Posted on 04/16/2009 10:18:25 AM PDT by GOP_Lady
President Barack Obama on Thursday set U.S. transportation policy on a new course, announcing at least $13 billion to enhance passenger rail service as an alternative to clogged highways and overcrowded airports.
"Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system, and everybody stands to benefit," Mr. Obama said, speaking at an event in Washington before leaving for Mexico.
Mr. Obama was flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, a long-time Amtrak rider who looked visibly moved, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who submitted a strategic plan to Congress on how the administration plans to carry out its vision. The plan, which includes an $8 billion grant program in the economic-stimulus bill and an additional $5 billion that Mr. Obama wants to allocate over the next five years, is particularly good news for states struggling to maintain existing rail corridors. It also holds out hope that states like California, which has a $30 billion plan with trains capable of traveling between Los Angeles and San Francisco in two hours, will receive grants to accelerate their programs. Manufacturers of rail cars and locomotives also stand to benefit from bolstered passenger rail service.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
With whose money?
Oh Lord!.....Another government boondoggle!....Good luck to the next three generations of Americans cause they won’t have a pot to piss in to call their own!
And the Acela “high-speed rail,” which has a top speed of like 150 mph, can’t even even go max speed in most places.
More government-run programs. Amtrak should be privatized and try to succeed, or just shut down.
Great! More wasted taxpayer money! In many cities people don’t ride them!
Ping!
I can give Mr. Zero a path it could take ending where the sun don’t shine. Bend Over Barack Obama!
Complete with subsidies for everyone but the “rich”.
OBAMA!...YOU SUCK!
Obama, you’re no Dagny Taggart.
My husband (the great GOP_Harley_Guy) has worked in public transportation for over 31 years, and he and I won't use it.
Paper mills and dyers.
High speed trains? Pork on rails ...
The point would be for a handful of east coast elites to work in Boston or New York City while living in sane places like Virginia.
And who wants to live by a high speed railroad? Another slum in the making.
Hey will they allow you to board with your smart car in tow? Do you have to pay extra for your smart car to sit ...
If private enterprise won’t do it, then it shouldn’t be done. This is looking like a money pit as large as the Atlantic.
I’m actually down with this idea. In a country when even the most isolated burg has an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, its’ time to move to something a bit faster and better. Rail has tremendous potential for a country the size of the US, one that was supplanted by freeways that are less efficient.
A really good system would include the ability to take your vehicle with you. Imagine Los Angeles to Dallas, you get off the passenger car at the same time they unload your SUV.
Elsewise, it’s nothing but a social engineering project to get you out of your vehicle and into something that will never be econamical.
Be the first to take a Monorail to a Re-education Camp!
Trotting out that old pony again? When will they understand we don’t want it? It’s not useful here.
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