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[quote user="Phoebe Vet"] Gosh what a surprise, Sam doesn't like NC train plans. The reason the Feds are participating in the upgrade is because it is part of the route for the planned Southeast High Speed Rail project from DC to Charlotte and eventually to Atlanta and Macon.[/quote] Sam does not have a view on NC train plans.  I have not ridden them.  I said that passenger rail is a desirable transport solution in relatively short high density corridors, but reporters and advocates should present the whole story, not just the upside aspects of it.  This includes comparative costs.   When our engineering friends talk about rail technologies, they tend to present all relevant sides of the story.  Why is this proper, but it is not proper to present the economics (cost) of passenger rail or any other mode of transport? The passenger per mile subsidy for rail is many times greater than the corresponding subsidies for airline passenger miles and motor vehicle miles traveled.  That said, if the good citizens of North Carolina and Virginia, as well as California, want to build a high speed or moderate speed passenger rail system to connect their cities, they should pay for it.  The same is true for Texans.  Ideally, if transport in the U.S., as well as most other countries, was not the political football that it is, no form of transport would be subsidized, with the possible exception of the start-up infrastructure.  Each mode would wear its true costs, which would be paid for in ticket prices or at the pump, and be required to stand on its own.  Or fall over!  If this came about, airline passengers, motorists, etc., would know the true cost of their chosen mode of transport, and once they picked themselves up off the floor, many of them would find that passenger rail is a viable option.  Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen.     Two weeks ago I took the Texas Eagle from Austin to San Diego and back.  Had a great trip!  What was the purpose?  Take a train ride!  I am retired with more than a few dollars in my jeans, no spouse or kids, and so I can afford it.  I love traveling by train.  But I am not overlooking the fact that I got a $1,499.96 subsidy for my trip.  And that is before interest and depreciation.  My trip cost Amtrak $2,187.96 before interest and depreciation.  Thus, I paid 31.4 per cent of the tab before interest and depreciation and taxpayers wore the bulk of it.  The justification for this subsidy is difficult for me to fathom.
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