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Originally Posted by Thymeclock
BTW, when the SNCF (French National Railroad) goes on strike, virtually the whole nation grinds to a halt, as they are highly dependent upon that one mode of transportation. France has a long history and tradition of strikes and social protests.
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But this is because of unions, not because of the fact that France has a high-speed train network. But yes, you are right about the French being addicted to high speed trains, mostly because they are the best choice for distances of a few thousand kilometers. Same for the Swiss and Germans. But are Americans not addicted to flying? Wouldn't a sudden halt in air traffic partially paralize America? Having both high speed rail and air transport would always leave an alternative in case one of them should suddenly stop operating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thymeclock
And the Chinese will be buying gasoline and enjoy driving cars while we in the Western world will be cajoled to ride bicycles or walk - all in the name of 'global equality', 'sharing resources', or some such other saccharin phrase to entice support from guilt ridden do-gooders and useful idiots.  |
The way things are going, the Chinese will be buying gasoline because they will be able to afford it.
Yes, China has the funds to build a super fast railroad. But whose money are they spending on it? Which country has the largest debt to China? Who is paying China 40 bucks for a pair of pants that cost $3 to make and $1 to ship?
The answer is: we are. Mainly the North America and Europe, but other countries are following. Democratic, socialist, capitalist, whatever. We are all in the same boat. China could make us all go bankrupt just by sneezing. The reason they haven't done so already is because they want us to keep paying.
We gave China its money, now all we can do watch how it gets invested. And it gets invested by buying up the economy of the countries that sponsored it.
BTW: The evacuated tube idea reminds me of a mid-20th century plan the Soviet Union had to connect Moscow with each larger city by underground tubes. They wound not curve just under the surface of the Earth, but instead would go straight as an arrow deep through the crust, like the chord of a circle. This would (other than shortening the distance to the minimum) allow the use of gravity to accerate, then decelerate, between both ends. Of course, even today this would be technologically almost impossible.