High-Speed Trains

In May, 1986, my wife and I were in Vancouver for the World's Fair. One of the top attractions was a Japanese mag-lev train, which uses electro-magnets to hover over the rails.

The line to get on for a demonstration ride was too long, so we did some other things for a couple of hours and then stopped for lunch. We sat at a table next to a chain link fence without looking to see what was on the other side. A few minutes later, I heard a "whoosh" behind me. When I turned to see what it was, I saw one of the mag-lev trains racing past. There were none of the normal train-on-track sounds, just the soft whoosh of air displacement as the train passed. I thought, "that's a technology that has a great future, and I can't wait until it comes to the United States."

Here we are more than two decades later, and that technology hasn't taken hold here, but in Japan, the bullet train moves people quietly, at high speeds, throughout the country. Meanwhile, in France, their version of the bullet train -- which does ride on rails, rather than above them -- just broke a speed record by going 357mph. And China is investing heavily in high-speed rail, with thousands of miles of tracks under construction.

So, why hasn't the US jumped onboard? It would take a massive investment in infrastructure, of course, and would have to overcome tremendous pressure and opposition from the airline industry and others. But I'd like to see us undertake a national commitment to high-speed rail, similar to the interstate highway system a half-century ago.

With customer complaints about airline travel rising every week, and concerns about gas prices and fuel consumption making headlines every day and changing America's travel habits, now might be the time. Other reasons:
For political support, we'll appeal to Democrats' environmental sensibilities. For Republicans, we'll appeal to their patriotism, telling them there's no reason to be behind the dreaded French in anything (we could even call our high-speed rail The Freedom Train!). For both of them, we'll talk about creating jobs and new technologies, rather than relying on decades-old methods of getting from place to place.

In the 21st century, Americans want everything to be quicker -- here's one more way to make that happen.

Thoughts?

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