President Obama is right. We are falling behind in high-speed rail and clean energy industry.

[flpoljunkie]

February 13, 2010
China’s Project to Build Fast Trains Is Spurring Growth


Janitors clean a high-speed train after its arrival at the Wuhan Railway Station, in Hubei, China.

By KEITH BRADSHER

WUHAN, China — The world’s largest human migration — the annual crush of Chinese traveling home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is this Sunday — is going a little faster this time thanks to a new high-speed rail line.

The Chinese bullet train, which has the world’s fastest average speed, connects Guangzhou, the southern coastal manufacturing center, to Wuhan, deep in the interior. In a little more than three hours, it travels 664 miles, comparable to the distance from Boston to southern Virginia. That is less time than Amtrak’s fastest train, the Acela, takes to go from Boston just to New York.

Even more impressive, the Guangzhou-to-Wuhan train is just one of 42 high-speed lines recently opened or set to open by 2012 in China. By comparison, the United States hopes to build its first high-speed rail line by 2014, an 84-mile route linking Tampa and Orlando, Fla.

Speaking at that site last month, President Obama warned that the United States was falling behind Asia and Europe in high-speed rail construction and other clean energy industries. “Other countries aren’t waiting,” he said. “They want those jobs. China wants those jobs. Germany wants those jobs. They are going after them hard, making the investments required.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/business/global/13rail.html?hp

[napi21]

1. The US has been WAY BEHIND HS rail for YEAES!

Europe has had these trains for a long time and they operate very efficiently. Japan has them, and many other countries as well. I'm not sure if the media story that Americans are just in live with their cars is the real truth, but I know there are many here in Atlanta who will not ride MARTA because they believe it's not safe. Honestly, I can't recall the last time I heard of anyone being attacked on a MARTA train, but I guess that doesn't matter.

I'd LOVE to be able to get on a train and go to the Airport, or downtown, but I'll be dead before that ever happens.

[boppers]

10. Here in PDX (Portland), riding is pretty normal.

We're light rail, not high speed (high speed is better between metro areas, not inside of metro areas), and part of what's different between ATL and PDX is that we have a *lot* of transit concentration areas, where bus hubs meet with train stops...

Have a look at our system:
http://ride.trimet.org/?tool=routes

[avaistheone1]

2. We are never going to catch up.

Countries like France and China are decades ahead.

The Democratic stimulus bills calls for us purchasing the trains from foreign countries. We will not be building them here in the U.S. Those jobs will go to foreign workers an the profits will stay in China.

Besides there is not much need for it here in the U.S. We don't need high speed rail for manufacturing, and we can't afford health care much less afford an expensive vacation on a train. We don't need it for business either because we can hold Webnars, training and education over the internet. Our company does it all the time and it is convenient, inexpensive and effective.

AT this point in time, we would be much better off investing in a crumbling infrastructure like our bridges, damns and levees. Otherwise, we will have more large-scale disaster like Katrina on our hands.






High speed rail trains in Wuhan Station, China

[flpoljunkie]

3. What we can afford is apparently a 'military empire.'

[avaistheone1]

6. Only if we are willing to sacrifice everything else.

Speaking of money-


Money woes could threaten high-speed rail's future

CHICAGO (AP) -- The $8 billion in stimulus cash awarded to 13 high-speed rail corridors across the country may seem like a windfall for advocates, but there's a catch: The money isn't enough to finish any of the major projects.

State coffers are dry and federal spending is being cut back, so it's unclear who, if anyone, will pay the rest of the multi-billion dollar bill.

Many states have been vague about how they would foot their part of the bill. But experts say most are counting on the federal government to cover at least half of their costs over the next few decades - a hope that may clash with President Barack Obama's recent pledge to curb spending.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HIGH_SPEED_RAIL?SITE=KGO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT



California doesn't have any money. We can't fix our damns, and levees. With a good enough earthquake some of them will certainly blow. Let's see shall we have high-speed rail or shall we keep our heads above water? Hhmm... :shrug: :dilemma: :dunce: :banghead:

[truedelphi]

9. + 1,000 . n/t

[glinda]

4. so why did they just give money for "roads and highways"???????

[Fire1]

5. The U.S. is falling behind in aLOT of shit!! n/t

[bvar22]

7. Happy to agree with President Obama here.

And in THIS effort, I fully support an "Uniquely American Solution":
A 10 years All Out Effort to design and build a Uniquely American High Speed Rail System, with ALL components manufactured in America by American Owned Corporations.

[avaistheone1]

8. That is not in Obama's plan.

A recent Breakthrough Institute report, "Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant," notes that the United States has no domestic manufacturers of high-speed rail technology, and "will rely on companies in Japan or other foreign countries to provide rolling stock for any planned high-speed rail lines." By contrast, the other countries examined in the report--China, Japan, and South Korea--all have domestic high-speed rail designs.

Indeed, most of the HSR technology and equipment that will be used in new U.S. high-speed rail projects will come from other countries. While the U.S. stimulus's "Buy American" provision would require most of the assembly of the rolling stock to occur in the United States, according the Greenwire story, "most of the work that lies at the heart of the system would be done outside the United States, with firms simply revamping existing technology to meet the needs of the U.S. market."

http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2009/12/foreign_manufacturers_compete.shtml




All/most of the profits from the stimulus will be leaving the U.S. going back to foreign countries.