All these other proposals for Florida, Ohio, and other places are just too much.

Sure, the Chinese are building a much more extensive network, then again, their population density is order of magnitude greater.

HSR is a good idea, but blindly copying the size and extent of the Chinese network is just a pissing match, not a sound idea.

It’s all well and good to imagine these ideas will have good economic benefits, but at our current rate, the four year post-Bush era will have expanded the national debt by about the same dollar amount Bush did in his entire eight year reign.

At our current rate of decay, I’ll just be happy to see California’s economy not collapse entirely. I have no hope of ever seeing an actual high speed rail constructed down the coast in my lifetime (I forget the exact figures, but it’s something like if they had the money and started today, it would be operational in 30 years).

Here is one but all his work is very compelling

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11608

I agree. Millions of people fly every day and what is waiting for them at the destination? Nothing! They are stuck in the airport terminal with no possibility of escape, except to fly back. That’s why we have to keep expanding the airports!

Sheesh, talk about over-stating a minor problem.

One small part of the puzzle I would throw forward is to at least consider breaking from the mental assumption that you have to connect downtowns. For ex., in Washington, DC going to Union Station might make sense, but linking a High Speed system merely to the airports (BWI, Dulles) would be worth at least considering. Passengers could then de-train there and switch transportation modes: to local subways, commuter buses, rental cars, etc. A traveler from Boston could take a bullet train that would only stop at NYC, Philly, and then at BWI airport near Baltimore. They could then rent a car, or transfer to an Amtrak to Florida, or get a local bus or hotel shuttle.

I am not saying this is THE solution, but it could be a partial resolution to the concerns noted here – why not piggy back on that existing airport infrastructure?

At any rate, there areas that could benefit with high speed rail, like a Boston-Miami line, or a LA-Vegas, SF-Seattle, both have an OK transport system. Also, Texas COULD benefit, like trains from Dallas to Corpus via Austin and San Antonio and to Houston, completing the triangle….but still…getting around once there. Plus, our cities are so different, you can hop off the train in many cities in France and walk across town in 20 minutes….you cant do that in most cities in the US. But I still hope they build some. I’d ride them.