▪️You can have the same experience in the US with the new Brightline trains that run from Miami to Orlando. Comfy seats, great service, Starlink internet, top speed of over 200 km/hr, fares starting at $79, but privately run.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/brightline-train-review-riding-floridas-high-speed-rail
▪️Brightline has other projects in the works, like a route between LA and Vegas, which is breaking ground this year and ambitiously projected to be completed by the Summer Olympics in 2028. It’s partially subsidized by the govt, but mostly private funds.
https://www.dot.nv.gov/projects-programs/transportation-projects/brightline-west-high-speed-rail-project
▪️Unfortunately, Brightline’s Florida ridership has been below forecast, and they are issuing junk bonds for new funding. Whether or not it succeeds will depend on the market, perhaps high speed rail just doesn’t make sense in the US, but they’ve shown how a privately run railroad can be built quick and efficiently. And if it fails, it’s primarily a loss for investors, not taxpayers.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-26/brightline-florida-s-high-speed-railroad-slashes-2024-ridership-forecast?embedded-checkout=true
▪️Meanwhile, the “nationalized” high speed rail boondoggle in CA drags on. In 2008 it was pitched to taxpayers as a high speed rail connecting LA to SF, completed by 2020 at a cost of $33B. As of 2024, no rail exists and no estimates are given for completion.
▪️Now, they estimate it will cost $35B just for the “train to nowhere” route from Merced to Bakersfield, which might be completed by 2030-33. The rest of the track will now cost an additional $100B! If it ever gets completed. A private project would have smartly been abandoned long ago, but “nationalized” projects can burn through endless money and timetables.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-21/high-speed-rail
Just incredible. After posting a meme blaming Charlie Kirk for his own murder, they post another a few hours later applauding Democrats for their civility.
Also, if you look at the Occupy Democrats timeline, their posts “denouncing political violence” were variations on “no one should be shot…BUT here’s a quote from Kirk showing he’s a terrible person.” Or sometimes they’d leave the first part out altogether and just attack him. There are no posts denouncing violence without qualifiers trying to gin up their base.
