1464378,00.html

We suck. **sigh**

Not exactly new, but since it hasn't been posted yet, I guess it is new...

 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/763&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

Brussels, 9 June 2006

 

High-speed progress on the Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienna-Bratislava rail link

 

Ministers from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and France have signed a statement of intent committing to complete the Paris-Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Vienna-Bratislava high-speed rail link as soon as possible.

 

Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the Commission with special responsibility for transport, welcomed the progress and expressed the hope that “the cooperation between the four countries crossed by this rail link will continue along the same course to achieve the rapid completion of this priority project”.

 

More at link above:

This document has some excellent facts and figures on European rail systems, some bad but mostly good. The table near the end, showing the high-speed lines that are planned or under construction is quite the eye-opener!

 

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/white_paper/mid_term_revision/doc/annexes/annex_13.pdf#search=%22PBKAL%2C%20Louvain%20Li%C3%A8ge%20%22

Until we address the social ills we have in this country, discussed elsewhere in other threads, we can forget about ever having such attractive rail links in the US of A.  If you can't connect us as a people, mentally, how do you expect to do so physically?

25 years of TGV service in France and here we are "across the pond" still "talking" about high speed rail.  And while the talk goes on, President Bush continues to try to kill off what little passenger rail service we have.

 

 

 

I probably should have posted this here, instead of the other, similar thread....

 

Take a gander at these videos.

 

Pretend this one is along the Ohio Turnpike or maybe I-71....

 

http://www.ice-fanpage.de/videos/video_ice3nbs02.AVI (2MB)

 

 

Or that this one is somewhere in the hills between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, or perhaps on the section between Dayton and Cincinnati....

 

http://www.ice-fanpage.de/videos/zugbegegnung.AVI (7MB)

 

 

Instead, these are in Germany, shot shortly after the Cologne - Frankfurt high-speed line opened in 2002, bypassing a slower, 200km/h (125 mph) route along the Rhine River. The new section offers speeds up to 330km/h (206 mph). The shot along the highway shows an InterCity Express at full speed, whereas the tunnel shot shows slower-moving trains in the 160-170 mph range. And there are five ICE trains per hour in each direction along the new Frankfurt-Cologne trunk line.... sigh.

ARMENIA ACCEDES TO "IRON SILK ROAD" AGREEMENT

 

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) - A total of 18 nations, including Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos, Russia,

South Korea and Turkey, signed a rail agreement Friday evoking the trade

caravans that long ago linked Asia with Europe.

 

For decades, officials have dreamed of a railway network spanning Asia, linking cities as

diverse as Kuala Lumpur and Kabul, or Yangon and Yerevan.

 

........

Note the Euro amounts in the last two paragraphs. One Euro = 1.3 US dollars. Never ceases to amaze me how much they invest in rail in Europe.

________________

 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=CES/06/112&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

 

23 November 2006

 

EESC meets with Polish State Secretary for Transport, Mr. Boguslaw Kowalski, to push "Rail Baltica"

 

.......

 

TEN-Transport funds are available only for rail and may be used for work studies, bottlenecks and cross border investments. The budget for the financial period 2007 2013 amounts to 5,6 billion EURO for the 30 priority projects of the EU, Rail Baltica being the only priority project in Poland.

 

A much higher budget (more than 18 billion Euro) is available under the Cohesion fund from 2007-2013. Here Poland is free to decide the areas of investment it wants, be it road or rail, within the transport part of the Cohesion allocation.

 

###

I thought a city like Paris would have had trams (aka streetcars)....

______________

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6186161.stm

 

(Article, photos and video available at the above link)

Well, at least they have one now, I guess.  Of course, they do have a subway, not to mention commuter trains, and TGV station at Charles de Gaulle airport, a rail connection from their subway to Orly airport, etc.   

^Plus a funicular and kick-ass bus lines that are pretty darn close to BRT.  Paris makes even the best US transit systems look like so much crap.

Ah, yes, Turkey will spend as much to improve one rail line as the U.S. does for all of Amtrak. It's clear the U.S. is spending too much on rail....

________________

 

http://www.summit.co.za/news/biz4.html

 

From: SUMMIT - South Africa's only business TV channel

Monday, December 18, 2006

 

EIB loan for Turkish high-speed railway

 

 

ISTANBUL - The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted Turkey a loan of

850 million euros (1.1 billion dollars) to build the country's first high speed

railway between capital Ankara and financial centre Istanbul, the bank said.

 

The project involves the construction of a 533-kilometre (330-mile) railway

track between the two cities with trains travelling at a speed of 250 kilometers

per hour, thus reducing travel time to three hours.

 

The project will cost 2.6 billion euros and is to become fully operational in

2008.

 

 

.......

While the U.S. debates whether it should provide a measely $1.2 billion to Amtrak....

____________________

 

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2086680.ece

 

The Independent

December 9, 2006 17:16

 

France hopes to set world speed record of 342mph with new TGV

By John Lichfield in Paris

Published: 19 December 2006

 

The French railways will attempt to raise the world speed record for a

conventional train to at least 342mph in the new year - smashing their own

16-year-old record.

 

Tests with a new generation high-speed train, or train à grande vitesse (TGV),

will attempt to push the speed record for steel wheels on steel rails to at least

550kph (342 mph) and possibly 570kph (354mph).

 

The tests will try out a new line to the east, from Paris to Metz, which is due to

open to the public at a maximum speed of 320kph (200mph) in June. The

record attempt will also make a strong statement that France is ready to take

on competition from Japan and Germany in the multibillion-pound market for

high-speed trains.

 

.......

And we're just trying to get 110 mph, conventional trains running in Ohio and the Midwest.  We're so far behind it's pathetic...

We suck. Any chance of going to the European Investment Bank for a loan to fix OUR trains?

We suck. Any chance of going to the European Investment Bank for a loan to fix OUR trains?

 

The way the US is careening toward insolvency, I don't know if they'll extend us any credit!

<http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/03/news/rail.php>

 

-- ---------------

Fast, eco-friendly trains to connect north and south Taiwan

By Keith Bradsher

Published: January 3, 2007

 

 

TAICHUNG, Taiwan: The sleek, bulbous-nosed new bullet trains here look

like they are designed to whisk passengers across wide-open spaces;

but on this congested island, they represent the start of a

300-kilometer-per- hour commuter train system.

 

After a quarter-century of planning and construction, the system is

finally scheduled to open Friday. It will tie together cities and

towns holding 94 percent of Taiwan the island's population, offering

an alternative to clogged highways and the air pollution they produce.

 

......

Associated Press

Taiwan's High-Speed Train Debuts

By STEPHAN GRAUWELS 01.05.07, 4:54 AM ET

 

Taiwan's long-delayed high-speed rail system debuted Friday, its 12-car caravan of sleek orange and white coaches gliding out of a suburban Taipei station right on time at 7 a.m.

 

"The train is history in the making, and I can't resist being present when history happens," said 51-year-old housewife Liu Wen-ying before boarding.

 

Twenty years in the making, the $15 billion system represents a colossal effort to provide a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transport option for Taiwan's 23 million people.

 

........

 

When full service begins, Taiwan's four domestic airlines are expected to be the main casualty, because the rail system will bring the vast majority of Taiwanese no further than a two-hour train ride from Taipei.

 

To try to soften the blow, the airlines have been either purchasing rail equity, or spreading their wings by adding international routes.

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/05/ap3301317.html

^Plus a funicular and kick-ass bus lines that are pretty darn close to BRT.  Paris makes even the best US transit systems look like so much crap.

 

Kick-ass bus lines?  Close to BRT?  Maybe after they finish all the aménagement that's going on, and if the Parisians ever learn that you aren't allowed to park in bus lanes.  :-D

Taiwan Launches High Speed Rail Service:

 

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/05/ap3301317.html

China high-speed train test runs....

 

Cool shot of train emerging from tunnel:

 

Crossing a bridge over a river:

 

Meets freight train:

 

Speeding under the photographer:

 

There's other videos of this train on youtube, as well.

And we're just trying to get 110 mph, conventional trains running in Ohio and the Midwest.  We're so far behind it's pathetic...

 

... and to think, here in Ohio, the 3 Big Cs aren't even connected by Amtrak... How absurd as that?  And we can only hope and pray the Ohio Hub plan goes through (and that some Republican or some backward, NIMBY town, like Silver Lake) doesn't derail it, so to speak...

Some of the trains I'll be riding in a few months....

 

Eurostar flybys...

 

An oriental production of the Chunnel (Paris to London in 8 minutes):

 

Gare du Nord in Paris (served by Eurostar and Thalys):

 

Eurostar interior (this is actually funny):

 

SkyNews coverage of UK speed record:

Getting a little exicited Ken?    :-)

 

I liked the video of Gare du Nord.  This brings up a point about European vs.  American train stations, at least the ones I've been in (Chicago, Baltimore, DC in the US and Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Vicenza, etc, in Italy, and Charles deGaulle and Lourdes in France. 

 

It seems that American stations keep people penned in the waiting areas, which are tied to specific "gates" like at airports.  Then they announce the train and everyone is herded through the doors like cattle and everyone rushes to board. 

 

In Europe, you have these "open plan" stations that are roomy and have wider platforms than we do.  You basically walk in at your leisure, look at the big schedule board, and just listen for the announcement:  Train number XXX  to wherever is arriving on track number XX.  You're not penned in a waiting area and not herded around.  You can walk around wherever, watch the trains coming and going. To me, Europe has a better and more leisurely system. 

 

I don't understand what the rationale is for the way things are done in US stations.  Is it some perceived idea of safety?  Of course in Europe you're expected to have at least half a brain when it comes to safety.  If you display a lack of common sense and get injured as a result, you won't get away with a lawsuit like you can here. 

Just doing some advance scouting  :type:

 

Agreed about the trainsheds, and making the train something to interact with. We used to do that somewhat with airports, with the observation decks and all that. Now transportation has all the joys of an assembly line.

Getting a little exicited Ken?    :-)

 

I liked the video of Gare du Nord.  This brings up a point about European vs.  American train stations, at least the ones I've been in (Chicago, Baltimore, DC in the US and Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Vicenza, etc, in Italy, and Charles deGaulle and Lourdes in France. 

 

It seems that American stations keep people penned in the waiting areas, which are tied to specific "gates" like at airports.  Then they announce the train and everyone is herded through the doors like cattle and everyone rushes to board. 

 

In Europe, you have these "open plan" stations that are roomy and have wider platforms than we do.  You basically walk in at your leisure, look at the big schedule board, and just listen for the announcement:  Train number XXX  to wherever is arriving on track number XX.  You're not penned in a waiting area and not herded around.  You can walk around wherever, watch the trains coming and going. To me, Europe has a better and more leisurely system. 

 

I don't understand what the rationale is for the way things are done in US stations.  Is it some perceived idea of safety?  Of course in Europe you're expected to have at least half a brain when it comes to safety.  If you display a lack of common sense and get injured as a result, you won't get away with a lawsuit like you can here.  

 

The U.S. used to have some like Europe's stations.  I think St. Louis Union Station, now a mega-mall, had a large Euro-type train shed from the photos I've seen... Also, another station contemporary to St. Louis was Philly's Reading Terminal which, now, has been converted into a large convention ballroom/exhibit room, but where artists have fancifully painted "tracks" on the floor mimicking where the trains (mainly electric commuter trains) came in).  Before D.C. Union Station had its massive rehab (and shoppingmallization), it used to be European-like, if I recall.

I thought a city like Paris would have had trams (aka streetcars)....

______________

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6186161.stm

 

(Article, photos and video available at the above link)

 

They spend $400 million on theirs and we still don't know if we can get $65-$70 million for ours.

Another good reason to support high-speed passenger rail!

 

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

http://railwaynews.blogspot.com/2007/01/high-speed-rail-increases-dating.html

 

HIGH SPEED RAIL INCREASES DATING CHANCES FOR SINGLE PEOPLE: SURVEY

The Taiwan High Speed Railway, which has shortened travel time between Taipei and Kaohsiung, has thus increased the chances of single people from different areas getting together, a dating club opertor said Tuesday.

 

The 90-minute travel time between Taipei in the north and Kaohsiung in the south extends single people's limited social circles, making it easier for them to take part in activities in other areas so that their chances of finding dates are increased, said Lu Juei-chi, chief of the SIP dating club.

Just doing some advance scouting  :type:

 

Agreed about the trainsheds, and making the train something to interact with. We used to do that somewhat with airports, with the observation decks and all that. Now transportation has all the joys of an assembly line.

 

This is something we need to push for when the Ohio Hub stations are designed. Although the full-blown european "trainshed" concept won't work here until we have electrified rail lines because of the diesel exhaust fumes, we can still have open-plan stations. 

 

KJP:  take lots of pictures when you're over there. 

I shall.

I'll take 125 mph/138 mph here any day.  Even the Czech Republic-- a former Soviet eastern block nation has more modern trains than we do! 

 

KJP,  you're only succeeding in making me want to move...  :|

Sorry. Don't move! Get the trains to come to you.

... or, if you want to see them here now, do the next best thing: fly or hop in the car to D.C., Balto of Philly to see Acela, our version.  At a premium buck, of course.  The sad thing is that, as good as Acela is along the Eastern Seaboard, it's so absurdly expensive to ride, that it's much, much cheaper to fly from one end (Philly/D.C. to the other Boston/Providence) than taking the train... Only in America.

 

It is quite sobering -- downright depressing -- that, here in Ohio, we're begging for just regular old diesel rail to connect the 3 Cs, our 3 largest cities... What are we in the friggin' stone age here?  Don't you think if regular folk had access to this info & pics they'd revolt and toss out ever pol that ever objected to passenger rail?

 

Argh, Ohio!!!!

As an Acela rider, the problem is the promise of all the "features" but Amtrak cannot deliver them.

 

Trains frequently leave NYP late, the tunnel between NYP and NJP are absolutely the worst, then between NYP and PHL-30 St., the trains cannot run at top speed because of "congestion", the acela is barely faster then the metroliner, by 10/15 minutes

 

Right after 9-11 Amtrak was competitive because of all the bandaid security at airports.

^the problems you mention are the result of a lack of adequate capital investment in the infrastucture.  Amtrak has sure made some dumb moves during its lifetime, but the problem of a general lack of investment in rail infrastructure is the biggest culprit.

 

 

Trains frequently leave NYP late, the tunnel between NYP and NJP are absolutely the worst, then between NYP and PHL-30 St., the trains cannot run at top speed because of "congestion", the acela is barely faster then the metroliner, by 10/15 minutes

 

Congestion is a factor in some places. But over the entire section from Washington DC to New Haven, the problem that keeps the Acela to 135 mph and often lower is the condition of the catenary system. The structures supporting the overhead wires are more than 70 years old and need replacement to allow speeds in excess of 135 mph.

 

Free Flow: Planned Europe-African rail link underlines U.S. shortcomings

By Don Phillips

 

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

WASHINGTON

 

A mere 15 kilometers can be a frustrating distance when deep ocean water separates the two shores and many thousands of people want to travel between them.

 

Ferries are the obvious solution, but sometimes the number of people who want to travel leaves the ferry a poor method of transport. For instance, Continental Europe and England were connected by the $20 billion Channel Tunnel, speeding and vastly increasing travel across the English Channel.

 

Now a high-speed rail line connecting Europe and Africa that has been on the drawing boards for a quarter of a century is finally being ushered along.

 

...........

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/31/business/transcol01.php

Now Vietnam?  And what does Bush propose in his budget?  $900 million, including $100 million for a state capital grant program-- absolute crumbs!  and no money for the next generation high speed rail program.

We're on our way to becoming a 3rd rate nation...

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHAN159060

Vietnam to build high-speed rail with Japan aid

06 Feb 2007 10:08:30 GMT

Source: Reuters

Printable view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]

 

HANOI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam will build a high speed railway with aid

from Japan at an estimated cost of $33 billion, a project that would cut travel

time by two-thirds between Hanoi in the north and southern Ho Chi Minh City,

the government said. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung gave approval to

state-run Vietnam Railways to invest in the 1,630-km (1,010 miles) track, a

statement on the government's Web site (www.vietnam.gov.vn) late on

Monday said...

 

also archived here:  http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HAN159060.htm

Japan is the single biggest country donor to Vietnam. It has pledged $890

million in aid for the country this year, or 6.5 percent higher than the 2006

level of $835.6 million.

 

I find it quite ridiculous that Japan is willing to give Vietnam almost the same amount of money that Bush and co want to give for their own country.