Obama Calling For $53B For High Speed Rail 1026
Antisyzygy writes "President Obama is calling for $53B to be appropriated for the construction of high-speed rail in the United States over the next 6 years. Assuming Congress approves this plan, the funding would be spent on developing and/or improving trains that travel at approximately 250 miles/hour, as well as spent on connecting existing rail lines to new developed high speed lines."
Re:Stupid Idea (Score:3, Informative)
High Speed Rail would have the EXACT same security measures as airplanes
Some of these things exist in the US already (Accela run by Amtrak between DC and New York City), and they don't have anywhere near the security measures airports do. No body scans...no metal detectors...just walk on and hand someone a ticket. If lines between these urban centers don't have security even though it could be easily implemented, why would new lines all of a sudden have DHS security around them?
Where would it be efficient? Very few cities have the public transportation infrastructure to support such a train station. Remember, you're competing with driving and airplanes.
You're making a big assumption here without even realizing it. I don't think rail would be a competitor to either of those techs - it would be a new option altogether. I live in San Francisco. Right now, if I want to go to Seattle I could:
a) Drive for 12 hours (long and annoying!)
b) Take a 1.5 hour plane flight...where I need to be at the airport 2 hours early, and get dropped off about an hour or so from Seattle city center in traffic, thus making the whole trip take about ~5 hours...without delays due to weather or pilots being late. Oh yeah, and don't forget about the baggage limits, security, incredibly uncomfortable cabin, and people with no social skills involved with that option.
Wouldn't it be awesome if there were a
c) Take a train that takes maybe 8-10 hours, costs as much as the airplane ride, but is comfy and relaxing?
There would still be several times where a) and b) may make more sense, but I would probably opt for c) a good portion of the time.
Re:Its not the speed that is the problem. (Score:5, Informative)
One simple way to tell if we've "spent all the money": do really, really rich people still feel comfortable lending us money for long periods at low interest rates? 'Cause those people aren't dumb, and they'd sell their own grandparent to make more. ....survey says.... we just sold $24 billion of 10-year notes at 3.66%. I'd say that everyone who is rich disagrees with you.
And lastly: basic economic data is that when countries are in a recession, they should increase government spending (especially on infrastructure like rails). Countries that cut spending then tend to fall further into recession.