I hope this humongous stimulus bill that we're going to pass does something about our abysmal backwardness in train transportation. The train from DC to Chicago takes 24 hours. An equivalent high speed train in Europe does the same distance in 5.5 hours or so. Europe has it problems, but I always get the sense that they're on the path to somewhere, striving to become something bigger, better (e.g., a unified Europe). What are our goals as a nation, other than killing the bad guys?
High-speed rail is moving ahead at high speed in Europe. Railroads there keep adding new high-speed lines and increasing service, while here in the United States, we keep fretting about the need for better transportation but do little about it. If you're heading for Europe next year, you can try out several new lines, and additional lines will open by summer.
