High-Speed Rail

Everyone is talking about high-speed rail right now because of proposals in Florida and California. Even if those states to get rail, NYC will stay the same for a long time. A colleague mentioned that price could be a big deterrent for Americans to champion rail. It cost 220 Euros one-way from Paris to Marseilles. But it's $175 one-way on Acela for the 3-hour trip between NYC and Washington. Marseilles is more than double the time, although it's actually further away mile-wise because the French rail is much faster.

Another thing is that our roads are more developed and gas is cheaper. That's true so that's why we need to make high-speed rail so much faster and more convenient. Once it's almost as fast as flying and brings the added benefit of no security pat-downs, more people will do it and it will get cheaper. We also need to bring more companies into the business so Amtrak can't charge exorbitant rates. I know I would rather take the train than fly or drive. Considering my many past trips to Lancaster and my recent trip between Buenos Aires and Iguazu, I could have benefited greatly from fast and relatively-cheap rail!