(No jokes about making the trains run on time. I asked Robert to write this for us back on Friday, before I had any idea how the focus of the weekend would unfold. Think instead of a multi-track strategy. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
Last Thursday President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced the DOT's high speed rail strategic plan. You can find the full details of the plan at the USDOT website. The announcement has gotten a lot of attention around the blogs and in the traditional media, but what does it actually mean? What will this do for high speed rail in America, and what are some of the political obstacles that remain in place before we can use this tried-and-true system as a solution to our transportation, energy, environmental, and economic problems?
The short answer is that President Obama's plans have the potential to provide a major and long-overdue boost to the effort to build high speed trains across America. And he appears genuine in his desire to see this through, unlike the last Democratic president. But Obama is going to come up against some persistent and difficult obstacles, and he will have to show strong leadership and a willingness to make some people unhappy if he's to ensure that his presidency finally produces high speed trains for America.
