I'm for electrification, if and when it is shown to be cost effective and/or necessary, and the US is way behind. I've only worked on four or five RR Electrification studies in my career. I even wrote a "backstop" AQMD RR Electrification rule, as RR is a "BACT" (best available control technology)for air pollutants (other than electric generation, which is still a significant reduction-at a very high cost per ton of emissions compared to other cheaper reductions).

Of course, as we spew thousands of tons of CO2 stuck in gridlock every day, we can all wait for hell to freeze over (or Greenland to melt) to have any rail passenger service on this bloated gold plated segment, while we look to fine more money to electrify...? And we have to do this even after this current pile of taxpayer cash is fully squandered, because we need to leapfrog the Chinese, or else our intenational technological noodle will get limp?

I guess now, that patriotism, in the name of jingoistic boondoggles, is indeed the last refuge of those defending these scoundrel's with their fingers in the taxpayers wallets....

Of course, if hyperbole like that only farted "golden eggs" instead of jingoistic sophistry, it wouldn't be a problem for this taxpayer, with you personally footing the bill for the gold plated cost is no object" boondoggle, as a manly display of our technological international "high speed" national prowess...

As opposed to say, an "efficient" taxpayer funded project, truly designed to meet actual travel needs in these congested mid distance corridors?

It is about efficiency. Which is why some of these projects, like Brightline, in both Florida and to Las Vegas have "pencilled" out, and/or it's about a national will to spend money, where they already had the build up demand, like Germany....

Let's see Amtrak record year 35 million interciyt passenger, and Germany 1.2 billion? How many intercity passengers does Japan have? What is the average trip length, distance between cities, how many were built as bypasses to existing overcrowded slower lines? And, where is the United States in that set of transportation "needs" and "opportunities" where it makes most sense to spend our public or private resource on rail passenger services?

While you're searching for money to electrify for another ten years... I'll take any new infrastructure money for "efficient" projects, like the US Link-LAUS Run Through, with "real" properly planned "efficient" cost benefit analysis, which I saw the first results on over 25 years ago... Or maybe for for the Del Mar Bluffs 110 mph. double track bypass tunnel, and on an electrified LOSSAN, first proposed over 40 year ago by American High Speed Rail......

Dear Ralph Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear Ralph and beloved Koch bros,
>
> It cost a lot of money to move people quickly and
> efficiently. China isn't leap frogging the US's
> economy because they are investing in Siemens
> diesels or Guatemalan chicken buses but because
> they've learned from those advanced economies of
> Japan and Germany, and they've learned to
> recognize advancement when they see it.
> Brightline isn't investing in electric trains from
> Vegas to LA because they are slow and inefficient
> trains, but because they've learned from their 3rd
> world Florida endeavor and are ready to take the
> next evolutionary step.
>
> We must think outside the chicken pen and advance
> our society in a forward thinking manner and not
> get caught up in third world slow-mo-jo tech.
>
> Sincerly,
>
> ISAT (International Standards and the Advancement
> of Technology)
>