Saturday, April 18, 2009

Obama Rail Plan

I have been a "train nut" since I was about ten. My family used to spend vacations (being military we called them "leaves") travelling the Rockies and exploring the routes of the narrow gauge railroads. I once took a trip from Milwaukee to San Francisco by train, just for the sake of riding a train through the Royal Gorge and the Feather River Canyon.

So when President Obama talked about the new program for enhancing America's rail system I was tickled pink. Given that the government supports air travel with the FAA air traffic control, there is no reason why it cannot reasonably support travel by rail.

The only objection I have is using money from the stimulus bill for it. These rail project jobs will not become available for well over two years, and we need them now. That money in the stimulus bill should have been allocated to creating current jobs, and the rail project money should have been allocated in a long range planning bill.

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