It was a pleasant surprise when $8 billion for high-speed rail was put into the federal stimulus package at the last minute. It was even better news to learn that the move came because of the direct intervention of President Obama.
Now Obama's transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, is saying that money is just a down payment. LaHood said the administration has a long-term commitment to expanding high-speed rail service in "five or six regions" of the country. He didn't specify, but that short list will almost certainly include California, since we're ahead of the pack after the passage of Proposition 1A last November.
LaHood said that for Obama building high-speed rail is, "if not his No. 1 priority, certainly at the top of his list. What the president is saying with the $8 billion is this is the start to help begin high-speed rail projects."
Critics of Proposition 1A argued, in part, that the feds would never come up with the kind of money required to match the state contribution. They were wrong. They also said the private sector would never get on board. But the Federal Railroad Administration got a gratifying response to its recent request for expressions of interest to develop high-speed rail corridors. It's gonna happen.
I had posted. And I try again. Since I won't be able to afford to maintain an automobile to go to the grocery store, I wanted it to be known that I just can't wait for the bullet train to take me...where? It seems internet did not want to hurt the feelings of the choo choo trainers, because the post did not go through. "...hear the [priority] whistle blow a hundred miles..."
Russ...you sure got a thing for High-Speed Rail, don't you??
Yeah, bill, I do, ever since I first rode high-speed trains in Japan 30-plus years ago. They are faster than driving, more convenient than flying (and often faster, too, once you factor in the nightmare of waiting in airport lines), they cost less and pollute far less than the alternatives. They offer a way to wean ourselves from imported oil. They will bring new jobs and new manufacturing opportunities.
Cleaner, cheaper, faster, more pleasant -- what's not to like?
It also galls me that Europe has more than 3,000 miles of high-speed rail lines, while this country -- which invented passenger rail travel -- has exactly zero miles.
Russ Minick! I am sure that the train ride in Japan was just great. I like the luxury of the new Orient Express if I travel from Vienna to Budapest practically non-stop. But if I need to go to Hadersdorf/Weidlingau, about 20 miles from Vienna, the milk run train serves me best, and it too would conserve gasoline I would burn in the car. How often a week would you travel from San Francisco to LA? It is a money driven matter of priority and demand. Nearly each of us need the trains from one little town to another. My brother had a complicated miniature train system built in a complicated manner into a sofa bed. It was awesome. And it did satisfy the boy in the man....by the way, an oil company executive. Hahaha!
As I have pointed out previously, high speed rail works well when you have short distances and high density population areas. Our country does not fit that schematic very well except for some limited areas.