Plans For High-Speed Rail Are Slowing Down [Obama's $10B Train Wreck: High Speed Rail Grounded!]

Washington Post ^ | January 15, 2012 | Michael A. Fletcher

[Steelfish]

Plans For High-Speed Rail Are Slowing Down

President Obama set a goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within the next quarter century. Here’s a look at the high-speed rail industry around the world.

By Michael A. Fletcher January 15

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Critics began panning the first leg of California’s futuristic high-speed rail network as a “train to nowhere” soon after officials decided to build it not in the major population centers of Los Angeles or San Francisco, but through the state’s Central Valley farming belt.

Since then, things have only gotten worse. Spiraling cost estimates and eroding political and public support now threaten a project crucial to a 21st-century vision of train travel that President Obama promised would transform U.S. transportation much as interstate highways did more than a half-century ago.

A national high-speed rail network would not only support tens of thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs, but it would get Americans out of their cars, revitalize struggling downtowns, and spare the environment millions of tons of carbon emissions and travelers untold hours wasted in traffic or in airport terminals waiting out delays.

Obama set a goal of providing 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years. But that lofty vision is yielding to the political gravity generated by high costs, determined opponents and a public that has grown dubious of government’s ability to do big things.

Virtually none of the projects has gotten off the ground, and the one that has is in trouble.

[Walkingfeather]

“A national high-speed rail network would not only support tens of thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs, but it would get Americans out of their cars, “

Exactly... so they can control the populations movement.

[BobP]

[Carthego delenda est]

Yes! The Fu**ing Rail Runner of Gov. Richardson is making New Mexico RICH!!! Just like Sir Richard Branson’s space port.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Still, many were baffled by the idea of sinking $6 billion into a rail line that runs from just south of Merced to just north of Bakersfield.]

I wonder who currently owns, or holds options, on the land for this proposed corridor?

[dennisw]

F’n Kenyan moron... like he cares. The greenies and unions love high speed rail and that’s all Jug Ears cares about..their votes

[Gator113]

Don’t worry California, Obama just needs 4 more years and then he will pass out his “shovel ready” jobs.

[razorback-bert]

revitalize struggling downtowns

Just write in buzz words without facts or proof and feel good.

What a way to make a living.

[Haddit]

China Is Eager to Bring High-Speed Rail Expertise to the U.S.
Published: April 7, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/business/global/08rail.html?pagewanted=2
“High-speed rail requires a lot of high technology — we would send many high-end engineers and high-end technicians” to California, Mr. Zheng said.

G.E. estimates that the United States will spend $13 billion in the next five years on high-speed rail routes. China, with a much more ambitious infrastructure program, will spend $300 billion in the next three years on overall expansion of its rail routes, mainly high-speed routes, according to G.E.

[Carthego delenda est]

Jeffrey stands to create some asian jobs/dollars.

[shibumi]

I don't know about you folks, but every time I hear about "high sped rail" the image that comes into my head is John Cleese in the Architect Sketch -

- with the words "carried down the corridor in complete comfort toward the rotating knives..."

(Where is Willie "Choo-choo" Green anyway? Oh, right! May he ~ZOT~ in peace.)

[Dads Bag]

This is the same primo agriculture belt that the enviros decimated by shutting off the irrigation water to protect a smelt.

Quite a fortuitous chain of events for someone looking to buy up huge swaths of land for pennies on the ruble.

A nice background below from Victor Davis Hanson(who lives there):

http://city-journal.org/2011/21_3_california-water.html

[Sacajaweau]

We are not a travel by train nation. That was 100 years ago.

We have cars and planes and buses.

[trebb]

We are not a travel by train nation. That was 100 years ago. We have cars and planes and buses.

The government obviously didn't think far enough ahead as to the freedoms of cars/planes/buses and now it is trying to regroup and erase the error.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Thanks Dad

[hal ogen]

To truly be a leader worthy of himself, nobama should build a high speed train to China and to Europe. Building those bridges will create (or save) many, many jobs. After those are completed, he should build a train station entrance from every building in the world. nobama is great.

[Salamander]

I hate trains.

[Brad from Tennessee]

The bigger the project the more opportunities for embezzling cash, materials, manpower. Then you have labor racketeering,
kickbacks from contractors, labor and vendors. Huge monies can be stolen if the corridor is specifically steered though land owned by politicians, contributors and cronies. This can be a huge gravy train for everyone but the taxpayer and the serious commuter.

[Jim Noble]

but it would get Americans out of their cars

Never happen.

revitalize struggling downtowns

Not as long as they are controlled by Holder's people.

and spare the environment millions of tons of carbon emissions

Not THAT sh*t again!

[CSM]

My city is going to use a $300M fed grant to build a new high speed rail station. We already have a train station and the line is already established through at least 5 cities with no opportunity to expand the tracks on the way to chicago. They say that this line will lower the commute time to chicago from 4 hrs to 3.5 hrs...

I don’t get it and I can not get any traction to oppose it. The sheeple around here are “all for it, whatever it is.” Do any of you have any advice?