Obama’s high-speed train runs off the tracks

This week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined the governors of Wisconsin and Ohio in sending high-speed rail money back to Washington. Governors are saying "Thanks, but no thanks" to the strings-attached funding from the Feds. One of the many deal breakers is the fact that, if the train goes bust, state taxpayers would have to reimburse Washington for the federal funds. See Randal O’Toole’s John Locke Foundation report "Why North Carolina Should Not Build High-Speed Rail" and his comments on Gov. Scott’s decision below.

Also see my comments on the NIMBY fight between rival neighborhoods in Raleigh that has been generated by this federal rail project

Let’s hope that Governor Perdue and state legislators follow the lead of other states and not saddle taxpayers with another "all cost/no benefit" boondoggle.

 

Not So High-Speed Rail in North Carolina and Raleigh
by Michael Sanera

… Most newspaper accounts of this new rail system mislead readers by reporting that the train will go 110 mph. This is the maximum speed possible on some limited routes. The average speed in North Carolina due to track conditions and stops is far from "high-speed" because it averages only 55 to 75 mph, about the same as auto travel on interstate highways.

Comparisons to the nation’s interstate highway system are useful. While the interstate system has been the backbone of our national transportation system since it was started in the 1950s, the "moderate-speed" rail system, if built nationwide, would carry only one-tenth the number of people at twice the cost, nearly $1 trillion.

North Carolina’s state and federal taxpayers are not only on the hook for building the expensive system, they will be stuck with the nearly $25 million in operating subsidies every year. What is the benefit of these high costs? The average North Carolinian will take one round trip on these trains only once in every 27 years. …

 

SPECIAL ISSUE: FLORIDA GOVERNOR REJECTS HIGH-SPEED RAIL FUNDS
by Randal O’Toole

Florida Governor Rick Scott killed the Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail project this morning, seven years after the state previously killed it once before. Scott cited three reasons for killing it: the likelihood of cost overruns, overly optimistic ridership projections, and the fact that, if the project turned out to be a dud and the state shut it down because it couldn’t afford to operate it, it would have to return the federal grants to the federal government.

Where does this leave Obama’s high-speed rail plan? On one hand, Immobility Secretary LaHood now has nearly $2.5 billion he can give to other states for high-speed rail. But with most of the freight railroads opposing moderate-speed rail on their tracks (the only major exception being Union Pacific in the Chicago-St. Louis corridor), projects that aim to share tracks with freight trains are going nowhere.

Florida tax watchdogs and Tea Party members should be proud of themselves for the work they have done in helping Scott reach this decision. Although Scott indicated he was skeptical of high-speed rail during the gubernatorial campaign, after taking office he was intensively lobbied by rail advocates, manufacturers, and construction firms. He is to be commended for reaching this decision, which will not only save Florida taxpayers money but is likely to save federal taxpayers billions more.

Just to be certain high-speed rail doesn’t rise from the grave again, people should contact their representatives in Congress — particularly if they are represented by Republicans and especially if they are on the Transportation and Energy Committee, and urge them to reject Obama’s high-speed spending plan.

 

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