Thursday, March 17, 2011

Who Wants High-Speed Trains?

Paul Krugman, for one.

5 comments:

  1. When you can get from Central London to Central Paris in comfort in a bit under two and a half hours who in their right mind would fly?

    For journeys to Paris and Brussels the Eurostar IS the best mode of travel.

    I live on the eastern edge of London. Heathrow is at the opposite end of London. Given the extra time it takes to get to the airport, the extended check in and security procedure etc, the train gets me to Paris more quickly.

    And it really is a pleasant journey to!

    ReplyDelete
  2. jams, George Will appears to have gone nuts, one of a number of people who have lately sacrificed their intellect to their ideology. Trains are "collectivist," and we have a "goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism"? Oh, give me a fucking break! Krugman obviously feels the same way.

    I have taken only one long train trip in the past decade, down the US West Coast from Seattle to San Francisco. I loved it. If I had money and opportunity, I'd travel that way all the time, just for pleasure. I've already decided never to fly again unless America dispenses with its fixation on airport "security," which is as uselessly invasive as possible, apparently just to show us who's boss. And between intercity buses and trains, there's no contest: trains win hands down.

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I was a kid I worked on the Denver Rio Grands as an assistant lineman. Those are the happiest memories of my young live and set a life long love of trains. Also, living in Japan for so many years I've seen the value of high speed trains.

    ReplyDelete
  4. mandt, my dad was a railroad man before he was a schoolteacher/counselor, so I've always had a fondness for the rails. I admit I used them a lot more when I was teaqching in Europe one summer than I ever have in the US. Maybe I'll live long enough to enjoy more train rides!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Collectivist? Pah! what are airliners if they aren't also collectivist

    ReplyDelete

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