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| This train is the future of China |
My wife and I were talking high speed trains over lunch today, I thought what a good subject to blog about. Every air passenger in the United States... every time fly... we just about go through hell with possible flight cancellations, and long lines... because today... the day you decided to fly... wouldn't it be you're luck some asshole joked with the TSA folks and that's all it took to bring the body checks to a grinding halt.
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| Taiwan is even in on the high speed train game... |
I am afraid to fly, but we fly all the time. I am tired of the person in front of me releasing his chair to lean back to crack my knees because in order for the airline to make a profit, three more rows of seats were added. Most of the time we are not in a hurry to "Get There," so a nice comfortable seat on a train for the two of us is something that appeals to me. High Speed rail for most of Europe, in general... is half the speed of an aeroplane and twice the speed of a car. Now I know we have been talking about having high speed rail in the USA... talking....
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| France was the first country to have high speed rail |
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France has had high speed rail since 1981. Thirty one years of perfect on time affordable transportation for the French people... and let us never forget the Statue of Liberty was a gift to the American people from the people of France, freedom fries my ass! I have yet to hear about plans for a High Speed Rail system to be built for the American people in the news... on the radio, or on TV, or in the newspapers, or the Internet. I find that troubling. I will admit lately I have been force fed news I would rather not have heard.... all about the questionable death of entertainer Whitney Huston, and didn't we get it jammed to us Micheal Jackson is dead?
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| This will be the first Russian High Speed passenger train |
America was built on rail transportation, you just try today to book a train from San Francisco to Chicago. First off you will pay a bundle to travel at slow speed across antique rails of questionable integrity, that is if you can find such a trip to book. If you were to do the trip by automobile you would put in some serious miles of driving; not fun. I have visions of a fine Courvoisier in hand as I gaze mindlessly out the window while the American countryside passes me by at 250 MPH. Oh, to not have to fight super size 3 tandem articulated lorries (Semi-tractor trailers) for road space, or vision... or to not have to experience them at night or during foul weather as they barrel down the highway running you out of the way. You can't find a relaxing transcontinental passage in the USA these days now can you?
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| When traveling from London to Paris take the Eurostar. |
Imagine the comfort of calmly taking your seat in the main lounge to have a nice meal before returning to your berth for the night as we head to Chicago for an early arrival. You say we cannot afford it, building a high speed rail system for the United States? That's bullshit to think that when the bailed out banks from the 2008 mortgage crises are sitting today on more than three trillion dollars. The money is there. Warren Buffet the mega rich financier believes in American rail for shipping, he has thrown huge money into reviving our national freight train system.
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| Germany has the Inter City Express |
No, what the sad thing is, is we American's killed our trains, now the railways are in such an abysmal state, and no one in the oil or automotive industry is one bit interested in building a railway when billions are made in profit shipping by truck, no one in the airline industry want's to lose selling a seat, one that will crack your kneecap when the idiot in front eases his seat back into your airspace.
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| China even has a magnetic railway that levitates the train over the rails for a frictionless ride. |
So how will we power a nationwide electric high speed rail system? Nuclear, solar, wind, Geo-thermal and why not? Why not build a high speed rail system and "Catch up" with the rest of the world? If you have friends from other countries that have high speed rail, well haven't you listened to them baffled that we do not have the same?
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| Coal and oil were once king! |
Big Coal contributes an awful lot of money to political candidates. Oh, there's no global warming... of course there isn't. Even if there isn't, do you like me like to breath clean air? All the information you would want to learn or know about World Wide High Speed Rail Systems... is already on the Internet and you can Google to your hearts content about the pros, cons, the good the bad and the ugly about high speed rail. I have no need to go into the details available for you to discover. What I am doing is day dreaming because no one over here really takes the high speed rail idea to heart. This is an election year, if I were a betting man I would bet we won't hear a peep to the positive about a high speed rail system for the USA. Rather will we hear more negative distractions from candidates who say absolutely nothing interesting... while promising nothing... while chastising or slandering their opponents; for my money would you please talk about the need for high speed trains!
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| Ah yes, there is nothing like burning sulfer fumes to grab your attention. |
Look in the mirror and ask yourself this.... "What are we Americans doing right now to meet the affordable transportation needs of our nation?
