How Southwest Squashed High-Speed Rail in Texas

We didn't need to vote on it. In Rural Texas as well as our mid-size cities the citizens with moderate taxes knew before this proposal that Texas did not need a high-speed rail system for areas like Flea bag Houston and the Dallas metroplex. IF those areas want a high-speed rail system let them vote in local taxes to fund such a project.

High-speed rail is one of the worst ideas around. American suburban sprawl makes efficient rail all but impossible. Every government rail project is a failure. Every time the subject is brought up the same people come out of the woodwork to say "Look at Europe and Japan, it works great there" as a justification. We already have an experiment to point to: California, where their effort has been a financial disaster.

"AmTrak is in the top 5 of taxpayer subsidized failures".

That says it all. There's no reason to sink taxpayer money into creating yet-another of the same thing.

America is the land of capitalism…companies provide an option and, should they fail, then the demand does not meet supply. The company folds. Just look at how many budget airlines failed in the US alone in the 90s.

A PRIVATE HSR does not mean that the government will intercede. In this case even more so as it is solely within TX, and I can’t see Austin injecting $$$ into a failed project.

I grew up in the UK (now an expat in Houston) and I miss the convenience, ease, and relative ease of traveling in and out of London at speed (especially after a few drinks as I didn’t have to drive!)

AMTRAK does very well in the North East. They actually turn a profit in that corridor. Where they lose money is the cross county routes. That’s not entirely their fault though. Unlike other developed nations, passenger rail is given lower priority than freight. They also don’t own the rails on which they run and so are at the whim of the rail owners.

Rail, high speed or otherwise, is successful in all civilized nations, and many non (China being a good example). It should not be written off just because “we use cars”. That mindset is costing the UK billions as they re-create lines closed in the 60s because cars were the thing.