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[quote user="henry6"] The question or phrase "how is it or who is  going to pay for it" too often sounds like a knee jerk reaction to the concept of passenger rail without seeming to understand or weigh the paying for highway, air, and water transportation.  Its like denying oneself an important food because it cannot be determined who is paying for it, or how.  The American ifrastructure, transportation systems, abilty to wage war with all kinds of research and development, abiltiy to operate all its governments and agencies is a who will pay for it and how situtation.  If that is the first question or concern, then it just might be that doing nothing is surly the most expensive way out and is paid for by everyone by going without or losing what we have. By the way, Stan seems to have a good idea or two as a professional.  If you can't read what he has written and presented, then don't comment or ask who is going to pay for it until you have read it. [/quote] How to pay for an improved passenger rail system can be explained in a sentence or two, i.e. the government pays for it, the users pay for it, or a combination thereof.  So why don't you tell us in a sentence or two how the vision will be paid for? Here is the question that I asked at the beginning of this discussion:  Who is Stan?  What are his credentials? Is he a recognized expert or a self appointed one?  If this guy is a recognized expert, then getting his report and reading it may be worth the time.  On the other hand, if he is just another blow hard, long on vision and short on details, then I would be wasting my time.  And my time is valuable. Funding for airways, highways, waterways, etc. (past or present) has nothing to do with funding for passenger railroads. Irrespective of the nation's debt load, as mentioned in the next paragraph, if there were a high probability that the returns on passenger rail would cover the investment, the nation would be justified in borrowing the money to fund it. The amount of money required to implement the various visions for passenger rail would not have a material effect on the nation's credit rating.  There is, however, a major problem.  The probability that passenger rail can even cover its operating costs let alone the fully allocated costs is slim and none.   This country is staring at a $15 trillion federal debt, which is nearly 100 per cent of GDP, as well as another $2.3 trillion in state and local debt.  On top of this massive debt load, the country faces nearly $58 trillion in unfunded liabilities.  Given the debt contagion that is sweeping Europe because people did not want to ask how it would be paid for, not to mention the same problem in the United States, to belittle someone who wants to know how it will be paid for is over the top.
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