Originally Posted by
cooker
High speed rail is not a step backwards, it's a technology that didn't exist when passenger rail was on the decline.
Piffel, it is simply a faster passenger train that will need a road bed and track. It will still be slower than air and will still have to make a profit by getting people from point A to point B. Putting in a Texas Autobohn and allowing cars to travel at 150 mph would not be new technology.
They will still need to get a ROW, they will have to provide a service to the customer that they cannot get anywhere else faster or less expensive. In other words they will still have to fit in a business model. They will not be transportation chicken soup for the planet. If it is funded privately and if the public is recompensed completely for their property maybe they should be allowed to build it. But if it doesn't work it should also be allowed to go bankrupt and be discontinued. The very last thing we need is another Amtrak if the government steps in to try and save it. So as I have indicated it has to cost less than air.
The only ground I would be willing to give in on is Job creation. That would just maybe get my vote if it became a viable employer.
at least this is my opinion.