High Speed Trains and The Future of Transportation

Where are all the high-speed trains we werethey will be able to work with the network to fill in the
promised? Where is a cohesive transportationgaps and actually make more revenue for connecting
strategy? With the current price of fuel we needpeople to final destinations. More contacts, competition
better and efficient systems to move people; theseand intra nation trade means the increase in the flow
gasoline prices are for the birds or Camels?For yearsof transportation would bring America closer together
they have been discussing High Speed Trains,and stronger. The United States is often more
between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and fromrepresentative of a United Countries with our myriad
Houston to San Antonio to El Paso, Houston to Dallas,of regulations and rules which change the second you
Dallas to Austin to San Antonio, Dallas to Amarillo,cross the border into a new state, even though we
Amarillo to Denver, Denver to Kansas City to Wichitareally are one country. Obviously with Snow serving as
to Oklahoma City to Dallas. Montana needs aSecretary of Treasury these issues have been
high-speed rail and North, South Dakota, Iowa,studied on this grand scale, especially considering the
Nebraska could all benefit from a high-speed raildecade of railroad consolidation during his time at the
system. Connecting the Mid West to all of the TexasHelm of CSX. With roads in need of repair and traffic
markets and Texas to Los Angeles and Florida togetting to be a major issue and our expanding
Texas through the Southern States could vastlypopulation, we need to look ahead on these serious
improve transportation and travel in this country. Itissues. With magnetic levitation and air-cushioned
would not hurt airlines. The discount airlines; such as Jettechnology there is no reason we could not build a
Blue, South West, America West, Air Tran; wouldgreat network inexpensively that would have the
continue to do well and time factors would be aspeeds necessary for rapid movement of people.
reason to fly the long hauls or coast-to-coast routes.Now is a good time to start getting more serious about
Discounters can cut price and stay in business due tohigh-speed train travel; we have done enough studies,
the business model used as a major part of theirwe need more action. We must plan ahead and head
overall growth strategy;Greyhound Company mightoff the disastrous consequences to the economy of
suffer in the beginning from a National Network offrom Supply and Demand issues to move people by
high-speed rail in the US, but that bus line is nowautomobile. Think about it.
owned by a Canadian Company anyway; eventually