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If the jobs are associated with activities that the users eventually pay for, then they are a sound investment.  If they are associated with activities that will require on-going subsidies, perhaps in perpetuity, which the taxpayers have to foot, then they are not a sound investment.  Ultimately, the on-going subsidies can negate the benefits generated initially by the jobs. Passenger rail is a commercial venture irrespective of who operates it.  It competes with other forms of commercial transport that are expected to pay their own way.  The jobs created by passenger rail are not the same as jobs associated with the Department of Defense.  According to the document referenced, existing and newly funded rail services will require state subsidies of $12 million per year.  No mention is made of federal subsidies.  The promoters claim that the rail service will eventually generate revenues sufficient to cover the operating expenses.  No mention is made of how the capital expenditures would be recovered.  The projections fly in the face of experience in most environments.     According to the GAO's assessment of proposed high speed rail projects in the U.S., the proponents tend to overestimate revenues whilst understating costs.  Clearly, this has been true for the California High Speed Rail proposal.  The cost of the project has increased from $32.8 billion to more than $45 billion before a shovel has been turned.  And the $45 billion does not include financing, which I would wager is absent from the North Carolina estimates.  In most instances project proponents across the board tend to overlook the financing costs, which is akin to a person buying a car on time and not factoring in the interest payments on the loan. Hopefully, we will be able to build a high (moderate) speed passenger rail network that will cover its operating costs and pay down the capital costs to the point where it can be spun off to private operators.  Unfortunately, I don't think it will happen.
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