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Then there is China. The PRC is able to build HSR (billed there as anything averaging 120mph or higher) because the don't have public protests, public input (albeit there are hearings), all land is owned by the government and of course they can build to massive scale and...labor is almost 'free'. To give you an idea about the PRC's already (largest in the world) HSR network and how far ahead they are of the U.S. here is the wiki entry: " *High Speed Rail in China* refers to any commercial train <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train> service in China <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China> with an average speed of 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) or higher. By that measure, China already has the world’s longest <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_by_country#High_Speed_Rail_by_Country> high-speed rail (HSR) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail> network with about 6,500km (4,000 mi.) of routes in service, including 3,676km (2,295mi.) of rail lines with top speeds of 350km/h (220mph) and 2,876km (1,795mi.) with speeds up to 250km/h (155mph).^[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_China#cite_note-AP1-0> Some 10,000 km of rail tracks are capable of carrying trains traveling at speeds of at least 200 km/h. These include upgraded conventional lines, high-speed passenger designated lines (PDLs), and the world’s first high-speed commercial magnetic levitation (maglev) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev_%28transport%29> line <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train>. With generous funding from the Chinese government’s economic stimulus program <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_economic_stimulus_program>, 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) of high-speed lines are now under construction, with plans for a total network of 50,000 kilometres (31,000 mi) by 2020. China’s high speed trains use a wide range of domestic and imported technologies from Germany, Canada, France, Japan and Sweden." This includes, also, a maglev system from Shanghai's airport to downtown and expansion of this as well for 20 miles, which will grow a few hundred miles over the next few years. * What is not discussed, and something S. Artisen knows something about, is the whole passenger vs freight issue and whether freight can railed at high speeds. Half of all Chinese rail hauls coal, from the North to the South. It's a major mess for them. One snow storm and half of south China blacks out. David * ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
