P.S. I rode the coaster from its' first week until just recently, and before that the bus for fifteen years. I hate driving... but I'm still against HSR.
For this country, and probably any country, high-speed rail is a boondoogle of the worst type. Japan, for instance, was nearly bankrupt by their HSR system; almost 10% of their national debt was due to HSR, and they had to sell it for nothing to avoid fiscal disaster, losing all the capital cost, and they still subsidize it. I've been riding public transportation all my life, and I dislike flying, but HSR will be a disaster. They want to build the first line from Fresno to Bakersfield? That's going to work! Does anybody in Fresno want to go to Bakersfield? You couldn't pay me to go to either city. How many people ever want to stop in Bakersfield? I'd really like to visit the Fresno.... uh, nothing. Now, just before the work starts, they add $2B to the cost. Who thinks that will end. And what is the benefit? Think an airport uses a lot of land? Ha! Wait until you dig up a corridor 0.5mile wide and 800miles long. And if it were (it won't) to get a lot of traffic, you'd have to build huge parking lots at every stop. It may go 225mi/hr, but if you put in 20 stops, the average will go down to 100mi/hr. Planes, OTOH, don't require any type of road. Energy savings? Not a chance. The invested energy in building the roadbed and infrastructure will negate any possible energy saved in travel. Planes have an interest in staying very light and getting good per seat mileage. Trains have an advantage when they are heavy, and require greater weight for their power train. It's a really bad idea, bad bad bad.
69° Fair
The Gospel Of High-Speed Rail Still Has Many Doubters
P.S. I rode the coaster from its' first week until just recently, and before that the bus for fifteen years. I hate driving... but I'm still against HSR.
August 10, 2011 at 2:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
The Gospel Of High-Speed Rail Still Has Many Doubters
For this country, and probably any country, high-speed rail is a boondoogle of the worst type. Japan, for instance, was nearly bankrupt by their HSR system; almost 10% of their national debt was due to HSR, and they had to sell it for nothing to avoid fiscal disaster, losing all the capital cost, and they still subsidize it.
I've been riding public transportation all my life, and I dislike flying, but HSR will be a disaster. They want to build the first line from Fresno to Bakersfield? That's going to work! Does anybody in Fresno want to go to Bakersfield? You couldn't pay me to go to either city. How many people ever want to stop in Bakersfield? I'd really like to visit the Fresno.... uh, nothing.
Now, just before the work starts, they add $2B to the cost. Who thinks that will end.
And what is the benefit? Think an airport uses a lot of land? Ha! Wait until you dig up a corridor 0.5mile wide and 800miles long. And if it were (it won't) to get a lot of traffic, you'd have to build huge parking lots at every stop. It may go 225mi/hr, but if you put in 20 stops, the average will go down to 100mi/hr. Planes, OTOH, don't require any type of road. Energy savings? Not a chance. The invested energy in building the roadbed and infrastructure will negate any possible energy saved in travel. Planes have an interest in staying very light and getting good per seat mileage. Trains have an advantage when they are heavy, and require greater weight for their power train.
It's a really bad idea, bad bad bad.
August 10, 2011 at 2:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )