High-speed rail: Can it work in the US?
The symmetry is nice. A half-century ago, President Eisenhower pushed for interstate highways, which connected America, boosted the economy, and helped give the heave-ho to the nation's passenger-rail system.
On Thursday, President Obama announced he wants to connect America, boost the economy, and help give the heave-ho to the nation's interstate-highway travel with a high-speed passenger-rail system that ...
Hey, wait a minute! Is this back-to-the-future government policy?
A $13 billion downpayment
The president would use $8 billion of the stimulus package plus another $5 billion in future federal budgets to begin laying the foundation for 10 high-speed rail corridors around the nation. (See a map here.)
That's an important start – but not enough to build a single bullet-train system, let alone connect New York to Chicago or California with anywhere else. (Click here to see what it could do.)
