Photos of
high speed rail frequently appear on my Facebook wall. Many of my friends and followers will routinely ask why the U.S. cannot have the same high speed rail systems that are common in Europe and Asia. Many of us who have traveled abroad have ridden high speed trains. I have in France where my in-laws live. The trains travel at 250 MPH, are very comfortable with more leg room than most airlines. There are luggage racks outside of each each passenger compartment. A dining car is always included and in the case of the Eurostar (the Paris-London tunnel train) elegant meals are served on china with glass for beverages (wine is included) and flatware instead of plastic. It's very pleasant to look out the window and see the countryside while traveling. On most routes there is wifi, too. To tell you the truth I'd hop on a train in a NYC nanosecond if I had the choice to avoid U.S. airline travel. I worked for the airlines soon after I graduated from college and I can tell you the business has gone straight down the tubes over the past 30 years. Most of us now dread what used to be an enjoyable experience.
One of my Facebook friends commented that we cannot have high speed rail b/c the Republican Party is against it. Perhaps the reason for this is candidate Barack Obama proposed high speed rail when running for office in 2007.
The problem is not political process. Most of the countries that have built high-speed rail are democratic, and have submitted the projects to citizen review; others, like Germany and Russia, have federated governments similar to ours that divide general decision-making between levels of authority. Nor is it geography. The British and French completed a 31-mile tunnel under the British Channel 20 years ago, while many American cities are located in flat regions with few physical construction obstacles. Nor is it the characteristics of our urban areas. While U.S. cities are less dense than those of many other countries, the Northeast is denser, more transit reliant, and more populated than most areas served by high-speed rail abroad. Nor still is it money. Though the United States invests less in infrastructure than other developed countries do, America nevertheless remains an immensely wealthy nation perfectly capable of spending on new rail links if desired.
Over the past six years we have seen unprecedented obstruction on the part of the GOP. This is especially true when anti-government tea party Republicans got elected into state and federal offices in 2010. They hate spending so much U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his tea party groupies
shut down the federal government in 2013. And as of today
twenty six Republican men threaten to shut down the government again b/c of their war on women's reproductive rights.
These Republicans have no regard for federal employees, especially the "non-essential" ones who will be furloughed without pay. Though their paychecks may stop federal employees' mortgages, rent, car payments and college loans won't shut down. Of course the politicians who stop the paychecks will continue to receive theirs.
Thanks to gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts in the red states these whacko birds, religious fanatics, racists and misogynists manage to get elected. And when they do Joe and Jane Taxpayer are lucky to get the bare basics in infrastructure funding but fine 21st century things like high speed rail isn't going to happen on the tea party watch.
What's missing is a federal commitment to a well-funded national rail plan. Instead, we have a political system in which the federal government, having devolved virtually all decision-making power to states, cannot prioritize one project over another in the national interest. We have a funding system that encourages study after study of unfundable or unbuildable projects in places that refuse to commit their own resources. And we have a bureaucracy that, having never operated or constructed modern intercity rail, doesn't understand what it takes. This helter-skelter approach to transportation improvements is fundamentally incapable of supporting large-expenditure, long-range projects like high-speed rail.
Relying on state efforts to fund rail service will not happen in the red states. When the
Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation proposed service between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, lobbyists for American and Southwest Airlines killed the idea.
We were once able to have nice things. But it has been some time since.
This wasn't always the case. In 1956, Congress approved a significant increase in the federal gas tax, and with it a national plan for interstate highways. That plan, which included a steady stream of funding and a clear map of national priorities, was mostly completed over the next three decades. Though implemented by states, highway alignments were chosen at the national level, with the intention of connecting the largest cities, regardless of political boundaries. Funding came almost entirely (90 percent) from the national government and was guaranteed as long as a route was on the national map. Physical requirements for roadways were mandated at the national level and universally applied. And construction was completed by state departments of transportation that were technically knowledgeable, accustomed to building such public works, and able to make decisions about how to move forward.
The result was a system of roadways that most Americans rely on, often daily. The interstate system is unquestionably the nation's transportation lifeblood.
The need exists for high speed rail but the political will is not there, unfortunately.
But the need is still there. With falling automobile vehicle miles traveled, rising transit use, and booming city centers, we need new ways to connect our cities. More highways are not the answer, not only because they pollute the environment and destroy the neighborhoods they pass through, but also because they're relatively slow and become congested almost as soon as they're built. With a growing population, the country needs an expanded transportation system. The United States must invest in clean, neighborhood-building, and congestion-relieving trains, but we cannot expect states to pick up the slack of an uncertain federal government.
As far as Texas is concerned a private group has proposed high speed rail service between Houston and Dallas. Since this is a private endeavor that does not include state or federal funding maybe it will happen. But I am not too
optimistic. Because the same ol' suspects always seem to crawl out of the woodwork when a project like this is proposed.
It's not a road!
One state representative who opposes the project has proposed a bill that "would require the elected officials of every city and county along the route to approve the project," reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.* With the train running through some heavily rural areas, such a law would create an enormous challenge if passed. At the moment the bill has been sent to a legislative committee.
The champion of the bill, Will Metcalf, has given several reasons for opposing the plan. But one of his statements makes clear that he just doesn't see trains as a viable transportation alternative. Via the Star-Telegram:
And so it goes.
It involves eminent domain!
Other local officials are pushing a bill that "would strip firms developing high-speed rail projects from eminent domain authority," reports the Texas Tribune. Fears of misused eminent domain are both valid and welcomed in any democratic setting. But what's strange here is that the bill targets high-speed rail despite the fact that lots of private firms in Texas can wield eminent domain for the greater public good; via the Tribune:
"Currently, hundreds of private firms have eminent domain authority in Texas, including pipeline companies, utility companies and telecommunication firms. More than a dozen private railroad companies also have that authority, according to an unofficial list maintained by the state comptroller."
It takes 4-5 hours to drive from Houston to Dallas. It's not a very pleasant drive, to tell you the truth. It's kind of boring, actually. To be able to make this trip in perhaps an hour while reading, snoozing or blogging would be infinitely more desirable for so many of us.
But until we do a better job at getting ourselves to the polls the Republicans in power will continue to keep us from having nice things. We start by making sure we are registered to vote. Then we make sure members of our family and friends are registered. In states like Texas with Voter ID Jim Crow laws we help those w/o the proper ID to obtain it. We contact our nearest county Democratic Party and tell them we want to help. No deed is too small. Activism and outreach. It's a path to finally having nice things again.
