Harry Reid's Desert Xpress

[msdw24]

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[Mr. Deez]

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[ProdigalHorn]

I love the IDEA of a national rail system. I think it would fantastic and if there were a way to magically drop it into place and have it working, I'd vote for it in a heartbeat.

Problem is, the logistics and expense of doing it in the US would astronomical. Comparing it to the European system is like arguing that since my church can make decisions by having monthly business meetings and having open discussions and voice votes, then we ought to be able to do that for the entire state of Nevada. Scale matters.

And once you rule out the national, everything else becomes harder and harder to make financially feisible. You're depending on getting enough people who want to go from the Point A you designate to the Point B you designate. It becomes incredibly inefficient.

 

[Mr. Deez]

PH,

I generally agree. If it's done correctly (high-speed between the big cities with few stops plus regional trains to smaller towns and suburban trains to the suburbs) like it is in Germany, a national rail system is great. I love the Deutsche Bahn - nothing like stretching out and watching the countryside fly by while you're sipping some fine German beer. However, most of the US is just too spread out to do that.

Scale does matter. However, you don't quite have to go fully national. For example, I've always heard that the Amtrak lines that run through the Northeast (including the one "sorta-high speed" line) actually make good money and help subsidize the rest of the system, which is a consistent loser.

What I would do is get rid of Amtrak as a national system. Let the states in the northeast form a multistate rail authority and operate the profitable lines. Instead of taking those lines' profit to fund a bunch of mostly empty trains throughout the country, let them use that money to lower fares or improve/expand their current service.

If other states want to experiment with their own lines or form other multistate authorities where they think they can operate efficiently, let them try it. If California wants a high-speed line from San Francisco to Los Angeles or if Texas wants a Dallas to Houston line, let them try to make it work. However, they shouldn't be getting any federal money or ripping off the northeastern lines that already work.

 

[Uninformed]

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[Bevo Incognito]

Let's continue to vote for these two parties and hope that one day they change their ways.