Trains to Nowhere

One of my biggest pet peeves in politics is the strange infatuation that some politicians have with trains. I have simply never understood it. Spend a ton of money for very marginal improvements and reduced flexibility. And, as I've discussed before (Why buses are better than trains, October 8, 2010), sometimes leading to INCREASED congestion. Even if congestion is not increased, the trains only save a few minutes compared to buses.

Nevertheless, the politicians continue to forge ahead with their ridiculous plans. Consider the following article from The Cato Institute:
"The Great Train Con" by Randal O'Toole
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=13103

Long story short: When the government claims that they are building "high-speed rail" they're lying. From the Cato article:

"When U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced this week that he was awarding Michigan nearly $200 million for high-speed rail, he claimed that the project would bring 'trains up to speeds of 110 mph on a 235-mile section of the Chicago to Detroit corridor, reducing trip times by 30 minutes.' But Michigan's own grant application says the $196.5 million will only increase average speeds from 60 to 64 mph — with the top speed remaining unchanged at 79 mph. That is, travelers will save a mere 12 minutes — not 30."


More information, from Newsmax:
"Insider Report from Newsmax.com"
Specifically, Item 4: "Obama’s ‘High-Speed’ Trains Won’t Run at High Speeds"
http://news.newsmax.com/?ZKO6.xpj-r1G91WC9gqDxnJS6xbkxJU1Z

This article pointed out many of the extremely questionable rail projects that are still on track (ha ha!).

"California is ready to spend $5.5 billion to build a high-speed rail line from Corcoran, a town about 30 miles south of Fresno known for the prison housing Charles Manson, to Borden, a ghost town north of Fresno. But trains on the line in the state’s Central Valley are not scheduled to stop at either Corcoran or Borden."

"Congress appropriated $8 billion for high-speed rail in Obama’s 2009 stimulus bill and $2 billion more in the 2010 appropriations bill."

"'President Obama’s dream of connecting 80 percent of Americans to a high-speed rail line appears to be dead,' Cato Institute’s Downsizing the Federal Government website declared. But the $10 billion already committed will go toward several questionable projects, according to the site:"

• Illinois is spending more than $3 billion to add three trains daily to the current five between Chicago and St. Louis and increase the average speed of trains on the line from 51.6 miles per hour to 56.8 mph, saving travelers 30 minutes on the current 5 1/2-hour trip.
• Washington State is spending $700 million to add two trains per day to the current three between Seattle and Portland, Ore., and boost speeds from 53.4 mph to 56.1 mph. That will save travelers 10 minutes on the current 3 1/2-hour trip.
• North Carolina is spending $545 million to increase speeds between Charlotte and Raleigh by about 3 mph, saving travelers 12 minutes on the current 3.2-hour trip.

For a bit of good news, there are still some governors out there with common sense:
"But newly elected governors in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin rejected rail projects in their state, and Congress declined to provide more funds in 2011."