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Monday, November 07, 2011

Is Obama's Rail Initiative A 'Train To Nowhere'?

High-speed train plan draws little enthusiasm as California costs soar

President Barack Obama's high-speed rail initiative is in danger of turning into the big train that couldn't.

As part of the economic stimulus plan of 2009, Obama pushed through more than $8 billion in initial funding to extend high-speed intercity rail service to 10 major U.S. rail corridors by 2034. The idea is to create superfast rail service — like Japan's futuristic bullet trains — that would be available to 80 percent of the U.S. population.

A quarter of that money — a little more than $2 billion — went to California, where voters in 2008 approved a plan to build a 220-mph line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The California High Speed Rail Authority promised voters that the line would open in 2020, at an overall price of about $33 billion.

Since then, not a single segment of track has been laid and not a single station has opened.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It wasn't that long ago, if someone had an idea, say a rail road they would build it them self. if it went bust they were just out the money. Why the tax payers getting into bad adventures? Let the rich have a go at it.

Anonymous said...

I am not sure,but I do know the Obamas administration is a train wreck!!!