[Buckeye McFrog]

I am not a fan of high-speed rail, BUT....

This used to be a country that could get big things done.

We built the Golden Gate Bridge in four years.
We put a man on the Moon in nine.

Now we can’t even get the permits lined up to build a flippin’ choo-choo train in less than a quarter-century.

[Paladin2]

Yeah, Hoover Dam, Empire State Building, Build stuff to win WW II in four years...

[Blue Jays]

"...This used to be a country that could get big things done..."

---

You are precisely correct, Buckeye McFrog.
A comprehensive network of "hub and spoke" railroads (with provisions for long-distance travel) should not take a quarter-century to modernize.

[roadcat]

We built the Golden Gate Bridge in four years.

Both the Golden Gate Bridge and SF/Oakland Bay Bridge were built from conception to completion in 3-1/2 years, simultaneously. The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake damaged a small section of the Bay Bridge and it took over 25 years to rebuild that small section (27 years and they're still working on demolishing the replaced section). Not only that, but Chinese built major components and shipped them to SF for installation. We used to have steel mills and industrial factories locally in the Bay Area, long gone now. This country can no longer get things done quickly.

[from occupied ga]

You miss the point. Nobody except possibly the long gone Willie Green cares if it's built or not. The point was to funnel vast quantities of taxpayer money into some of the government/politicians' cronies pockets. A construction delay with cost overruns serves this purpose even better than the original $64 billion waste.

Only the mentally deficient (ie Democrats) believe that it's intended to move people. If it ever gets built the real cost will probably exceed the cost per passenger of chartering a jet to fly them between the two cities.

[zek157]

Buckeye, we also used to build stuff based on need and future economic benefit from investments in infrastructure, I’m not sure this train will be worth the annual operational costs once they get it built.

[Snark]

Although I sort of agree with you, passenger train service in the US has been a total flop since the 70’s. If not before. We’ve moved on. There are multiple airlines that land in just about any city you need to go to and for a cost much cheaper than rail service. Outside of a 60 mile commute, there is no need for passenger rail service in the states. Take a look at Amtrak’s financials. You and I pay every year for that service to not work....

This is coming from a man who loves trains.

[Popman]

We built the transcontinental railroad in 18 months.

Of course, there are quite a few china men buried along the way...