Whopper of the Day: Better Trains Foster Energy Independence

You've got to be joking. President Obama announced today that increased spending on rail service will foster energy independence.

President Barack Obama is calling for the country to move swiftly to a system of high-speed rail travel, saying it will relieve congestion, help clean the air and save on energy.

Appearing with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Thursday, Obama said the country cannot afford not to invest in a major upgrade to rail travel. He said he understands it necessarily will be "a long-term project" but said the time to start is now.

Obama said that "this is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future. It's happening now. The problem is, it's happening elsewhere." He cited superior high-speed rail travel in countries like China, Japan, France and Spain.

I think President Obama better take a good look at Europe and Japan. Both have one heck of a mass-transit rail infrastructure, but both are seriously tied to foreign oil for their energy needs.

France may generate 80% of its energy from nuclear power, but, along with the rest of Europe, has to import most of its oil needs from Russia or the Middle East. Japan has to import nearly all of its oil since it has little domestic petroleum stocks.

Increasing rail service isn't going to foster energy independence. It certainly isn't going to help most Americans who live outside the dense urban corridors on the East or West Coast. One of the reasons Amtrak is in such bad shape is because it is forced to service areas that have such low population densities that it doesn't make financial shape to keep the service going. Instead, political considerations keep that service afloat, meaning that those areas that could be profit centers are forced to scrimp to cover their costs. It spreads all of the costs far too thin.

If the US is serious about improving energy independence and mass transit, start with demanding the construction of new nuclear power plants and the construction and opening of Yucca Mt. to store nuclear waste from those nuclear power plants.

One of the reasons that the French are able to run high speed rail throughout the country is because they have dedicated passenger rail lines and nuclear power plants supplying the power to the lines. The US has been stuck with an aging nuclear power infrastructure and NIMBYism and environmental group opposition to the construction of new nuclear power plants and expanded rail lines across the country, especially in urban areas. The high acquisition costs for new rights of way also further discourage the construction of new high speed service.

Clearly, the Obama Administration is more interested in issuing platitudes rather than addressing the real problems.