Added at the last minute to the Stimulus bill is an allotment of money ($8 billion to be exact) that will go towards developing high speed trains. High speed train technology has been used in other countries for years, while the U.S. instead has been expanding it's highways. The article focuses on the many people that believe it is not a wise use this country's money, however the vast benefits of high speed train travel seem to be excluded. First off building a new rail system will create jobs, an important task in increasingly bad economic times. As unemployment rates rise it seems necessary that the government find some way to create jobs and once the trains are complete there are still jobs available, being that someone has to run them. Fixing our outdated, falling apart rails is also good for the environment because efficient trains will cut down air traffic (if travel time by train was cut down to as long as a flight takes why fly when your not crossing oceans?), and road traffic, especially for companies who use trucks to transport goods. Trains are pretty much a win win situation. to be fair the article does make a good point that the current amount of money will not go very far, but that does not mean it would be a waste. Don't we have to start somewhere both with new technology and with getting our country back into shape. Trains are not a thing pf the past like many might think, just because we have cars and planes doesn't mean trains don't still serve an important purpose. No, a train will not save the world, no matter how fast it goes, but it just might help and it seems to me those people in Washington, might want to get all the facts before they judge this addition too quickly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/us/20rail.html?ref=politics
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