"“Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system, and everybody stands to benefit,” declared President Barack Obama when he released his strategic plan for a nationwide high-speed rail system in April 2009."
LuAnn found this topic interesting in her Topic News at work and sent it to me. I haven't thought about rail since we took a train on the coast of New Zealand to Christchurch in January. It was a pleasant ride and the best way for us to get where we were going.
I was impressed with the train from Amsterdam to Berlin. I was very impressed with the train across China and that was years ago. I have not been so impressed with AmTrak.
I think we waited too long to build a better rail system in America. I can't see it happening can you? I can't imagine how bad it would have to get when people would ride a train instead of their automobile, can you?
I took delivery on seed from my friend Keith in Iowa. Why couldn't the rail have delivered it just as quickly for a tenth the fuel? What is that commercial about how little fuel the train uses per ton of freight per mile? We've got a huge, busy country that is crippled by debt and cost when we didn't develop things like rail right before our eyes.
I have read about the turmoil over water and rail in the development of of our country's infrastructure. Both are important, but Ford and Getty sold the idea of our very independence to haul everything we need.
I am not so sure that was wise this morning, do you?
Ed
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