CA Bullet Train Slashed by Congressional Panel (Sacramento, Orange: section 8, house)

[18Montclair]

The Obama administration had asked for $8 billion for fiscal 2012 for high-speed rail projects...But the House Appropriations subcommittee...cut the request by nearly $7 billion

Interesting.

Gov. Jerry Brown must give his approval to the bond issue and prioritize it for the state treasurer...In recent weeks, Brown has signaled that he wants a comprehensive review of the entire project before he agrees to issue the bonds.

I think he's beginning to realize that the numbers just dont add up.

California bullet train funding slashed by House panel - latimes.com

[EclecticEars]

I would love to see HSR in California and think the United States is embarrassingly behind on modern transportation projects compared to other first-world counterparts. I truly believe CA and the East Coast (say, Atlanta to Portland, ME) are where the U.S. needs to start in terms of HSR; the population densities are great enough to substantiate and I truly believe people would utilize it.

Quite frankly, if we just limited the scope and terms of social nest programs (food stamps, welfare, section 8), that alone would over time go a long way to investing the literally $5 trillion we need as a country just to maintain and repair our transportation network. We're not even talking improvements here like CA HSR.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Stick a fork in it. HSR is OK for the densely populated East but the numbers will never add up out here.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Stick a fork in it. HSR is OK for the densely populated East but the numbers will never add up out here.

The three most densely populated metros in the country are in California.

[Californiaguy2007]

To be honest,instead of funding a bullet train through California,they should use the money in fixing our freeways/highways first,then later on down the line it would be nice to have high speed rails coming through.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

The three most densely populated metros in the country are in California.

Right, however, to make a system viable like what they have in Japan or Europe the general density of a vast region needs to be high. We don't have that here.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Caliguy2007

To be honest,instead of funding a bullet train through California,they should use the money in fixing our freeways/highways first,then later on down the line it would be nice to have high speed rails coming through.

Fix / expand existing metropolitan systems. That is the biggest bang for the buck.

[Bulldogdad]

I think we should pump all our money into the development of teletransporters.

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by Caliguy2007

To be honest,instead of funding a bullet train through California,they should use the money in fixing our freeways/highways first,then later on down the line it would be nice to have high speed rails coming through.

Agreed, at some later date they can run a fast train, if still needed.

[BeauCharles]

I'd much rather see our highway system improved. It was designed for a state with half the population we currently have and it shows. That and improve/renovate our airports. As it is I can fly from Sacramento to Orange County in one hour for a little over $100. Why on earth would I want to sit in a train (fast or not)?