California's proposed bullet train

[SteveInSeattle]

China has trains running at these speeds and it is absurd that the US does not have any real high speed rail. I have traveled it in Spain and France and it is wonderful because it is city-center to city-center and takes less time and trouble than the airport. LA/SF is an obvious choice on the west coast, as is Vancouver BC to Portland, OR

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

China has trains running at these speeds and it is absurd that the US does not have any real high speed rail. I have traveled it in Spain and France and it is wonderful because it is city-center to city-center and takes less time and trouble than the airport. LA/SF is an obvious choice on the west coast, as is Vancouver BC to Portland, OR

its absurd that we "still" dont have it. my Dad took a troop train from Detroit to Virginia in 1946. he says it got up to near 100 mph. that was 65 years ago!

 

[smkettner]

The rails are apparently controlled primarily by freight companies that see no need to comply with the additional regulations for 80+ mph travel on the existing tracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak#Speed

 

[yoyofella]

China has trains running at these speeds and it is absurd that the US does not have any real high speed rail. I have traveled it in Spain and France and it is wonderful because it is city-center to city-center and takes less time and trouble than the airport. LA/SF is an obvious choice on the west coast, as is Vancouver BC to Portland, OR

its absurd that we "still" dont have it. my Dad took a troop train from Detroit to Virginia in 1946. he says it got up to near 100 mph. that was 65 years ago!

Remember 1946 was back in an era where Rail was still able to compete with cars in the free market. Since that time, federal, state, and local governments has poured trillions (in today's dollars) and allocated millions of acres to develop it's two main competitors: interstate highway system and commercial airport system.

Unlike in Europe or Japan, our passenger rail system was not given a chance to compete fairly in the market, that's why innovation stopped, and our trains run slower now than it did 100 years ago. If you were a passenger train operator back in the late 40s and early 50s, you'd probably see the writing on the wall: government has picked the winner for our late 20th century transportation system, and it aint rail. You'd be crazy to invest in technology in the face of this seemingly unlimited government subsidy.

 

[Yodrak]

Some people agre with you, others do not.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/26/does-california-need-high-speed-rail/?ref=opinion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China has trains running at these speeds and it is absurd that the US does not have any real high speed rail. I have traveled it in Spain and France and it is wonderful because it is city-center to city-center and takes less time and trouble than the airport. LA/SF is an obvious choice on the west coast, as is Vancouver BC to Portland, OR