RE: California high-speed rail route approved
The difference between a high speed train in europe and a high speed train in the U.S. is that there is a lot more demand for trains in europe. Even if the high speed trains in europe made stops (and there are lines that do), people there will still use them.
Lazy americans will not take to trains. They can rail about health, use less gas, be more green, be more responsible but when it comes down to it and you tell them to use mass transit....forget it. Its not happening. When people have to drive 2 blocks to get a gallon of ice cream, there is no chance a rail system will work unless air travel becomes so incredibly horrific that it drives people to rail. As of right now, there aren't enough disgruntle flyers to make up for train travel. People when given the choice will just drive. 2 major reasons why people won't give up their cars, 1. lazy (but they'll say its convience) 2. their car is their status symbol. The nicer the car the person owns, the less likely they will use the train.
You can build the fastest train that makes no stops between SF and LA and it will barely make a difference to train travel demand.
