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Posted on 06/25/2010 3:17:14 PM PDT by Willie Green
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A major announcement on high speed commuter rail could come from the White House as early as Monday, Channel 2 Action News has learned.
The federal government was prepared to hand out billions of dollars to several major cities, according to Washington, D.C., bureau reporter Scott MacFarlane.
Its unclear how much money could come to Georgia, said MacFarlane. Local rail agencies were shut out of the first distribution earlier this year.
"I think you gotta walk, before you can run. While high-speed rail would be a great asset to any community, where's it gonna go? What kind of work would be needed on the tracks? What adjustments?" Rep. Lynn Westmoreland questioned.
Critics and supporters both questioned the amount of stimulus money available, and if it would be spread too thin, according to MacFarlane.
The plan would require Congress to give money to nearly every train system in the country, said MacFarlane. Millions of dollars would be set aside for high-speed rail in small outposts like Cheyenne, Wyoming to secure the vote of congressional leaders in small cities.
"I hope to goodness that this gets marked as the beginning of the day we really begin to rebalance our transportation system," said Vice President Joe Biden, a supporter of high-speed rail.
Willie, just bend the taxpayer over a table and do 'em. What's the difference?
No whammies
I used to say this won’t work because people will/would rather drive...especially in places in the South and West.
BUT if they are going to try to engineer 9 dollar a gallon gas and keep us all in defacto feudal state....
(Pssstttt: My husband works in that industry, and we don't take mass transit.)
Pretty soon this economy will be stimulated to death.
What I laugh about...is if you explained to customers that you’d have to pay $450 for a LA to Vegas high-speed rail ticket (round-trip)...the vast majority of folks would laugh and turn down a ticket purchase. For a DC to NY ticket...if it ever were to occur...figure a minimum of $300 round-trip. So far, none of those prices are comparable to the airlines.
I sat and watched the German effort...where only businessmen now travel on the high-speed rail between Koln and Frankfurt....regular customers can’t afford it.
Let’s see.
We can’t possibly pay all the entitlements we owe. So, how can we afford this obviously union-worker high speed rail system?
Yeah, let’s spend more money we don’t have, on a “service” we don’t need and won’t profit from. Great plan. Trains are a boondoggle, train pimps are sickness.
Yeah, just look at the success of Amtrak. Another government controlled financial disaster. No thanks. Just more runaway socialist spending to say some jobs were created.
I would buy and ride a scooter before I would ride high-speed rail.
I do not wish to be crammed in with a bunch of other people.
or
Yah. But how many John Maddens are out there? And do they vote?
yitbos
Are airlines actually profitable right now? Also, how much of their infrastructure and security are being paid by the tax payer. The train idea may not be that much worse.
Another fantasy conservatives get to kill when we regain control.
We could probably use some repair and upgrades to our existing track but there won’t be massive passenger rail without full on marxism to drive it forward.
Period.
Hope the “big money” is as big as ONE CENT!
For a DC to NY ticket...if it ever were to occur...figure a minimum of $300 round-trip. So far, none of those prices are comparable to the airlines.
???
People travel round trip DC to NYC and back on Amtrak all the time. Lowest standard fare is $49 each way. Check for discounts for students, seniors, active military, vets, etc. etc.
The fleecing of the American taxpayer continues unabated.
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