You know how for all these years, people have been talking about having a bullet train that goes up one end of the state to another and make the commute from the Bay Area to LA that much easier? And you know how there's been talk about it but nary much in the way of action?
Well, stay tuned for more talk.
The problem is that with the passing of the big bond measures this past election, supporters are afraid that people might not want to get the state further in debt by supporting another bond measure to help build the sucker. The state is expected to shell out about 3.9 billion dollars (yes, that's with a b) and will peak to about 8.4 billion by fiscal year 2009-2010. That's a lot of money. And the cost of building the bullet train is about $37 billion. The measure has already been passed over in the previous two elections mainly for similar concerns.
The train would be the fastest train in the land, getting up to speeds over 200 MPH. Having ridden one in Japan we can vouch for their coolness. And having spent endless hours on the ACELA train on the East Coast, the closest thing we have to a bullet train here in the states, we can vouch for their effectiveness.
Sadly, we couldn't help note that most of the transportation money that was part of the recent big bond measures was to go to roads. God knows we need to fix a lot of roads in this state, but it's kind of sad that once again we spend all of our money on car related things when we all know we need to spend more money on non-car related things. Especially when it's looking like everyone else is doing it. Hell, if Mexico can do it...
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Sure it's expensive, but we get so much else along with this project as a bonus...
The bond would cover extending rail to a rebuilt transbay terminal. No more Muni to BART to the Airport. That will extend Caltrain along with it, and then there is electrifying the Caltrain corridor, grade separating the corridor (like BART which never crosses at street level).
If it uses the Altamont Pass, it would help get the Dumbarton Rail project back into gear, and would connect with BART in Fremont.
And of course there's the fact it would be a three hour trip from downtown SF to downtown LA.
Oh you noticed that the transpo bond that we just mortgaged the next two generations for was all about the petrochemical/automobile industries. This train will never, ever be built, because the oil and auto industries still have way too strong a hold over our society. Add in their housing development partners in crime, who continue who expand their tract housing sprawl to further and further reaches of the state, and you've got perpetual gridlock when it comes to alternative transpo.
We'll have flying cars before we have a freakin' bullet train in this country -- unless the powers that control our lives can be convinced that they can make equally as much money and wield equally as much power with bullet trains. The public is sold on the idea, but the public has no power to affect the situation.
Would it not be better to use the Acela or an improved version of the Acela. 37 billion is a lot of money the ticket price may be to high. We should improve on what we have.