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I don't understand those people who are opposed because "when I get to a car-centric city, I won't be able to get anywhere." Really?
The same rules apply to air travel. Rent a car and get around that way.
I believe we got in to our predicament by working too locally and not thinking regionally or nationally enough. We need to fix this problem by having some sort of alternative to air and interstate travel. High speed is the path to the future.
Think of the children!
The US and no country will every build a country wide high speed Rail system , it makes no sense. But along selective corridors like in the Northeast , Midwest , and West Coast it does make sense. There is no high speed train even Maglev that goes 400mph....most Americans are Un-educated on the subject... High Speed Rail is defined as trains going faster then 125mph , most lines are built for 150mph+....
I'm guessing he's not suggesting that every podunk town gets access to high speed rail, but that the main corridors would and there would be connections between them. Perhaps a slightly pared down version of what Amtrak already has
If we're talking about that instead, then Japan more or less has that in place already, some of Western Europe has that, and China is currently trying to build that.
I just made it up. It's not really a question of building a high speed rail system from a specific plan, but rather, would we even want to pay for it?
So far the reponses on this thread have been about 50-50. Some say yes, some say no.
I'm just wondering if the people saying "No" would have been the same people saying "No" back when Eisenhower wanted to implement a massive goverment spending program based off of something the Germans invented; The Interstates.
[quote=OyCrumbler;21637962]I'm guessing he's not suggesting that every podunk town gets access to high speed rail, but that the main corridors would and there would be connections between them. Perhaps a slightly pared down version of what Amtrak already has...[quote]
Correct. I'm working on my own map as to what a high speed rail might look like in America.
I love the idea of high-speed rail, but don't think it's realistic at this point, given our national debt. It does make me a bit depressed what $3T could've been used for besides war, bailouts, etc.
I don't understand those people who are opposed because "when I get to a car-centric city, I won't be able to get anywhere." Really?
Yes, really. this isn't rocket science. if i'm stuck in the middle of downtown columbia, south carolina, what in the HELL am i going to do? spend a fortune renting cars, or taking cabs? Right.
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The same rules apply to air travel.
No, they don't. Air travel gets me to overseas cities where mass transit is more common, and it makes some sense to fly there.
Rail does not go overseas. Rail would only connect North American cities, which means the same rules do NOT apply to air travel.
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Rent a car and get around that way.
Renting a car is a huge ripoff.
Last edited by Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus; 11-09-2011 at 05:16 AM..
No... We already have amtrack which nobody uses and is constantly getting derailed. I would not even want to imagine a train going 100 mph hitting a deer or something placed on the tracks. How do you plan on keeping all the critters and people away from the tracks? As someone already mentioned it will disrupt migration patterns for the various species of wildlife. Last point is the government is broke and whatever they get involved in tends to be a big cluster f@#$.
Yes, really. this isn't rocket science. if i'm stuck in the middle of downtown columbia, south carolina, what in the HELL am i going to do? spend a fortune renting cars, or taking cabs? Right.
1. You'd be already spending a fortune on the high speed rail ticket, in comparison renting a car at the city would be pretty inexpensive, like 10% of the ticket cost.
2. Not sure if HSR would even have a stop at Columbia, SC
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Originally Posted by ncguy444
No... We already have amtrack which nobody uses and is constantly getting derailed.
The fastest Amtrak train, Acela, is actually profitable.
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I would not even want to imagine a train going 100 mph hitting a deer or something placed on the tracks. How do you plan on keeping all the critters and people away from the tracks?
A train vs a deer = the train wins. Train is not a car, it doesn't care about %$^#, it literally steamrolls whatever is on its way.
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