You do realize the TSA would definitely be added to train stations to protect the traveling public. (and create more federal employees)

 

Yah!! Just like those socialists in Europe have done!!

Oh wait, now that I think about...I was just able to walk on to the train in Europe, there wasn't any screening.

 

Having traveled through Europe and Asia on punctual high speed trains, I can say that I would like to see something of the sort in the USA. Forgetting political barriers, our country, IMO, is too large to have high speed rail spanning the width of the country. Instead, I'd like to see an affordable high speed passenger rail system to connect large cities on distances of about a couple hundred miles or less. I'm thinking FLG-PHX-TUS, SAN-LAX-PSP-BFL, AUS-IAH-DAL, etc....and numerous other possibilities. Mostly where there is a lot of automobile traffic between large city centers.

Please?

 

In Europe there's considered to be a 4hr limit to peoples' willingness to use the train. People will use a train from London to Paris but few go from London to French Alps or from London to Germany - it's just too far. In US terms New York to Boston is about the limit for a train I'd say.

Planes are vastly more efficient than trains - why spend billions subsidizing hundreds of miles of train tracks when you could just have a couple of small runways? Also UK train carriages cost over $1.5mil each (per carriage not per train!). In the UK trains are considered to be very expensive even through they are massively subsidized.

I'm struggling to think of a reason for their existence. Maybe it's because they're subsidized by the state so every small region exerts great political pressure to have their 'fair' share of the subsidies - once one town is connected every other town demands their fare share, otherwise they are at a competitive disadvantage.

 

Here's an editorial from today's Washington Post:

High-Speed Rail is a Fast Track to Government Waste

 

No one wants this. Just because Joe Biden likes to take train rides doesn't mean anyone else does. People would have already invested in this if they knew it would make money. In America we should not have this forced down on us. Stop the wasteful spending by voting next year. I am not a Frenchman!

 

You guys are just trying to hold onto your jobs in spite of the coming future. High speed rail could also come in the form of a ground controlled jetliner with two minimally paid and trained pilots sitting up front for the benefit of the passengers.

If you are under the age of 25 then you could have as much as 40 years of change ahead of you in this industry. That is plenty of time to see pilots completely marginalized far worse then they already are.

I would be worried too if I were you.

Skyhigh

 

This has nothing to do with protecting my job. Trains taking my job is the last thing on my list (loss of medical, airline bankrupt, violation, etc..) I know that the free market should decide if we like trains in our country. And we do to an extent. For me I like to fly on the airlines and I often like to drive myself to my destination when I don't want to have to deal with public transportion. I have options so do you. I would not mind the option of taking a train if it is not goverment subsidized. That is unless the goverment is paying for me to be "beamed up" like on star trek.

 

Well, I modified it alright.
---
There, fixed it for ya.

That's the letter (or something like it) that I am sending.

 

This works in Japan and Europe because of geography. I'm not a smart man but I can tell you right now with 99.8% certainty that this has no chance of working. Look at it this way...Any city pair within 3 hours...it'll be faster/cheaper just to drive yourself. Any city pair +5 hours...it'll be faster/not much more expensive to fly. Our population centers are too scattered to make this efficient/time saving.