Obama to call for $53B for high-speed rail

SFGate,com ^ | 2/8/11 | Julie Pace - AP

[NormsRevenge]

President Barack Obama is calling for a six-year, $53 billion investment in high-speed rail, as he seeks to use infrastructure spending to jumpstart job creation.

An initial $8 billion investment will be part of the budget plan Obama is set to release Monday. If Congress approves the plan, the money would go toward developing or improving trains that travel up to 250 miles per hour, and connecting existing rail lines to new projects. The White House wouldn't say where the money for the rest of the program would come from, though it's likely Obama would seek funding in future budgets or transportation bills.

[NorseWood]

So-called high speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco will never be high speed. If you make half a dozen stops in between, the average speed will drop down to approximately highway speed. If you don’t make the stops, what is the point? Who is going to ride it?
How much tax money will be spent above and beyond the construction cost to operate and maintain the system every year?
Whose property is going to be taken so they have a high speed corridor?
Where is the power coming from to operate the system?