TOliver wrote:
> "Bolwerk" wrote .....
>
>> It's only because of political stupidity that we don't have bullet trains
>> going 300mph around the region anyway.
>
> I'd call it political acuity, not stupidity. Most members of Congress, pork
> barelers though they may be, realize that they would not be relected if they
> voted for an horribly expensive system of which only a small percentage of
> the nation's citizens would ever use (and which would require not just
> public money to construct, but substantial ongoing subsidies.
Perhaps it would hurt some Congressmen, but the fact is we already have
a large network that nobody is using. It's easier to drive within 200
miles and it's easier to fly if you're going any further. I think
high-speed rail has a place, but it needs to do something other modes
can't do. It's really not doing that right now.
Meanwhile, much of the investment is already spent. 300mph service
between NYC and Buffalo would mean, with say stops in, say, Yonkers,
Albany, Syracuse, and Rochester, probably a two hour to 2.5 hour trip.
That beats the driving to the airport and the boarding wait time alone,
and it beats the 7 or 8 hour car trip. |