I can’t wait to see how many people can make it to the bullet train destination riding on top of it. Maybe a few dozen will be left?
I really do sympathize with pork project aspect of all of the bullet trains....Our country has knack of destroying potential transportation improvements
However; in my business travels, I have ridden in the Chinese and Japanese bullet trains. Both are very different, but superb in terms of comfort (big seats, smooth and quiet), service (food, walk around ability), speed (to short 100-300 mile range trips), accessibility (walk on, walk off in minutes versus how our airports operations) and the scenery (big windows). In particular, the seats and comforts, etc. beat any US airline to a pulp. It may never get off the ground in the US due to opposition by both the conservatives, NIMBY’s and greenies. If it does, then it is likely to be unsuccessful in implementation by limiting speeds to 90 mph versus the 250-300 mph capability, putting stops every 10 miles, caving to the airline industry by requiring maximum seat pitch to 29 inches in order to make it non competitive to their industry etc..
I do struggle with the thought that some good projects die off because of poorly managed, financed projects give it a bad rap...I think that if done properly, most Americans would gladly travel by train once they experience the difference...and this applies only to short to medium trips (100-300 mile range). I could see the airline industry worry for such sections like Houston/Dallas, LA/San Francisco, etc....