Impressive as it sounds, the $8 billion promised by the Obama administration for high-speed rail isn’t really not all that much money, right? With the California’s system along looking like a $40 billion project, the $8 billion, spread across thousands of miles and a dozen or more corridors, is a proverbial drop in the bucket.
But I don’t think that’s the right way to think about the money. Rather, the $8 billion is a game-changer, a catalyst. It’s about shifting the conversation. In the months since the money was announced, municipalities all over the country have been scrambling to put together proposals, to explain why their region is ready for HSR. Take a look at this recent set of headlines from The Infrastructurist:
- Proposed Texas HSR network would cost $10-$20 billion, help with Houston’s Olympic bid, and facilitate hurricane evacs. (Houston Chronicle)
- Obama touts a “high speed” rail connection between Des Moines and Chicago. Up to 79 mph! (KCCI)
- US is a half century behind Europe and Japan rail-wise, says head of Washington state rail program. (BBC)
- Travel writer: Would I use high speed trains? “I’m thinking the answer would be no.” Not unless they were cheap and “seriously fast.” (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- “Kansas City should be a key national hub” for a national high speed rail network, says KC rail booster. (KC Tribune)
- High speed rail is on the horizon for Minnesota: A discussion of the opportunities and challenges on MN Public Radio.
- Editorial: Nevada’s congressional delegation should fight hard to make fancy gambling train–as Sen Jim DeMint calls the LV – LA rail proposal–a reality. (Las Vegas Sun)
- If you live in LA, you’ll have a couple of opportunities to show public support for the state HSR project next week. (CAHSR Blog)
Simply by chasing the pot of gold, these local politicians have had to meet with rail advocates and contractors, talk to constituents about the benefits or rail, convince the local chamber of commerce to get on board, draft feasibility studies and long-range plans, etc., etc. Even if they don’t get one single federal dollar, they’ve started to create an internal constituency and a set of stakeholders who are interested in pursuing HSR.
I’m sure Obama intends to change the direction of the transportation discussion. Unfortunately, the $8 billion is a poor way to prove it, and the headlines from the Infrastuctionist are even worse.
The Texas and Los Vegas ideas are decades old. By now, everyone knows why they will fail again. Some of the other ideas are the purest moonshine. The “79-mph” train to Chicago is really nothing but an addition to Amtrak service.
There are corridors being considered. In California they’ve gone a long way, and, given the abject failure of Washington State DOT to take advantage of the stimulus spending, probably the best thing Obama could do is put the whole $8 billion into the California project. The NEC is probably another corridor that could put people to work now and stimulate the economy while upgrading rail speeds.
A ten year old child could have seen that, with a Democratic President, two Democratic Senators, a Democratic majority in the House, and a Democratic governor, Washington State would almost be assured a generous dollop of stimulus. So WSDOT panicked, pulled in the ‘welcome’ mat, hung up a ‘closed’ sign on the door, and turned out the lights. It’s at moments like this that you get some real insight into what they’re thinking in Olympia.
It would seem fair to say that Americans have a very hazy idea of what light rail is or what it can do. Governor Rendell, of Pennsylvania, for example, would hardly be my go-to guy for expertise- at least, not until he hit it out of the park with the suggestion that we ban air travel under 500 miles. Thats a pretty concise statement of what we’re trying to do, where we can go, and what the benefits would be.
The long-term action will come from think-tanks, coalitions, regional coalitions concerned with land-use planning, efforts to cut carbon emissions, and so forth, to a perhaps surprising development- SNCF, for example says, for example, that ideally two large cities are 600-930 miles apart for HSR, and that they would be interested in building it here.
In the big picture, Obama’s $8 billion is about the same as a new player putting a $5 chip on the table- an attention getter, as you say, but not yet a game-changer.