The Future of Flying and Driving are Really Shakey

Now that high speed fever has finally hit Vancouver, people somehow seem really surprised that there are not already plans and funding in place for it. Some are taking the old plans developed by Washington State during the peak of cheap oil and indifference from Canada as set in stone and not subject to revision even in face of the new found commitment of the US Federal Government to fund and champion high speed rail.

News reports quote staff from Washington that not surprisingly state the current policy, as staff is supposed to do until they receive new direction from the politicians. The reports then make the huge leap and come to the conclusion that high speed rail will never happen, that at best, it is on "really shaky ground". Well, it was on really shaky ground in the states before the last election. Since when does having currently policies mean policies won't change?

High speed rail is proven technology used by millions of people in countries around the world. It is the only form of long-distance transportation that does not face a shakey, uncertain future. The airline industry is not profitable, has no proven alternative to oil, and is becoming an increasingly miserable experience. Gas prices are certain to rise and the world's oil supply will run out sooner or later, leading to the end of gas powered automobiles. in a world where wages where stagnent even before the recession, it is uncertain that electric cars will ever be an affordable alternative even if technical and practive hurdles can be overcome.

Even if by some miricle the problems facing flying and driving can be overcome, high speed rail is still a faster, more affordable, greener and more comfortable form of transportation for trips between 100 and 500 km. Compared to the tens of billions of dollars we collectively spend per year on flying and driving, the cost of high speed rail is a relative bargin. By not building high speed rail, we risk our economic future.