[Newsbot]

Title: U.S. Congresswoman calls for high-speed rail linking Manhattan to Canadian cities
Category: Uncle Sam
Posted By: Regina
Date: 2012-09-04 13:29:55
Canadian

[bootlegga]

I like it! No, if we could only get something similar on the West Coast...

[BartSimpson]

It's not going to happen anytime soon. Congress won't allocate money for NYC to Montreal HSR before they build out the Washington-NYC-Boston corridor. After that will be NYC-Chicago. At best I'd expect NYC-Montreal sometime around mid-century.

[Wada]

That seems a rather conservative guestimate!

[BartSimpson]

Wada Wada:

That seems a rather conservative guestimate!

Forty years might be too liberal.

[Thanos]

Never happen. If it's a Democrat idea then the GOP won't support it just because. If it's a Republican idea they'll demand that it be entirely private sector, and totally ignore the reality that if this sort of transit was a money-maker then the private sector would have done all sorts of high-speed rail in North America decades ago. And the Democrats won't go along if it's either all private-sector or if the public has to inevitably bail it out after the private owners want out after losing far too much money.

North American politics don't have either the pragmatism or the basic understanding that some times things still have to be done even if there's no profit to be made. We're, and I include Canada too in being just as blind and trapped in ideological thought as the the Americans are, not long-term thinkers about most things the way that wiser people in place like Japan and parts of Europe are.

[GreenTiger]

I love the idea, I think it a bit unlikely though unfortunatly.

[xerxes]

I think we should give credit where credit is due with a headline where a Congressman/woman said something smart instead of profoundly brainless.

[GreenTiger]

xerxes xerxes:

I think we should give credit where credit is due with a headline where a Congressman/woman said something smart instead of profoundly brainless.

Very true, at times it seems that that doesn't happen too often. As unlikely at it seems to be it is a great idea that would be a great thing if it were actually done.

[bootlegga]

Thanos Thanos:

Never happen. If it's a Democrat idea then the GOP won't support it just because. If it's a Republican idea they'll demand that it be entirely private sector, and totally ignore the reality that if this sort of transit was a money-maker then the private sector would have done all sorts of high-speed rail in North America decades ago. And the Democrats won't go along if it's either all private-sector or if the public has to inevitably bail it out after the private owners want out after losing far too much money.

North American politics don't have either the pragmatism or the basic understanding that some times things still have to be done even if there's no profit to be made. We're, and I include Canada too in being just as blind and trapped in ideological thought as the the Americans are, not long-term thinkers about most things the way that wiser people in place like Japan and parts of Europe are.

While I agree with most of what you've said, a big reason it happened in Europe and Asia is because of much higher population density. When you have an area half the size of Alberta (Japan) with four times Canada's population, it's far more cost effective to build such things - plus far less room for roads. That's why in Japan they build up, not out like here. Same with Europe - most countries there have far higher density than we do too.

The only places NA approaches Asia and Europe in that regard are the oldest parts - the US East Coast and central Canada.

edited for spelling...

[raydan]

Agree with Thanos here, if it was such a great idea, the private sector would have gotten onboard years ago. Seems we're still decades away from falling in love with the train.