En Tequila Es Verdad/progressive conservatism/post/2009/01/31/0931

January 31, 2009 9:31 AM - Mike
Mike at The Big Stick said... I guess we need to clarify the three types of rail: heavy (freight), passenger rail (amtrack, european style), and light rail (subways, monorail, etc). I would contend that there is real economic benefit to the first two. The last is mostly about environmental goals and relieving congestion, and also the most vulnerable to poor design. I think Obama opposed the heavy rail expansion in Chicago because of noise/traffic complaints from the neighbors. As for $1.3 trillion - that was an old study (I think 1998). A recent one that was cited a lot this week in the media puts infrastructure needs at $2.2 trillion. Either way, we need serious money spent in this area in projects that will create real jobs and more importantly, train people with skills that will carry on to other industries once the infrastructure projects are done (like the New Deal) permalink