Quote:
Originally Posted by Busy Bee
If this helps the public understand that these upgrades are not really hsr and plants the seed of mainstream interest in TRUE hsr, with speeds over 180 on dedicated track, I say let the new downgraded distinction stick. Even with all these noble and refreshing investments in Amtrak operations aimed at boosting speed and the passenger experience, Americans should not be fooled into not believing that we are still 40-50 years behind the railways of our developed contemporaries oversees.
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Democrats bungled it. They could have sold
higher-speed rail as a low-cost, responsible, modest way to upgrade our transportation network during a tough economy. That would have given ammo to the opponents of the California project, but it would have helped build a national consensus for rail that might eventually float all boats.
Instead, Obama lumped all rail investments into the HSR category, which really doesn't help anybody distinguish between the crazy-expensive 220mph systems and the modest 110mph systems. Ohio's planned line didn't even meet that standard, with a 79mph top speed and an average speed so low that could be equaled on horseback.
Democrats just don't understand modesty, do they?