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The trick would be to set up a specific legal authority to make the HSR national system possible. This authority (agency) would have its own enabling legislation, allowing it to receive public monies (in federal legislation, it is a two-step process--first an authorization, then an appropriation). The HSR agency would establish a staff, and proceed to promulgate a schedule of lines to be built, with specific guidelines and requirements for type and operation. This would guarantee a US national HSR system of uniform type and standard (unlike the original rail lines, which were rebuilt to standard gauge after starting with wildly different gauges and standards--too expensive for such folly now). Having established the standards, a bidding process for specific lines (say, San Diego to Vancouver, CN or Chicago-New Orleans, DC-San Francisco, NY to Miami, etc.) could be set up. This would require bidders to have a legal corporation, and minimum capitalization to enter the bid process. Once a firm won that bid, it could then be legally empowered to issue a certain amount of capital stock, bonds and other debentures, and also to receive federal subsidy on a per-mile-built basis (this is how the Union Pacific was built, in essence). I think you get the idea. Of course, the original enabling legislation would also establi***hings like a deadline for completion of the national system, say 25 years from date of inception. J. Snyder
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