The Left’s High-Speed Rail Fantasy
Conn Carroll /
The USA Today hypes the left’s dreams for high-speed rail today with a story headed “$8 Billion Could Help Revive Travel by Train.” From the article:
The Department of Transportation is to distribute the money to embryonic high-speed rail projects around the country and to Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, to develop high-speed technology.
The government isn’t wasting time. By next month, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is required to issue a strategic plan detailing how DOT will use the $8 billion. By June, his department is required to tell states how to apply for grants.
Eleven proposed high-speed rail corridors on the West Coast, Texas, the Great Lakes states, the Southeast, Florida and the Northeast will be vying for a piece of the stimulus money.
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As large as it sounds, $8 billion wouldn’t begin to design and construct a true high-speed system in which rails are dedicated to high-speed trains. The California system alone would cost about $50 billion to complete.