This Washington Examiner editorial gets it right on the misguided notion of spending money the country doesn’t have on a so-called high-speed rail system:
Amtrak’s Acela Express, currently the nation’s only high-speed train, runs between Washington and Boston and is unprofitable. “It is a fact that no nationwide passenger rail system anywhere in the world is considered profitable when all costs – including capital – are accounted for,” Amtrak spokesman Clifford Cole told CNNMoney.com. High-speed rail is a luxury that a nation running record deficits can clearly not afford, and one that can never replace the freedom and convenience provided by private passenger cars.
Last week, the North Carolina House voted 99 to 18 to pursue high-speed rail “stimulus” funds from the feds. It now goes to the Senate. John Locke Foundation Director of Research Michael Sanera explains the folly.
