Posted on 05/26/2019 5:46:26 AM PDT by vannrox
Well, California Governor Gavin Newsom has abandoned plans to build a high-speed railroad between Los Angeles and San Francisco. After spending billions of dollars in funds, much of it from the Federal government, the Governor said that the project should be shelved.
He cited that the project was too expensive.
The face of American politics today. This is the slick and well-packaged oligarchy pick for California. Mr. California Governor Gavin Newsom. Look how plastic he appears. Why, he could be right out of one of those political villains from a 1980’s John Cusack movie.
It all began ten years ago. Back then, President Obama called for a network of high-speed railroads to criss-cross the country “within 25 years”. The nation roared with glee and cheering his forward thinking.
Perspicacious = To be far-sighted in understanding things.
At that time, of course, the rest of the world had already implemented High Speed Rail. America was going to get involved in a game of “catch up”.
Only this time, progressive values and liberal management would lead the way.
Look back. The year is 2009; “President Obama’s goal of building a high-speed rail network that at least 80 percent of Americans will have access to by 2025, is facing major resistance in Congress. Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden announced a $53 billion, six year plan to get the U.S. high-speed rail network going with $8 billion over the next year spent towards building new lines and upgrading existing passenger lines in areas such as the northeast and midwest.:
His plan, began its’ implementation through California.
Of course, compared to the rest of the world, it’s pretty modest. The idea was to link the two largest cities in California together. This would occur by placing rail lines through the large entirely rural California valley. The top speed would be limited to 220 MPH, which is the global norm. The most ambitious plans would have 800 miles of rail line, paid in part by the Federal government and bonds issued by the (insolvent) California government.
The decision to cancel this program was welcomed by Conservatives, and derailed by Liberals. Both for reasons related towards political considerations. However, in my mind, everyone loses.
What’s worse, rubbing salt in the wound, comes President Trump. He rightfully questioned the decision to kill the project. As a businessman, you do not casually start of kill things without study, and an analysis of the consequences. Obviously, there were concerns that the decision to kill the project were not carefully thought out.
This is an excerpt. You can read the rest HERE.
This is your own blog. You can post it all right HERE.
Why can’t America have High Speed Bullet Trains?
Democrats are Anti Bullet.
+1
Because choo-choos are inefficient and too much infrastructure.
I love the part where Trump should have studied it more. He can small a crap project from a hundred miles away.
Why pay for railroad ROW, redoing tracks at millions (yes, millions) a mile, when you can jump on a Southwest Airlines flight and get there faster, with existing infrastructure, already paid for.
A gift to the Democrat dominated high density population centers?
No thanks.
I’d rather cut the roads and put fences around the Left so they’re trapped than do high speed rail.
What’s wrong with going regular train speeds? Everybody is such a freakin’ hurry to get work. I never understood that. Leave home at a reasonable time and if traffic is snarled you are late. Work later if necessary to make up the difference.
I used to work for this company that had a contract with a large corporation and I used to have to go in to the large Corporate Offices occasionally and I would go in early to grab a little breakfast in their cafeteria. That’s what I noticed that everybody who was on the “early work schedule” would get there early and then leisurely eat a breakfast and be up with their desks just before the normal 8 to 5 people showed up. Pretty sneaky, because the early workers left early... but didn’t put in a full day...that’s when I learned that having an early staff is probably inviting a little cheating into the workplace.
A high speed train between Richmond and DC make total sense but the yokels voted it down. They would have to expand the rail corridor a little to add new tracks. This way too much for them.
Illegal aliens and very stupid people who will put their vehicles in the paths of these trains.
Crookery at work.
There are three issues tied to this.
1. You need to have a Metro situation that works in city ‘A’ and as you exit in city ‘B’....the same type of structure exists where you don’t need a car. As far as I can see...only NYC and Washington DC qualify in this case. I can’t think of another location that offers city-wide Metro like you’d find in Paris, Berlin, or the Hague.
2. Even if you built a bullet train....it needs to go from city to city, with no stops in between. So you build it from LA to San Francisco....then you inform everyone along the way that they can’t hop on board. Why use it then?
3. Costs and environmental push-back. To suggest building a bullet-train between Chicago and Atlanta, to watch for the twelve-year court battle by environmentalists to prevent it. Why bother? Just build airports and launch planes.
As a Ferroequinologist (railroad fan), I’m going to say, we can but let private companies do it. Virgin Trains is expanding Brightline from West Palm to Orlando...and onto Tampa...
Interesting observation, and so clear in the photo.
I spent a few years in DC helping to facilitate the idea of high speed train systems. There are many areas of the US that could greatly benefit from them. The problem isn’t the idea, it’s the implementation. We just can’t build anything cheaply, quickly, and efficiently any longer — and the bigger it is, the more difficult it becomes.
Take a look at any highway project as an example. Consider how quickly Eisenhower was able to get the interstate road system built, then consider how long it now takes to add a couple of simple lanes to an existing road today. It’s become ridiculous. Consider, even, how long it took to rebuild the World Trade Center site. Think, as an example, how quickly we could return to the moon — after having already been there.
We will never be able to construct big things like we did in the past. There’s too many hands in the pot to allow it to happen.
I think the question should be, why should America have high speed bullet trains.
But the reasons why we can’t have them are tied into why we don’t have passenger trains now.
1. America is not laid out like Europe. Essential businesses and population areas are spread out all over.
2. America is much bigger than Europe or Japan.
3. Americans don’t ride passenger trains or buses if they have a choice. As my daughter said, returning to Texas after a year in New York City, I don’t want to ride to work in a subway with all those creepy people. I want to drive my own pickup.
4. American rail lines are currently in the wrong places for bullet trains or the best routes are already occupied by freight lines. And they are terribly maintained because it doesn’t pay to maintain them better.
5. As shown in California, the “environmental studies” and environmental litigation encouraged by American law cost as much or more than the physical cost of construction. That doesn’t even include the vast time delays this causes, and time delays in a construction project are gigantic costs. We would not be able to build the existing Interstate highway system if we started today, either.
Nobody here wants to ride a train if they don’t have to. Bullet trains do fit the soviet-style planned economy and living conditions the progressive are so eager to force upon us, though.
“I’d rather cut the roads and put fences around the Left so they’re trapped than do high speed rail.”
Thanks for the morning laugh!!
The bigger question is, Why should we have high speed trains? What is the purpose, economic value, and value to the community. Just because it’s cool and everyone else has one doesn’t make it a good idea.
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