Excellent point
LA to LV did not occur to me and it is so obvious. That would be a good place to start. Let's use reason and logic in developing this system, not slavering emotion just to get an HSR system up and running to satisfy some political agenda. California is broke and going over a cliff economically and they want to waste billions on this? Do it right for once. Let the private sector handle it. Cargo is a good place to start. It can carry both cargo and passengers. And make money as well so it won't need taxpayer subsidies. That's my major gripe with these projects. Why must taxpayers foot the bill? If it can't survive on its own, it's probably not worth doing. As a taxpayer, I am out of money. I don't have any more to give so they can continue to waste it on useless projects. The politicians in Sacramento (where I used to live) just don't seem to realize this.
Having said all that, rail, when it's done right is good. Take Japan for instance. They have an extensive rail network, much of it run by private companies. I still have a copy of the Tokyo rail map. It looks like a street map, there are so many tracks. You are never more than a 10-15 minute walk from a train station and trains run very frequently. I used it a lot when I was there because it is so efficient. And it feeds into the Shinkansen (bullet train) which is largely used for inter-city travel. It also runs right into both major airports in Tokyo.
It seems that most of the people drooling and slobbering to get this going are the same ones who think they will get us out of our cars. (and it seems a lot of them found this article judging by the minuses). (They are also the same ones who think that government is the solution to every perceived problem. It's not, in fact government is often the problem). Not going to happen. Yes, there are times I would use the train, but having my own personal transportation is just too convenient and useful. If we had a good train system where I live, I would probably use it to get to work to save wear and tear, but when it comes to road trips or hunting/fishing trips, I will continue to use my SUV. Options, people, are good things. There is room for both.
