Oh My Jesus, High-Speed Rail From NY To DC (Maybe)

by evanmcmurry

Puuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaasssseeee:

A small privately owned Washington company is lobbying to develop a high-speed rail system that would take passengers from the District to Baltimore in 15 minutes and to New York in an hour.

The Northeast Maglev, a downtown D.C. firm with 30 employees, is working with Central Japan Railway Co. — which operates the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan — to develop a maglev network that would connect Washington and New York, with stops in Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia, including BWI Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. Eventually, the company wants to extend the line to Boston.

It is a private company, and that sector likes to ink deals that fleece taxpayers, and puts profits ahead of safety even in the face of natural disasters. Still, Amtrak—which is pushing a competing proposal that looks like it will take as long to complete as a bus from NY to DC on a Friday afternoon—ain’t exactly the US government’s shining star here. I’m more than willing to hear what private industry has to say if it can get the job done.

Of course:

It is not the first time there’s been an interest in building a maglev system in the Northeast, but previous attempts were halted by lack of support from lawmakers and funding shortfalls.

The GOP currently hates trains for reasons unspecified, except when they’re in Ayn Rand novels. Hey, call the thing the John Galt Express. Just fucking build it already. (via WaPo)