Phillip Longman makes the very good point that while people are talking up bullet trains, they are ignoring freight rail infrastructure.

I used to work as an engineer at GE Transportation Systems^* on their locomotives, I was Lead Engineer on the Blower Cab Structure on the AC6000 Locomotive, and as a result, I consider myself to have some background in this industry.

Simply put, it is easier, cheaper, and faster to upgrade or repair existing for rail, and medium speed (say less than 150 km/h) rail than it is to construct new rail for what Atrios calls “Supertrains”.

Cargo transport is energy inefficient in the US, and the upgraded infrastructure would increase speeds, even for short haul passenger rail, and reduce accidents.

Best of all, this is all shovel ready, you don’t need an environmental impact statement, or to go before a planning board, or to seize land by eminent domain to repair and upgrade rail lines.

^*Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can’t hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as “technical hit man”, where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.