Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="passengerfan"] In the first place California will have the longest HSR system in the world if it is ever completed which will require more trains than any of the existing systems. With almost 10% unemployment why not jobs for Californians.Some are already predicting that before things see any improvement unemployment in California could top 12%. Crime is already on the rise and with the State issuing warrants that the banks won't honor crime will only go up. As a matter of fact newly released prisoners in California are being given warrants instead of checks. So I guess the state expects them to go out and rob a bank for spending money until the warrants can be cashed. Al - in - Stockton [quote user="Sam1"] [quote user="passengerfan"] Now all California needs is to insist that any HSR trains built for California be built in California employing California labor. This will ensure that since the California system will be the first in the US that any future proposed HSR systems in the country will be able to buy there trains from California. Al - in - Stockton[/quote] If the California High Speed Rail project requires the equipment to be built in California, which you espouse, I presume that you would have no problem with the Chinese banning the sale of Boeing airplanes there, since they are not made in China, or the Air Bus consortium of countries blocking the use of GE jet engines on any Air Bus airplanes because they are not manufactured in one of the consortium countries. If the high speed rail equipment must be built in California, what makes you think that Texans would buy it, as an example, given that they could not bid on any equipment for the high speed rail project, unless presumably they open a plant in California?  [/quote]   China contibutes to Boeing Commercial Airplane Division as a sub contrator at the present time as does Japan, Canada, the UK and other countries. GE/Snecma builds GE engines for Airbus in France already. I am not saying we can not utilize the Japanese, French, or German Co's for the actual trainsets but I would think it would make more sense to construct them in the USA. I believe that much research has already been developed for HSR at the Pueblo test site. Whether it be GE or whoever builds the US HSR trains it would certainly make more sense to build them in California as there system will probably operate the greatest number of trainsets. We have much to learn from the Japanese where HSR is concerned as they have a great deal of experience building and operating HSR is a country that has seismic activity almost on a daily basis. Al - in - Stockton [/quote] It may be a good political move to require the equipment be constructed in California, but politicians seldom make good economic or business decisions.  Unless one believes in protectionism, which most economists believe is a bad idea, since it leads to trade wars, the equipment should be built where it produces the best outcome for the project.  It may be California, or it may be anywhere. The Dallas politicos insisted that the final assembly of DART's light rail cars, which had been purchased in Japan, be done in Dallas.  The idea was to provide employment for local people.  As a result, DART paid considerably more for its light rail cars in 1994 than Houston paid for its light rail cars, with similar characteristics, nearly six years later.  The Houston authorities did not insist that the cars be assembled in Houston or Texas.  They awarded the contract to the lowest effective cost bidder irrespective of where the cars were built.   If the project emulates other high speed rail projects, it won't cover its operating expenses let alone the capital costs.  So requiring the equipment to be built in a high cost state, with a rampant budget deficit, may not make that much difference in the long run.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag