Obama unveils high-speed passenger rail plan

[ronnieraygun]

Of course, these reasons are well known, however in order for a new system to be successful it has to overcome the problems that drove people away from trains in the first place. It has to appeal to a people who obviously value their personal space.

Hehe...all the tailgating I get on the highway during my commute leads me to believe less and less in the whole personal space paradigm about Americans. We just don't know how to act in a crowd. Give a little, get a little, not me me me all the damned time.

I'll tell you what - when the gas prices go back, they won't have to worry about people rejecting mass transit. People might possibly go back to taking more trains if this high-speed thing works out, not because they would rather drive alone and ride some dude's ass for the hell of it as an expression of their rugged individualism, but rather because it would be the smart thing to do. The AVE in Spain seemed like a point of national pride when I rode it - I would be pretty stoked if we took it as seriously if this all works out.

[ronnieraygun]

This played a part
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_A...eetcar_scandal

Yeah, but that's more along the lines of local mass transit. It's true that it's a crime that they dismantled "trolleys" and the interurban mass transit system only to come screaming back to it 50 years later (light rail in Portland, Minneapolis, etc) but this is about commuting between metro areas, more of a regional high-speed network as opposed to the old trolleys. Funny thing - some old trolley networks were just that, though - the "North Shore" line ran an electric train between Chicago and Milwaukee that hit 90 mph. Again, it's kind of odd that we end up going back to old ideas as if they didn't work before, but infrastructure of any kind requires subsidy and we Americans don't tend to like it, right or wrong.

[Nano]

I can see a few high speed corridors being worthwhile in researching and perhaps developing, but a high speed rail system for the sake of it seems to be a subsidy for the lucky few who it benefits. Train systems are enormously expensive and are not worthwhile taxpayer money beyond areas where they have return on investment. This money is nothing more than money being dolled out to the bureaucracy that supports the political machine. Public transit is horrendously inefficient overall and likewise managed. Government subsidized public transit needs to be re-done and costs cut all around.

Frankly the money would have been better spent on real energy research and development. Solar based nanotechnology research development will reap great dividends if it is applied to already existing technologies. Nanotechnology research already has impacted much of today's world without us much noticing it, but performance/energy efficiency improvements had come as a result.

[jetsetter]

Hehe...all the tailgating I get on the highway during my commute leads me to believe less and less in the whole personal space paradigm about Americans. We just don't know how to act in a crowd. Give a little, get a little, not me me me all the damned time.

I'll tell you what - when the gas prices go back, they won't have to worry about people rejecting mass transit. People might possibly go back to taking more trains if this high-speed thing works out, not because they would rather drive alone and ride some dude's ass for the hell of it as an expression of their rugged individualism, but rather because it would be the smart thing to do. The AVE in Spain seemed like a point of national pride when I rode it - I would be pretty stoked if we took it as seriously if this all works out.

You severely underestimate the American attachment to the automobile. Even if you put in a fully functional system today I would have my doubts about people using it to a degree that you imagine.

[DanteXavier]

You severely underestimate the American attachment to the automobile. Even if you put in a fully functional system today I would have my doubts about people using it to a degree that you imagine.

Well I'm sure there are enough progressive types in California(if nowhere else) to make it work. What better way than to cut carbon and "green the routine" than hopping on the train? It's Pelosi's dream come true.

Jokes aside, I think its about time we had something like this. Our rail network is antiquated compared to what we see in many other developed countries. We ought to catch up.

[ronnieraygun]

You severely underestimate the American attachment to the automobile. Even if you put in a fully functional system today I would have my doubts about people using it to a degree that you imagine.

-Not at all. I don't know if I was being clear enough, but I mean to say that things might go a certain way in the future that causes people to not be so attached to their cars, whether they like it or not. That's tough shit, I know - I love my car and love to drive and it would be a bummer. If you've looked through the thread you would know I have my doubts, but since it's some Fort Knox Amurican money being spent on this vision quest I hope it makes some sense.