Kerry pushes high-speed rail

Like it or not this is the direction we are going to have to go for short distance mass transportation. I don't know how wide the acceptance of that idea is other than in the northeast but when energy reality sets in high speed rail will be needed.

This is great news for California, without federal funding the High Speed Rail project which just got approved by voters will not materialize. Prop 1A funds 1/3 from State funds, 1/3 from the fed and 1/3 from private sources. Anyway tell Kerry thanks! Too bad he lost to Bush so we could have moved ahead on forward thinking ideas and projects such as these.

Bush really didnt do anything to make this country better. Thats what I want to get across cause it def eerks me.

Peace!

This isn't enough - California alone is looking for ~$15bn in federal funding.

Any high speed rail considered should include the Georgia Monorail Consortium, Inc. "Silver Bullet" 214-mph monorail. See the technology at www.otg-inc.com. It costs less that typical trains from the 1900's and can be run as a replacement for short-haul airlines.

It's about time. Hopefully this will pass when President Obama is in office, so that we can finally end the incentives for private car ownership and start investing in alternative, sustainable transportation infrastructure.

This is great. It's about time the rest of the country gets on board with HSR. Not only CA. The NE Corridor needs to be brought into the 21st century. There are plenty of other HSR hubs that need to be started like one centralized in Chicago and going to all the surrounding states. I believe we could really help our economy by investing in some infrastructure.

In response to Bill Owen's post about the 200-214mph monorail, I believe that standard rail HSR would be far better suited that trying to implement that system. HSR can also be built on an elevated level so so that it does not interfere with roads. Not to mention HSR can be implemented with existing tracks and network.
Reading up on the OTG, the model is far too small for it to be a good alternative to airplanes. For instance it only holds 31 seats. That's nice and all but standard 8 car sets (like say ICE3) hold 415+ people. Not to mention you can couple 2 train-sets together. As far as outright speed, while 200-214 is fast, HSR still holds the heavier belt with 217, 225 and soon to be 236mph operating speeds.

In short, I feel that if any high speed rail is discussed, we should be looking at companies like Siemens (ICE 3 models), Alstom (TGV or better yet AGV models), or Kawasaki (builds JP rail Shinkansen).

Perhaps Georgia's 'silver bullet' isn't so far off. Anyone investigating Siemen's transrapid maglev would see certain advatages over HSR in speed ride, efficiency... except of course it costs more... either way I think this is good news, and wish Sen. Kerry good luck!

As you said, Maglev is too expensive. Hell, even Germany cancelled plans to build a maglev line there, and it's THEIR train. China, the only commercial maglev in existence (Transrapid) also has no plans to further the line. Although, they've already completed a HSR line (based on the ICE 3 Velaro) just before the Olympics which operates at 217mph. The new Shanghai to Beijing line (with the same train-set) will operate at 236mph. Transrapid has an operating speed of 267mph. So it's not that far ahead, especially not considering the price hike. Both the ride on HSR and Maglev is smooth so that point is moot.

Let's please change the rhetoric from dependence on "foreign oil" to simply "oil". The black energy isn't bad because it's from the Middle East, it's bad because it's dirty and polluting our future!

This has been a solution to so many problems for so many years. We have just buried our collective heads in the sand without examining the economic externalities associated with our highway system. The highways have unfairly subsidized trucks and cars at the expense of rail since the WW2 era. The public is beginning to understand that high speed electric rail is essential for the Eastern Seaboard, the Great Lake region and the West Coast. This will free up highways and airports while reducing the energy and carbon per person footprint. Furthermore, the country will have to build the reactors to supply the 24 by 7 energy the system will need.

You're all SOCIALISTS and MARXISTS!

REAL AMERICANS drive SUVs!

Please congress, pass and fund this right away. This is infinitely more useful than 300 billion for Citigroup, in terms of having an impact on our country. We need to make it easier and cheaper and less polluting to get around. Why did we spend 700 billion on the war in Iraq instead of spending it on train and subway systems in the US? Don't wait until it's too late and we don't have any more money to spend.

This is fantastic and is exactly what the United States needs. It's not going to get us all the way there, but at least this would be a step in the right direction. The East Coast, Midwest and West Coast are all set up very well for high-speed rail networks. It's amazing that these systems aren't in place already.

I am a Older person and retired an i have HOPE in this I would love to live long enough to see this come to life. For long distance I have envisioned for many years High speed MAG LIFT Like 500 MPH on a elevated mag lift train . Powered by wind turbines dedicated to feeding power to the rail line. This way could harness wind to power the MAG LIFT Train.. 4 Everyones info i am a retired pilot. An i can see this as the future For the USA an NO MORE ARAB OIL.