Comments on: Rail Dreams

By: Andy Cline

Andy Cline — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:09:56 +0000

Robert… Until we institute a proper tax rate in the U.S., we won’t be “paying” for anything. Just more deficits. I assume, since Americans are usually good in a crisis, that the collapse of our governmental and financial institutions will spur us to action

By: robert

robert — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:50:19 +0000

Andy wrote that we would have disagreements over how to pay for it.

Since when are we paying for anything that we do?

By: Mike B.

Mike B. — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:19:43 +0000

Keri is right. A huge problem with AMTRAK is that is uses rail lines owned by the RR companies whose priority is earn money from this infrastructure (as it should be).

We need dedicated passenger rail lines. This comes at a huge cost. Comparisons to the UK or Japan (where I recently took a trip and LOOOOVED the govt-run rail system) are not quite apt, as those countries are many times smaller than the U.S.

Nearly all mass transit systems are subsidized. It’s just a fact. You’re never going to see a privately-run rail system in the US. Not gonna happen. But this kind of system is a goal our country should strive for, for many reasons.

By: Eliot

Eliot — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:13:58 +0000

Why, oh, why don’t they ever connect Dallas and Houston on these plans. Seems so obvious to me. I-45 is almost always crowded…

Steve: the biggest advantage of high speed trains over airlines is the convenience of bringing a bike along for the ride!

By: Keri

Keri — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:56:41 +0000

Yes, the AMTRAK model is horrible. It’s the opposite of the airway and highway system model: it’s government run vehicles using privately-owned infrastructure VS privately run vehicles using publicly-owned infrastructure.