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Poll: Voters turn against California bullet train
Associated PressAssociated Press 4 hrs ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) A new poll finds California voters are experiencing buyers' remorse over a proposed $68 billion bullet train project, as the number of lawsuits against the rail system grows.
Fifty-five percent of voters want to see the high-speed rail bond issue that was approved in 2008 back on the ballot, and 59 percent say they would now vote against it, according to the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey (lat.ms/N9tTcm) published Saturday.
Since the $9 billion borrowing plan was passed, the projected cost of the bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco has roughly doubled, and it will now share track with slower commuter and freight trains in some areas, the Times said.
A majority of voters have turned against the ambitious undertaking just as Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing lawmakers to approve the start of construction in the Central Valley later this year.
...
2/18/2011 @ 2:09PM |3,302 views
Obama's High-Speed Rail Obsession
Shinkansen First High speed train design in 19...
Image via Wikipedia
Perhaps nothing so illustrates President Obamas occasional disconnect with reality than his fervent advocacy of high-speed rail. Amid mounting pressure for budget cuts that affect existing programs, including those for the inner city, the president has made his $53 billion proposal to create a national high-speed rail network as among his top priorities.
Our President may be an intelligent and usually level-headed man, but this represents a serious case of policy delusion. As Robert Samuelson pointed out in Newsweek, high-speed rail is not an appropriate fit for a country like the U.S. Except for a few areas, notably along the Northeast Corridor, the U.S. just lacks the density that would make such a system work. Samuelson calls the whole idea a triumph of fancy over fact.
Arguably the biggest problem with high-speed rail is its extraordinary costs, which would require massive subsidies to keep operating. Unlike the Federal Highway Program, largely financed by the gas tax, high-speed rail lacks any credible source of funding besides taxpayer dollars.
Part of the pitch for high-speed rail is nationalistic. To be a 21st century super power, we must emulate current No. 2 China. But this is a poor reason to indulge in a hugely expensive program when the U.S. already has the worlds most evolved highway, freight rail and airline system...
It seems that conservatives are content to have the US trailing other countries.
It seems that conservatives are content to have the US trailing other countries.
Poll: Voters turn against California bullet train - Yahoo! News
Poll: Voters turn against California bullet train
Associated PressAssociated Press 4 hrs ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) A new poll finds California voters are experiencing buyers' remorse over a proposed $68 billion bullet train project, as the number of lawsuits against the rail system grows.
Fifty-five percent of voters want to see the high-speed rail bond issue that was approved in 2008 back on the ballot, and 59 percent say they would now vote against it, according to the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey (lat.ms/N9tTcm) published Saturday.
Since the $9 billion borrowing plan was passed, the projected cost of the bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco has roughly doubled, and it will now share track with slower commuter and freight trains in some areas, the Times said.
A majority of voters have turned against the ambitious undertaking just as Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing lawmakers to approve the start of construction in the Central Valley later this year.
...
From more than a year ago:
Obama's High-Speed Rail Obsession - Forbes
2/18/2011 @ 2:09PM |3,302 views
Obama's High-Speed Rail Obsession
Shinkansen First High speed train design in 19...
Image via Wikipedia
Perhaps nothing so illustrates President Obamas occasional disconnect with reality than his fervent advocacy of high-speed rail. Amid mounting pressure for budget cuts that affect existing programs, including those for the inner city, the president has made his $53 billion proposal to create a national high-speed rail network as among his top priorities.
Our President may be an intelligent and usually level-headed man, but this represents a serious case of policy delusion. As Robert Samuelson pointed out in Newsweek, high-speed rail is not an appropriate fit for a country like the U.S. Except for a few areas, notably along the Northeast Corridor, the U.S. just lacks the density that would make such a system work. Samuelson calls the whole idea a triumph of fancy over fact.
Arguably the biggest problem with high-speed rail is its extraordinary costs, which would require massive subsidies to keep operating. Unlike the Federal Highway Program, largely financed by the gas tax, high-speed rail lacks any credible source of funding besides taxpayer dollars.
Part of the pitch for high-speed rail is nationalistic. To be a 21st century super power, we must emulate current No. 2 China. But this is a poor reason to indulge in a hugely expensive program when the U.S. already has the worlds most evolved highway, freight rail and airline system...
It seems that conservatives are content to have the US trailing other countries.
Obama Outlines Vision for High-Speed Rail Network - US News and World Report
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined plans for a high-speed rail network he said would change the way Americans travel, drawing comparisons to the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.
Obama characterized his plan as a down payment on a rail system that will take decades and hundreds of billions of dollars to build, connecting Chicago and St. Louis, Orlando and Miami, Portland and Seattle and dozens of other metropolitan areas around the country.
A White House list of possible corridors includes one that would be centered in Chicago with Ohio stops in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
"This is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future," Obama said during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is adjacent to the White House. "It is happening right now. It's been happening for decades. The problem is it's been happening elsewhere, not here."
The United States trails other developed countries in developing high-speed rail. The Spanish can travel the 386 miles from Madrid to Barcelona at speeds averaging almost 150 miles per hour. Japan's Shinkansen links its major cities at speeds averaging 180 mph and France's TGV train averages about 133 mph in carrying passengers from Paris to Lyon.
The only U.S. rail service that meets the Federal Railroad Administration's 110 mph threshold to qualify as high-speed rail is Amtrak's 9-year-old Acela Express route connecting Boston to Washington, D.C.
<more>
It seems that conservatives are content to have the US trailing other countries.
Obama Outlines Vision for High-Speed Rail Network - US News and World Report
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined plans for a high-speed rail network he said would change the way Americans travel, drawing comparisons to the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.
Obama characterized his plan as a down payment on a rail system that will take decades and hundreds of billions of dollars to build, connecting Chicago and St. Louis, Orlando and Miami, Portland and Seattle and dozens of other metropolitan areas around the country.
A White House list of possible corridors includes one that would be centered in Chicago with Ohio stops in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
"This is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future," Obama said during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is adjacent to the White House. "It is happening right now. It's been happening for decades. The problem is it's been happening elsewhere, not here."
The United States trails other developed countries in developing high-speed rail. The Spanish can travel the 386 miles from Madrid to Barcelona at speeds averaging almost 150 miles per hour. Japan's Shinkansen links its major cities at speeds averaging 180 mph and France's TGV train averages about 133 mph in carrying passengers from Paris to Lyon.
The only U.S. rail service that meets the Federal Railroad Administration's 110 mph threshold to qualify as high-speed rail is Amtrak's 9-year-old Acela Express route connecting Boston to Washington, D.C.
<more>
minimum 27 cities to connect, at a cost of 50 billion each
50,000,000,000
x 27
WAY over $1TRILLION dollars.
you people have no grasp on reality, none, zip zero zilch.
It seems that conservatives are content to have the US trailing other countries.
Of course they would.
They are reactionary oafs dedicated to turning this nation into a third world backwater with big guns and god.
Obama Outlines Vision for High-Speed Rail Network - US News and World Report
WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama on Thursday outlined plans for a high-speed rail network he said would change the way Americans travel, drawing comparisons to the 1950s creation of the interstate highway system.
Obama characterized his plan as a down payment on a rail system that will take decades and hundreds of billions of dollars to build, connecting Chicago and St. Louis, Orlando and Miami, Portland and Seattle and dozens of other metropolitan areas around the country.
A White House list of possible corridors includes one that would be centered in Chicago with Ohio stops in Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.
"This is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future," Obama said during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is adjacent to the White House. "It is happening right now. It's been happening for decades. The problem is it's been happening elsewhere, not here."
The United States trails other developed countries in developing high-speed rail. The Spanish can travel the 386 miles from Madrid to Barcelona at speeds averaging almost 150 miles per hour. Japan's Shinkansen links its major cities at speeds averaging 180 mph and France's TGV train averages about 133 mph in carrying passengers from Paris to Lyon.
The only U.S. rail service that meets the Federal Railroad Administration's 110 mph threshold to qualify as high-speed rail is Amtrak's 9-year-old Acela Express route connecting Boston to Washington, D.C.
<more>
minimum 27 cities to connect, at a cost of 50 billion each
50,000,000,000
x 27
WAY over $1TRILLION dollars.
you people have no grasp on reality, none, zip zero zilch.
Really?
Close to 600 billion a year..not to mention what goes into the covert world and think tanks.
Yet that big shiny expensive military failed to stop a bunch of guys with box cutters from hijacking 4 commercial airliners (That has to be a record) and slamming them into the WTC and pentagon.
Not to mention the clusterfuck of a reaction it caused by YOU guys..that was WAY over a few TRILLION dollars.
minimum 27 cities to connect, at a cost of 50 billion each
50,000,000,000
x 27
WAY over $1TRILLION dollars.
you people have no grasp on reality, none, zip zero zilch.
Really?
Close to 600 billion a year..not to mention what goes into the covert world and think tanks.
Yet that big shiny expensive military failed to stop a bunch of guys with box cutters from hijacking 4 commercial airliners (That has to be a record) and slamming them into the WTC and pentagon.
Not to mention the clusterfuck of a reaction it caused by YOU guys..that was WAY over a few TRILLION dollars.
and what happened b/c we wasted that Trillion?
c'mon, you can do it.
