Wednesday, February 04, 2009

"High-Speed Rail Key to Infrastructure Renewal"

A story by Nick Gier on the New West site, a site dedicated matters around the Rocky Mountain West. Though a bit far from the East coast they have an article titled High-Speed Rail Key to Infrastructure Renewal

Couple of facts/numbers I think worth noting:
  • Amtrak’s Acela train averages only 79 mph between New York and Washington, while the EuroStar between London and Paris averages 136 mph
  • Currently China invests 9 percent of its gross national product in infrastructure, European nations lay out 5 percent, but the U.S. gives only 2.4 percent
Even with the boost likely to be given Amtrak by the Obama stimulus plan I do not think we'll be reaching these numbers in the coming years.  But as long as public transit (Amtrak and other rail/public transit options) and the US transportation infrastructure receive funding for upgrades with continued maintenance, the US will remain competitive over the long term and realize steady gains in economic prosperity.

posted by Guy in NYC at "High-Speed Rail Key to Infrastructure Renewal" - 7:44 PM

1 Comments:

  • Pedantry alert: the average speed between NYP to WAS is more like 86.

    The Eurostar's average speed is very impressive, but too many assume that is how all European trains work. Sadly, they too have their issues. A good comparison of the two, on record setting track, is here.

    By Blogger Ran Barton, at 2:38 PM, February 06, 2009  

Post a Comment

<< Home