High speed rail

  China is poised to build a national system of high-speed trains that go 300mph, and Brazil is investing heavily in trying to ease congestion in its mega-cities. Eurostar has claimed a 'renaissance' in rail travel after experiencing  a 3% growth in passenger numbers despite the pre-Christmas snow disruption. The Guardian asks," are we entering a new golden age of rail travel?" On Friday, new EU rules came into effect that encourage high speed rail across Europe. They also give passengers  rights to cash compensation for delays on international travel. If the train is 60 to 190 minutes late they will receive 25% of the fare and if longer, 50%. Passengers will also be able to receive free meals for a one-hour delay and accommodation where the delay has forced them to make an overnight stay.

  Meanwhile, in the US, governors of Ohio and Wisconsin have turned down a combined $1.2bn in funding from the 2009 economic recovery act, dedicated for high-speed rail, and asked if they could instead build more roads. This outraged commuters, but is certainly gratifying to the auto and petroleum industries. It reprises early twentieth century  responses of entrenched interests to developing  auto makers, all the time New Yorkers worried about how they  would succeed in clearing the streets of the growing volume of horsesh*t.


 The whole idea of government imposing  passenger protections seems to insult to American "pioneer" myth. Every person needs to stand completely on his "own two feet." The masthead of "Investment Business Daily" reads  "For those who choose to succeed". IBD uses strict transparent criteria for assessment of investment opportunities,  a really scientific approach. Their commitment to educating investors is clear, and was certainly useful to me. I recommend IBD for people who want to learn how to invest, although I gave up my subscription because  their editorial pages don't use anything like such a reasoned  approach to  social ills. After 40 years in medical practice, it was clear to me that in the real world, a lot of people will never be equipped to stand on their "own two feet" (or to succeed.) Those editorials were another case of too much horsesh*t to bear.

I'll be reading about  Bombardier....the world's largest maker of "rolling stock". 







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