Well, at least it's clear who we are dealing with. The Republican Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has been a politician throughout his career. He is not an educated transportation expert or professional, and he certainly displays his limits in this letter.
He misunderstands the many differences between high-speed rail and the National Interstate Highway System, and he doesn't begin to understand what's going on with high-speed rail in California.
And highly revealing, he points out that ". . . . perhaps most important, the project will put Californians back to work." In other words, this is a jobs program, not a rail system development program. Presumably and "most important" he would be happy with any construction job that puts unemployed construction workers back to work. In which case, wouldn't the higher priority for transit and transportation be to fix what is already broken, before running off and building something we can't afford for which there is no strategy, policy or plan?
The most I can say for this letter is that it's depressing. If his long term goal is ". . . creating a national high-speed rail network" then shouldn't he have the same kind of business plan for the Nation that we demand for the California high-speed rail project? Where is the nation's high-speed rail business plan? Who is going to be paying the hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps well over a trillion dollars, to fulfill this unplanned ambition? Where is the risk-management? Where is the solid research that lets the nation's taxpayers know just how much such a rail system is actually needed, and where?
LaHood does what the CHSRA does: he promotes a project which is nothing more than a video- based fantasy. There is no solid substance behind this vision and concept. It will cost ever so much more than he even realizes or cares about. He will be long gone -- on to a presidency of some corporation -- by the time people actually begin to implement this loony-tunes idea.
Secretary LaHood's aspiration is to take this Nation for a ride, and it's not on a train. He accuses the Washington Post of being short-sighted. He is, in fact, the one being short-sighted since he has no idea how to proceed with the program beyond pump-priming which is actually a form of pork for appropriate congressional districts.
LaHood subscribes to the hyperbole that has infected high-speed rail promotion with the panacea concept waving a magic train that will solve all our problems in the US; manufacturing, economic development, and jobs. A serious hard look at these empty promises will show them to be no more than smoke and mirrors.
More of us are coming to realize that the only antidote for such political boondoggling is to cut off the funding at the source in order to stop this nonsense before it gets out of control.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/14/AR2011011406824.html
California's high-speed rail project is on the right track
Friday, January 14, 2011; 9:20 PM
The Jan. 12 editorial "Hit the brakes," criticizing California's high-speed rail plan, was shortsighted and parochial. If President Dwight D. Eisenhower had waited until he had all the cash on hand, all the lines drawn on a map and all the naysayers on board, America wouldn't have an interstate highway system. We stand at a similar crossroads today when it comes to high-speed rail.
Because of the leadership of President Obama, our children and grandchildren will benefit from a high-speed rail system that connects 80 percent of Americans and keeps us competitive with other leading nations. High-speed rail will revitalize America's manufacturing sector, spur economic development and create green, high-wage jobs for tens of thousands.
The people of California understand this, which is why they approved a nearly $10 billion bond measure to build a high-speed rail system in their state. The Obama administration is proud to support California's pioneering plan with a $3.6 billion investment that will jump-start the project by funding the first section of the corridor ready to be built, in the Central Valley.
The Post creates a false choice between the Central Valley and other sections of the project that are not ready for construction. The Central Valley segment will connect to existing rail service at both ends of the line, improving passenger service even before other sections of high-speed rail are built. And, perhaps most important, the project will put Californians back to work.
The administration has also invested billions of dollars in other promising high-speed rail corridors across America, including $1.7 billion for the Northeast Corridor. Focusing the total sum of our federal dollars in one project, as The Post suggests, is a poor strategy that will not serve our long-term goal of creating a national high-speed rail network.
Ray LaHood, Washington
The writer is U.S. secretary of transportation.
