Choo chooooo!

While perusing wikipedia today (a hobby of mine), I found this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High_Speed_Rail  which then led me to the main website http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/faqs/why.htm  .  THIS IS SO FLIPPING COOL.  220 MPH!?!  I take the train fairly often, whether its from Boston back home to New York, or from my home in the suburbs into the city, and I always feel like the whole thing could be done better.  While it is nice being able to get from Boston to New York in about 3 hours with the Acela, that really isn't all that much better than car travel (except that there is no traffic).   In fact, France and Japan have had 150+ mph trains for well over 20 years.  Why is it that in the most densely populated and most travelled area of the country, our train only averages 86 mph (a wikipedia fact... but I'm going to trust it.  I've taken that train several times before), while in Japan and France the average speed is much faster.  

I feel like this, though not at all a national issue, is part of the dialogue our country is going to have about the energy crisis and global warming.  Trains are more efficient and leave less of a carbon footprint than any other form of mass transportation, especially compared to gridlocked cars, which are neither efficient nor fast.  Trains provide a solid alternative to cars, especially given the high cost of fuel these days.  Trains relieve congestion on highways, which makes getting from A to B faster for everyone, along with reducing emissions by cutting down on car-idling time in traffic.  They just make sense for travel between cities!

 

Small government nuts are obviously going to call this an intrusion of government and excessive spending, yet building railroads is not something that can be done well by the private sector.  There comes a point when projects are too big and Federal funding needs to be put behind them, as Dwight Eisenhower realized in the 1950s when he helped to create the Interstate Highway System.  This was the biggest infrastructure project ever in this county, one that, if it were to be attempted today, might be labeled as "Big Government".  However, I don't think anyone is complaining about it now.  It profoundly changed our country for the better, allowing greater movement for people and goods.  It boosted our economy by creating jobs.  I believe that new initiatives in high speed trains and alternative transport could have a similar effect today. Also, according to the plan for the current project, the California trains would pay for themselves within a few years.

Overall, though not on the public radar, high speed trains would be incredibly beneficial in terms of the environment, energy, and the economy, increasingly looking dire given that 41 states reported job losses in September.  Barack Obama talks about how we are going to have to invest in alternative energy, and how that could help our economy, along with the environment.  High speed trains and alternative transportation are part of the equation.  High speed trains will have to be part of our new 21st century infrastructure, helping us with many of the problems currently face, while making getting places quicker and easier.

If Californians vote this down, I will be so pissed...