French trains just keep getting cooler

Good evening, late-night Bottleneckers. This is a photo of the fourth-generation high-speed train as it's rolled out for testing this spring. There's a nearly $10-billion bond measure coming to the statewide ballot in California this November to begin a high-speed rail system here.

--Steve Hymon

photo: Xavier Leoty / AFP/Getty

Comments

[Jimmy]

There was never a real reason to bash France. The only reason it started was because they wouldn't help us when we went into Iraq. That was when the war started. I'm pretty sure there are a few more people who are against the war now than 5 years ago.

On topic, I keep hearing how airlines are cutting hundreds of flights a day from their schedules, and it's costing more and more to fly anywhere. It's time to take the hint and start developing high speed rail. We need to have the goal of eliminating domestic air travel between cities less than 1,000 miles apart. As it develops we can expand that goal even further. In the future I only see air travel existing between us and Europe/Asia.

[Dana Gabbard]

The $9.95 billion bullet train bonds on the Nov. ballot polled OK in new Field Poll:

Proposition 1 (High Speed Rail Bonds)
Yes-56%
No-30%
Undecided14%

http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2280.pdf

Also Bill Bradley on his blog New West Notes reported on the 9th the Governor at a rally enthusiastically backed the high-speed rail bonds, saying: “It is ridiculous that we have the same speed trains today as we had 100 years ago.”

http://pajamasmedia.com/billbradley/2008/07/09/flips-and-slides-and-more/

This thing just may pass!

[Dan Wentzel]

Pete is right.

I'm tired of all this "France" bashing. They have the world's highest rated health care system and they have wonderful transport.

We should emulate those things that France and other countries do well and learn by example.

[Pete]

Yeah, the French will test their tenth-generation before we, the US will roll out our first. We have lawmakers at Washington playing politics, what are we waiting for. In addition, just imagine we the US were the first to invent, patented the technology, and then sold it to the Japanese because near sighted Americans thought, “Who needs trains when cars can do that a lot cheaper?” We have a lot of catching up (about 50 years) to do, aren't we?

[Spokker]

They keep looking more and more like the damn space shuttle. Wow.