Not clear how much pump priming would work, since the value of a system lies much in its network nature, being able to get from San Diego to SFO/Sacramento. A segment doesn't do much in that way, unless it's a pretty big segment. Nor do I think any money is going to be risked unless the full financing commitment is settled at the same time.
More to the point would be completing a more modestly sized system that demonstrates the utility of the concept.
No system is going to happen without substantial input from state govs and the private sector. The Feds are not going to bear the whole risk of a complete system.
On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 1:58 PM, Wojtek Sokolowski
<swsokolowski at yahoo.com> wrote:
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> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Jordan Hayes <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com>
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 12:21:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] billions for high-speed rail!
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>>> There's a massive $8 billion chunk of the stimulus
>>> dedicated to creating a European-style network of high- speed passenger trains.
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> Whee! The SF-LA link is expected to cost $40B+ ... IF you started today and IF it doesn't have massive cost overruns like it's projected to. If this is shared between several projects, it looks like a drop in the bucket. If he was serious about wanting a "European-style" (ok, let's change that to "have a few good lines that are running!) train network, he'd add a zero or two to that number. The FAA budget is $15B and they don't even own any airports or anything.
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> [WS:] True, but are not these types of projects funded by a combination of federal, state and private funding? So the $8bn in federal funding may fetch additional 2-4bn in state funding. Still pittance, but it may act as "priming the pump" to start these projects going and attract private investment. I am not a big fan of privatization, but semi-private transit ventures can operate in a decent fashion, judging from EU examples (e.g. Eurostoar) and there is plenty of idle private capital in need of parking. Why not parking it in socially useful ventures?
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> Wojtek
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