So, VP Biden and the Obama Administration have announced a $53 billion high speed rail program that would create a high speed rail (HSR) network.

I’ve got more than a few problems with the proposal, mostly because it throws the money scattershot around the nation in the hopes of winning support, rather than concentrating the money on a few projects and lines that would actually be able to support HSR - like the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

The NEC is the only network in the country that even resembles HSR, and it’s significantly lower speed than anything overseas, primarily because of decreipt infrastructure. Yet, the proposal doesn’t actually send money to cover NEC projects, even though there are several that are more than shovel ready.

Besides the ARC/Gateway tunnel project that has been beset by political squabbling and contentions of cost overruns (but the replacement tunnel is pushing $13.5 billion compared to the canceled $8.7 billion - not counting the $1 to $5 billion in overruns that would have hit NJ taxpayers hard), there are projects that must be done to improve reliability and speed on the NEC. That includes the Portal Bridge project, that would cost close to $2 billion. Where’s the money for that project, which would allow for a 50% increase in speed along that segment - from 60 mph to 90 mph.

It’s odd that the Administration would talk HSR but ignore the one place in the nation where HSR would be most readily embraced and critical to reducing congestion on the roads and in the region’s airports that are beset by chronic delays due to commuter flights.