Consumer Affairs looks at high speed rail's future in the U.S. by first looking at rail's domineering past, noting the huge change after the Interstate Highway Act along with the land use changes the auto brought, but concludes it all comes down to..
...the American voter. The debate played out with Midwestern gov.-elects 'saying no' to HSR while CA and others 'say yes' is essentially a debate to be played out at the ballot box, concludes Consumer Affairs reporter Fred Yager.
"And so the debate continues and whether the U.S. joins the rest of the world in high-speed passenger rail service will depend on what most things depend on in this country. If enough voters demand it and let their representatives know how they feel, the money will probably be found.
So it all comes back to you dear reader. Do you want to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, travel relatively inexpensively between cities 500 to 800 miles away or continue to fight the clogged roadways? You could also choose between passing nakedly through scanners or being groped by strangers instead of getting on a train that could have you at your destination in about the same time you'll wait to board your plane."
Thanks to Streetsblog
Read the full story: Is High-Speed Rail Travel in America's Future?
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