[merrylander]

The development of high speed rail needs steel and concrete ties, the old days of wooden ties and gandy dancers won't cut it. Which is why Amtrak re-built (and is still rebuilding) the northeast corridor. For our granddaughters christening we took the Accela to New York,, just as fast as flying (when you consider the cab rides at both ends), and much more comfortable and relaxing.

For the wedding in Aspen we took the Superliner and spent an enjoyable two days on the train, meals were excellent and you meet a different type of people on trains, more relaxed and civil, unlike the yahoos that seem to populate airplanes.

The real probllem with Amtrak is that they own no tracks other than the NE corridor, so passenger trains give way to freight. Plus we subsidize roads and airports but not rail.