High speed rail maybe a reality in the near future? In the U.S.? Say it ain't so! (interstate, generations)
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As a frequent Amtrak rider and a bit of a 'rail fan', I hope this is a good sign. Several years ago some money, some 'groundwork', and some study went into a possible high-speed rail link between LA and Las Vegas. Not sure what their conclusions were.
There's also an on-going program here (California) toward building a high-speed rail line between San Diego, the LA area, and San Francisco. Ironically, most 'route studies' advocate running this train AROUND the congested Orange County area, which is looked at as too 'congested' and too expensive for aquiring new right-of way..
Oh yea another heavily subsidised government boondoggle!!
Lets hope it's so successful that it hurts the airlines enough that they need even more subsidies.
Can you say circle jerk?
big money in mass transportation. shows up on CDF alot. of course mass transport is useless if your streets are dangerous. americans dont have a clue bek they have been in their cars 40 years.
the streets got very mean. read the bike mugging posts on CDF.
france has a huge public transport system which people now avoid. everybody tries to buy a little bitty car if possible, same reason, mean streets.
a number of CDF folks have found out you cant google any crime stats on major city rail systems, its a blank. i suspect people that hyp mass transit either have not been mugged or hope to benefit by the massive investment comin up.
Yeah, we might actually catch-up to the rest of the developed world. Whoda thunk. Maybe next we can actually have real broadband internet access so we could catch at least South Korea!?!
I think it's a wonderful and necessary strategy if the U.S. is going to compete in the 21st century. The automobile era is dying. Its impacts - both negative and positive - will be felt for generations.
But just look at the Midwest on its own. You have some of the best liberal arts colleges and national universities in the world (U of Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, U of Chicago, Oberlin, etc...) and, despite its reputation to the contrary, some really stellar centers of culture and intellectualism - Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, Ann Arbor... even places like Detroit and Cleveland have a lot of offer.
The problem is they're all too far apart to feed off one another and harness resources to rebuild the Great Lakes from a manufacturing center to a thriving mecca of fresh water, culture, and sustainable recreation.
Highspeed rail could be the wise investment that links them in much the way Boston-DC are linked and share so much economically. Having lived in the Northeast, there's an extraordinary social and economic appeal to being able to walk five minutes and get on a train (or a series of trains) and be anywhere from Boston to DC in a few hours.
Yeah, we might actually catch-up to the rest of the developed world. Whoda thunk. Maybe next we can actually have real broadband internet access so we could catch at least South Korea!?!
Yep, were so backwards people will do anything to circumvent our borders to get in here
Oh yea another heavily subsidised government boondoggle!!
Lets hope it's so successful that it hurts the airlines enough that they need even more subsidies.
Can you say circle jerk?
Like the interstate highway system?
Don't ever drive on a highway and I will give your little rant credibility. Otherwise, you're simply valuing one heavily subsidized government investment over another.
The USA is so behind in mass transportation comparred to Europe! Sure, we have airlines but they only service so many cities. You still have to get to those cities and without a car that is pretty tough.
A well developed mass transportation system that connects most towns and cities would decrease wear and tear on roads, the demand for oil, and would be a great boost for our economy in the long run.
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