I received the following solicitation concerning a change in the
transportation grid of the USA. Unfortunately, high speed rail by
itself is not the answer, nor are any of the proposed solutions viable
for the same reason that both public (e.g., highways, including the
Interstate system) and private (e.g., the current railroad
infrastructure) infrastructure is crumbling in the USA -- a business
financial model that does not provide proper on-going maintenance/repair
funding and demands/generates/is-designed-to have wealth transference to
the ultra-wealthy. There also are environmental concerns as new
tunnels, bridges, and other infrastructure is constructed for high speed
rail rather than retrofitting existing lines. In the Los Angeles area,
some of the urban transport is done on rail (not high speed) using
existing freeways for which the environmental damage and societal
relocation has been done before rail lines (e.g., demolition of housing
and other facilities through eminent domain, with "neighborhood"
destruction resulting in some cases). Do not forget that in the Los
Angeles area, there was an existing urban light rail system that was
demolished for so that automobile and truck manufacturers (and related
industries) could have a consistent revenue stream and increased market
penetration. (At one time, there was urban light rail service from what
is now the Inland Empire to the beach.)
It is true that of the three major long distance carriers:
automobile/buses/trucks, aircraft, and railroads, once the
infrastructure is in place (Interstates, airports and control, rail,
switching yards, and control), rail transport is in some sense the most
efficient, with the understanding that at the endpoints of rail,
aircraft, and buses, other forms of transportation are needed to
endpoint destinations.
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has an INCREDIBLE vision ↴
I want the United States to be leading the world with access to high
speed rail
<https://action.ameripacfund.com/survey/high-speed-rail-poll-midterm?source=MS_EM_POLL_2023.01.30_B1_High-Speed-Rail_X__F1_S1_C1__gm_RS&t=8&akid=4161%2E4215975%2E6XlR-k>
he’s absolutely right -- here’s why:
✅ Other countries already rely on high speed rail for clean transportation.
✅ High speed trains are safer and more environmentally friendly than cars.
✅ And investing in high speed rail would create hundreds of thousands
of jobs.
