The Federal Railroad Administration has placed Illinois in charge of buying 35 new, “next generation” locomotives to serve the to-be built high-speed rail lines in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, California and Washington, even though the locomotives do not yet exist.
Reminder: A $4 shrimp is never just a $4 shrimp.
That Chicago crowd makes the Little Guy from Shawinigan look, well, little…
Seems like an F-35 on wheels.
I’m surprised someone in the U.S. hasn’t requested Federal grants to develop a Star Trek-type transporter. The Country seems bent on destroying itself with fantasies,why not go real big on wishful thinking.
Explain to De Prez that “you can step into one in New York and be in California within microseconds”.
It would sure help the planet!
The Japanese have been running bullet trains for 20, 30+ years? Same with the French, no?
I think I can. . .
I think I can. . .
Hmmmm . . . I smell a Fisker revival making locomotives.
So the US government has borrowed $175M from the Federal Reserve in order for a state that is $9B in arrears and has an unmanageable public service pension liability of $100B over the next 30years to purchase high-speed locomotives though no high-speed tracks have been laid or budgeted for and the high-speed carriages are conveniently located on the other side of the rockies in the even more indebted state of California. Only big government bureaucracy could think that this makes sense.
The French TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) and Japanese bullet trains are electric. Imagine the cost of installing the powerlines over the rails let alone upgrading the rails, switch gear and rail bed.
the UN Aghenda 21 thugs do not want ‘the people’ driving their own private vehicles. “The buzz’ from the head honchos there is that people should be watched and listened to at all times. Some people smoke tobacco in their vehicles and some will just drive away from regulators. It is important, IMO, to always question the motive behind every move the ‘present’ admin in USA makes.
The Japanese and French ride the train, yes.
Do Americans ride the train? No.
The “unicorn railway” – heh – Maybe they found Dagny Taggart’s static electric engine?
Sounds like a McGuinty windmill to me.
I’ve heard even in Japan they are subsidized, although it probably makes sense pollution wise and for traffic in the land where you can buy bottled air.
Every dynasty that falls in history. Does so on the sword of personnel monuments to the rulers who want to leave their name for aeons.For other generation to marvel. Even if it ruins that Nation financially.
It just shows how corrupt the Elites have become. Its a stage of final dissipation.
Right before a more Vigorous, or vicious people take over.
Sounds like a chicken & egg situation. What do we buy first train engines to sit on non existent track or tracks to run their non existent engines on?
With the already demonstrated incompedence of the Obama crew they’re likely to build tracks of a gauge different then the width of the engine wheels.
Very subsidized, in fact the JNR-Japanese National Railroad alone is around a half Trillion dollars in debt.
European passenger rail is likewise an economic failure.
In fact in Japan only the Tokyo-Osaka line is solvent and in France only the Paris-Lyon line is.
Lessons learned.
Khan Academy uses Illinois as a case study to teach kids around the world about Pension Ponzis.
http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/american-civics/v/illinois-pension-obligations
Very subsidized, in fact the JNR-Japanese National Railroad alone is around a half Trillion dollars in debt. European passenger rail is likewise an economic failure.
That describes the whole US govt, so what’s the difference?
Illinois Policy
They claim it’s a revenue problem but $0.80 of every IL tax-hike dollar went to pensions in 2012
twitter.com/illinoispolicy/status/327234564583997440
Illinois has more unpaid bills now than it did when the 67% income tax hike passed in 2011
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ILPensionForum&src=hash
The difference is the U.S. is before the costly HSR mistake with national debt at about 100% of GDP and Japan is after having already made the HSR mistake with national debt at 214+% of GDP.
The U.S. can avoid making this mistake.
Country Pop density (ppl/sq km)
Japan 350
France 118
USA (lower 48) 33
Canada (QC-Windsor) 135
(Latter figure approximated from Ont + PQ populations w 90% living within 120 km
of US border – just a SWAG!)
Any more questions?