China’s High-Speed Train Map Puts U.S. Transportation to Shame
The sad truth is that, far from being a leader, the United States is way behind on building a modern transportation network. Compare the train maps of the United States, Europe, and China, and you’ll see how devoid of both regular and high-speed trains the United States is in comparison to the latter two regions. Nearly all the existing higher speed lines noted on the U.S. map would still fall in the standard gray category of the European map.
China opened its first high-speed rail line to connect Beijing and Tianjin in 2008 — the same year that California voters approved the state’s high-speed rail project. Since then, China has spent an estimated $360 billion to build 22,000 km (13,670 miles) of high-speed rail — more than every other country combined — and is expected to add another 15,000 km (9,321 miles)
It's time American's face up to the fact... "We ARE NOT the Know it All Nations"..... its time to relax and start to "Learn From Others". Its evident China has higher mastery of this advancement in rail travel than the U.S. and they have a Government that know more of how to use the "emminent domain clause" for the sake of the nation's Transportation system.
America could have long ago been ahead of the game in High Speed Rail, if only they "study history" not just of early Rail Road Construction....but of President Eisenhower's Freeway Program and how it was set in design,moved to development and was built across the nation. Nearly all Freeways in America... have enough "adjacent land" along the Freeway Routes to Accommodate and Support High Speed Rail Lines.
Get the Crooks Out of It...!!!! Turn it into a "FEDERAL PROJECT", with Federal Workers and Cost Cap Managed Contractors where needed... Or... Go Ask China to come and build it.
We need
minds like President Eisenhower, or for that matter President F.D. Roosevelt - and minds like President L.B.Johnson to get anything of such volume built!!!!!!
Even today, Warren Buffett could get it done, because since he bought into the Rail Road Business, tracks have been being repaired all across the nation.
The worst thing in America is the "Contractor Games"... The Government should only bring them in "Under Fixed in Stone Contract Guidelines", and Make Fixed in Stone Contracts with Rail Steel Producers, and everything Needed to Build the Rail Road. If they don't want to work with that, then the Government would be best to set up its own "Rail Steel Production Facility, and Produce its own steel for High Speed Rail Systems, as Part of a Infrastructure Project Under the same principles of "National Security".... because it was a sense and concern for National Security, that led President Eisenhower to build the Freeways as a Dedicated Project. He learned that from World War II... when he became away of the National Important of Transportation Networks as being a vital component to National Security.
We've become too ingrained in trusting "greed driven university graduates who've been taught to chase a "title" and expect a financial windfall every 3 months", and then want to be given part of the company via stocks"...., these same minions, who've never worked a day in their life, while mommy and daddy paid to send them to Ivy League and its High Status Network Universities, with a Trust Fund and a Instantly Re-filled Credit Card.
We should by now have had enough of that, seeing the industry of the nation devastated by this same process. It's time for Change.
We have a nation full of people with education from the non descript universities, who are not demanding $250K
and upwards, or $10's of millions a year, and expecting a bonus for doing what they are paid to do, while still expecting to be given stocks that give them ownership stakes in business and industry.
We have the College Graduates from Across the Nation with good skills, technical know how and they are fine working for 80-150K to do some of the same work and likely to a better sense of dedicated standard, because it gives them work to do, helps them take care of their family and allows them to contribute while building a future for their family, and helping build the systems that benefit the nations future.
