This boondoggle is only a federal job creation plan bankrolled by the huge increase in taxes. If Amtrak operates in the hole how in hell is this going to run at a profit?....Oh, that’s right...It’s your tax money so it doesn’t have to be profitable.
Bullet Trains are very common in Japan, and span the entire country. When I rode on them once, they looked to me like they receive pretty good usage (the one I rode from Tokyo to Osaka was crowded). Yet, I still wonder if they are profitable - even there. I seem to recall a story on 60 Minutes, or some such, back in the 70's or 80's, that was about Japan's Bullet Trains. It talked about the corruption that was a part of their construction, and how much they still relied upon government subsidies. In one example they showed images of a bullet train station that was hardly being used, and was way out in the boonies somewhere. The reason for this station out in the middle of nowhere?? The politician whose district contained the station was very influential, so he was able to force them to build a station there. I suspect we will have similar, or worse, decisions made if this thing goes forward in the USA.
Does anyone out there know if Japan's Bullet Trains are profitable today?? I know they are expensive to ride, but I wonder if the Japanese government still has to subsidize them.
When Gas was $4 a gal and amtrak was at max capacity it was STILL IN THE RED.