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"There there now!"  What is it with you? You cannot make a point without belittling someone who holds a different view?  I am opposed to profit?  You must not have read any of my posts.   I favor a private solution for all commercial passenger transportation. The government should not be involved in it. The federal government does not operate any airlines, intercity bus companies, barge lines, cruise ship lines, etc. I have never seen any economic justification for having the government sponsor Amtrak. Initially promoters of DART said that the light rail system would be built without any federal money. Wrong! Did not work out that way. They have gotten billions of federal money to complete the system. Whether the Dallas to Houston HSR can be built without any federal money is to be learned. To date the promoters have not released any proforma financial plans. If federal and state money is required, which is a possibility, Fort Worth, Arlington, and College Station will likely have a say in the outcomes, because the financing will be politicized, and once that happens all initial bets will be off. JCR and SNCF claim at least one of their high speed lines is profitable.  What they fail to mention is that they built their high speed rail systems with massive taxpayer supplied monies. Then, after the taxpayers had eaten most of the up front depreciation, they spun off the infrastructure at a substantially depreciated book value, which enabled the infrastructure operator to charge JCR and SNCF market rents that enable them to show a profit on their lines.   I don't have a problem with an equipment manufacturer promoting a system that will help it sell its stuff, as long as the outcome does not become a burden on the taxpayers.  Until the promoters of the Texas HSR show the public audited proforma financial statements, I am a skeptic. Moreover, as noted, my biggest concern is a better outcome could be generated for more Texans by upgrading passenger rail service along the I-35 corridor.
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