As America continues to grow in population and become more congested on the coastlines, in Texas, and in the Midwest around Chicago, there needs to be a long range vision for the future of American transportation.
In the past, we had the transcontinental railroad system, promoted by Abraham Lincoln and others in the 1860s.
We also had the interstate highway system, originally promoted by Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s.
Now we need other Republicans, which Lincoln and Eisenhower were, to join hands with Democrats, and people of good will, to recognize the need to commit funding to the long range vision of bullet trains in key areas of the nation, highly congested areas, which are already being strangled by traffic jams, no matter how fast road building and expansion go on.
It is also an issue of the automobile never going down in cost, and the gasoline utilized going sky high in price, and unlikely to go down very much in the long term future.
More and more young people are seeing the cost of automobiles, and fewer are buying cars and using cars, preferring to use modern technology and live closer to urban areas, as the great suburban expansion is winding down.
Therefore, for the reason of costs of automobiles and oil, plus the desire to live closer to metropolitan areas, and the traffic congestion which is exasperating to millions, the future is in bullet trains that will travel between major cities all over America.
Florida Governor Rick Scott made a mistake in rejecting the idea of a bullet train between Tampa and Orlando, with connections down to Miami, and Florida will suffer for it in the long term future.
But there are other areas that really need to plan ahead for bullet trains, including:
The Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC.
The Midwest Corridor, centered around Chicago, but including Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and St Louis at a minimum.
The Texas Corridor, connecting major cities in this gigantic state, including El Paso, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.
The California Corridor, connecting the state capital of Sacramento with San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
If we do not recognize the value of these bullet train projects, and the environmental and transportation advantages, we will pay for it in the long run. We cannot afford to be ostriches with our heads in the sand, but instead need a long range vision, as Lincoln and Eisenhower had!
Hello Professor,
The time I spent in the southern part of Europe, I learn how well the passenger rail system was there and appreciated it. I was in the Navy and when the ship pulled into those ports, being with out a car, I used the trains to get around and visit the more cultured areas of Europe instead of hanging out in the “Piss and Gut†nudie bars along the seaport docks.
As I had the maturity to take advantage of the opportunities presented right there in front of me and made it a point to see, experience the sites, tastes, regional atmospheres, history, and attitudes of Europe, which the vast majority of my peers could only read about.
When I was discharged from active duty and returned home in 1977, I came with the worldly enlightenment of the need and how well the country would benefit from a similar rail system here in my own country. I am thinking on your recent visit to Washington D.C. that you had the chance to use the subway / light rail that is built in D.C. today. When I go to D.C. I park on the outskirts of the Beltway and ride the light rail to downtown and not have to worry traffic or where I am going to park, etc. I conclude my business or just enjoy the day and at the end of the day, return back to my car by the same light rail and head home. It is GREAT!
But unfortunately, even today when we have skyrocketing fuel prices causing financial hardships to the working middle class, the short sightedness opposition by some of our elected officials such as Gov. Rick Scott of Florida who rejected plans for a high speed link between Tampa and Orlando, in the process turning down more than $2 billion in federal money and a significant blow to President Obama’s administration’s vision of a national high speed rail network.
Another example is Gov. Chris Christie’s decision to cancel the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) rail tunnel that would have been the nation’s largest public works project, the bottom line is clear: No new rail tunnel will be built under the Hudson River for at least a decade, and the new tunnel will end up costing a lot more money when it is finally built. Yea there is no need to relieve the highway traffic into New York City from New Jersey by developing a light rail system! Ass!!
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker turned down $810 million to build a Madison to Milwaukee high speed line.
Gov. John Kasich undermined his own rhetoric by killing Ohio’s high speed rail project. By doing so, he “derailed†many businesses’ economic development plans and effectively killed the private sector jobs he promised to create, leaving one businessman to call his decision “unbelievable,†“mind-boggling,†and “naïve!†So much for their Republican rhetoric being business friendly and promote the creation of JOBS!!
I think that it is safe to say that all were politically motivated just to prove and make sure President Obama would fail with his policies. But in their selfish desire to promote THEIR Republican Party, (not the Republican Party I remember of my parents) and in doing so they have harmed the citizens whom they are supposed to represent.
As I was a Regional Sales Manager with the territories at one time or another of Florida (traveling mainly from Tampa to Orlando, to Miami, on my sales visits there), Ohio (traveling mainly between Erie, PA to Cleveland to Columbus to Dayton, on my sales visits there), and Wisconsin (once again traveling mainly between Milwaukee to Madison), I instantly saw the grand advantage of having the high speed rails in those areas, much like I saw and experienced in Europe.
Maybe the voting population will cast their votes with more sense and responsibility than they have in the past within those States. For the sake of us all….I sure hope so.
Thank you for your perceptive, enlightening comment!
I really appreciate your contributions, as it makes the blog far better than it would be otherwise!