Chicago Tribune Joins the Ranks of High-speed Rail Critics

by Ken Orski 09/30/2012

Last year, in congressional testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on high speed rail, we cited the Chicago-to-St.Louis "high-speed rail" project as an example of the Administration's wasteful use of its economic stimulus money. We pointed out that the $1.4 billion program of track upgrades will allow top speed of 110 mph but will raise average speeds of Amtrak trains between Chicago and St. Louis by only 10 miles per hour, from 53 to 63 mph. The four-and-a-half hour trip time will be cut by a mere 48 minutes, to three hours and fourty minutes. In France, TGV trains between Paris and Lyon cover approximately the same ditance (290 miles) in a little under two hours, at an average speed of 150 mph. Yet, federal officials did not hesitate proclaiming the Chicago-St. Louis project as "historic" and hailing it as "one giant step closer to achieving high-speed rail passenger service."

Now, a Chicago Tribune story, linked here and excerpted below, confirms just how "ridiculously expensive" and "uneconomical"  this project is turning out to be.  As the editorial points out, the project stands to "drain funding from mundane projects that could make a much bigger difference." Something that the California High Speed Rail Authority has belatedly recognized in diverting almost half of the initial $10 billion stage of its bullet train project to upgrading "mundane" commuter rail services in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. 

In recent years, under the banner of economic stimulus, the federal government has spent a ton of money getting the tracks ready for those speedy locomotives. In the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, for instance, Uncle Sam has poured at least $1.4 billion into crossing improvements and other upgrades. Between Chicago and Detroit, more than $400 million has been spent.

How would you feel, taxpayer, if we told you that some of the work might need to be torn up and redone?

Angry? You bet.

A debate over just how fast high-speed trains should operate could turn very costly very soon.

The issue comes down to 15 miles per hour.

»
  • Login or register to post comments
  • Email this Blog entryEmail this Blog entry

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

federal officials

Submitted by timemart15 on Tue, 05/14/2013 - 21:50.

Yet, federal officials did not hesitate proclaiming the Chicago-St. Louis project as "historic" and hailing it as "one giant step closer to achieving high-speed rail passenger service
http://timemart.vn/305/news-detail/494439/tin-tuc/may-tap-co-bung-giai-p...
http://timemart.vn/305/news-detail/494442/tin-tuc/may-tap-the-duc-giup-t...

<a href="http://dichthuatviettin.com/dich-vu-dich-thuat/dich-thu

Submitted by tuyenneu on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 06:04.

According to the Ministry of Transport, most of the objectives set out in the program in 2009 are planning to be "down" for several reasons. Specifically, all renovation projects, upgrading existing rail network by anhydrous capital were delayed from 1-3 years. Even Solidification Project North-South railway, sleepers instead K1, K2 ... slow to 5 years. The situation of investment in the development of new roads is not much better. Except Yen Vien Railway Project - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan, started in 2009 but has been delayed, all other important projects are still on paper, including a series of important works such as railways Bien Hoa - Vung Tau railway corridor program 2 1 economic belt ... dịch thuật tiếng nga
dịch thuật tiếng anh
dịch thuật công chứng
dịch thuật giá rẻ

Specifically, in this report, the first Vietnam Railway Administration admitted the construction project high-speed rail north - south not prove the necessary and sufficient conditions, so new steps to stop at Newspaper advertising investment advisory list by Vietnam made​​.

Amazing post!

Submitted by calldrin30 on Sat, 05/11/2013 - 13:19.

I am really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us. I assure this would be beneficial for most of the people.
sale tents

Government must take some

Submitted by chris james on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 03:20.

Government must take some immediate decision to expedite the bullet train development under the constitutional demand by the democrats.

Regards,
Miami Social Security Disability Attorney

Can any one plz explain to

Submitted by chris james on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 02:37.

Can any one plz explain to me what is economic stimulus, what its role in our economy?

Regards,
Financial Planning Jupiter

Chicago ranking is

Submitted by chris james on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 14:03.

Chicago ranking is increasing step by step on the strong polices that they have made for their future.

Regards,
Plumber West Palm Beach

High speed rail service is

Submitted by chris james on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 13:21.

High speed rail service is the need of the people to save thier time as well as money.

Regards,
North County San Diego Kitchen And Bath Designer

I must appreciate that the

Submitted by chris james on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 12:03.

I must appreciate that the Chicago Tribune is serving for plenty of time and people love it.

Regards,
International Car Shipping Miami

I am very enjoyed for this

Submitted by applee on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 13:07.

I am very enjoyed for this side. Its a nice topic. It help me very much to solve some problems. Its opportunity are so fantastic and working style so speedy. I think it may be help all of you. Thanks
tapetes impreso

I have been through the

Submitted by applee on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 13:06.

I have been through the whole content of this blog which is very informative and knowledgeable stuff, So i would like to visit again.
topes para estacionamiento

logiciel winamax

Submitted by jimmy123 on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 14:27.

for instance, Uncle Sam has poured at least $1.4 billion into crossing improvements and other upgrades. Between Chicago and Detroit, more than $400 million has been spent.
logiciel winamax

winamax rake

Submitted by jimmy123 on Sat, 04/27/2013 - 10:22.

take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very troublesome to tell the reality however I will certainly come back again.winamax rake

Excelent post!

Submitted by calldrin31 on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 04:28.

Your post is most excellent and great. Excellent and decent post. I found this much informative, as to what I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up.
logo flag

Wonderful post. The post

Submitted by freddykane33 on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 23:11.

Wonderful post. The post affects many urgent issues of our society. We can not be untouched to these issues. Your post gives the light in which we are able to observe the reality. Not everyday I have the possibility to read something like this.
Cell phone spy
cell phone spy software

Fantastic website document

Submitted by applee on Sat, 04/13/2013 - 13:41.

Fantastic website document concerning this matter,I have already been lately as part of your website a few times currently. I wanted to express hey there in addition to show my own thanks for the tips offered.
tapetes personalizados

Thank you for your useful

Submitted by applee on Sat, 04/13/2013 - 13:40.

Thank you for your useful information.I am so happy to reading your blog,funny and useful.Keep up your great wrinting.
topes de estacionamiento

And I hope that other

Submitted by dewdrop123 on Sat, 04/13/2013 - 01:55.

And I hope that other readers will also experience how I feel after reading your article. I feel very grateful that I read this. It is very helpful and very informative and I really learned a lot from it.buy a research paper at BestCustomWriting.com

Sometimes it is very hard to

Submitted by Stephanie Ingram on Thu, 04/04/2013 - 02:20.

Sometimes it is very hard to find good content on this topic. But your blog is my way to desired information, my problem is solved now. Thanks for posting something worth reading.
click here

I am happy when reading your

Submitted by applee on Thu, 03/21/2013 - 01:13.

I am happy when reading your blog with updated information! thanks alot and hope that you will post more site that are related to this site.

equipo para gimnasio

These are great. I think

Submitted by applee on Thu, 03/21/2013 - 01:12.

These are great. I think these are some new refreshing designs for companies/individuals. Very creative.
tapetes con logotipo

seo company los angeles

Submitted by sekopekola on Sat, 03/16/2013 - 02:04.

Naturally like your web-site however you have to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I to find it very troublesome to tell the reality however I will certainly come back again.
http://www.sekopeko.com/

Roof Coatings

Submitted by roofrep5 on Sun, 03/03/2013 - 06:53.

Excellent and decent post. I found this much informative, as to what I was exactly searching for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up.
Roof Coatings

You know your projects stand

Submitted by jassysingh on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 00:37.

You know your projects stand out of the herd. There is something special about them. It seems to me all of them are really brilliant!osteopathy prices

It was very useful for me.

Submitted by BRETLEE0035 on Sat, 02/09/2013 - 05:20.

Hello webmaster good day. Superb post. You have gained a new fan. Please keep up the good work and I look forward to more of your great posts.
raspberryketone

dewey beach hotels at deweybeachhotels.info

Submitted by lucky1 on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 10:30.

Thanks for sharing the information. I found the information very helpful. That's a awesome article you posted. I will come back to read some more.dewey beach hotels at deweybeachhotels.info

The four-and-a-half hour

Submitted by feltermarik on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 23:55.

The four-and-a-half hour trip time will be cut by a mere 48 minutes, to three hours and fourty minutes. cell phone spy software
cell phone listening

scissorsart Gwyneth Paltrow Hairstyles

Submitted by lucky1 on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 11:37.

Your working very well. That's a awesome article you posted. I will come back to read some more. scissorsart Gwyneth Paltrow Hairstyles

barkat ali

Submitted by lucky1 on Tue, 01/29/2013 - 12:12.

I have been wallowing on this for quite sometime and here I am reading about it! I will actually try these tips and let you know how they work out! well work. thnx for share with us.all-home-remedies.com

Hotelchainsuk

Submitted by lucky1 on Tue, 01/22/2013 - 10:49.

I wanted to thank you for this informative and useful read. I was very encouraged to find this site. Thanks a lot.Hotelchainsuk

nice information

Submitted by ronpoul on Fri, 12/28/2012 - 08:23.

Superb blog post, I have book marked this internet site so ideally I’ll see much more on this subject in the foreseeable future!
Iran Visa at Airport

Great post!

Submitted by calldrin17 on Mon, 12/17/2012 - 04:36.

This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your design is so perfect! Afrer reading your post i could understand that the content is most simple and great. Thank you for your great share. Also this is my 1st visit at your site and after visiting your site i enjoyed.
oktoberfest 2013

sell my house in moreno valley

Submitted by calldrin21 on Fri, 12/14/2012 - 13:30.

I am visited many other blog site and read attentively your each post. Afrer reading your post i could understand that the content is most simple and great. Thank you for your great share. Also this is my 1st visit at your site and after visiting your site i enjoyed.
sell my house in moreno valley

Why they want to burn our money this way

Submitted by Donna Stern on Mon, 12/10/2012 - 14:24.

I bookmarked the Chicago Tribune story, but will read it by evening. What I know about this is, any average American like me would just be pissed at all these. Why on earth they want to burn the taxpayers money this way. Ridiculous.

BTW's I just read an article on super beta prostate scam. I think that one article on beta prostate scam needs an attention. Let's all know the truth about super beta prostate scam instead of feeding our brains with unrealistic things. I felt what i read over there real and not like any other reviews we see around. I had to talk on this here as we all know how important prostates issues are and lot people suffer by it every day and we could see lot scams with prostate care supplements. My best friend's hubby got prostatitis and I have mailed her that article already. I see the right thing on super beta prostate scam fter reading that article.