Highway trust fund goes bust Friday as Rail infrastructure crumbling

[Panich52]

Divided Congress Faces Highway Cliff

Highway trust fund goes bust Friday.

The Hill: "Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [is] hoping to ship the [six-year] bill across the Capitol to the House by the end of this week [and] force the House's hand ... But if the Senate doesn't pass its bill before Thursday, the House may adjourn anyway for the recess and leave the upper chamber with no other option but to pass the five-month extension."

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/scheduling/249156-this-week-congress-speeds-toward-highway-funding-deadline


Rail infrastructure crumbling.

NYT: "In Maryland, a century-old rail tunnel needed emergency repairs this winter because of soil erosion from leaks ... In Connecticut, an aging swing bridge failed to close twice last summer ... There were major delays on four days [in New Jersey] because of problems with overhead electrical wires and a power substation ... The [Northeast] corridor's ridership has doubled in the last 30 years even as its old and overloaded infrastructure of tracks, power lines, bridges and tunnels has begun to wear out."

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/nyregion/aging-infrastructure-plagues-nations-busiest-rail-corridor.html?referrer=

[liberal N proud]

1. More of the same republican bullshit

Do nothing!

[BlueJazz]

2. ...And people like Turtle-Man get elected year after year after year..

[MisterP]

4. his voters figure that since they have cars they don't need to convenience anyone else

and also that streets appear magically overnight

[Fred Sanders]

3. Meanwhile, in India for example: "India Railways Unveils Plans for Nation's First Bullet Train"

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/mumbai-ahmedabad-bullet-train-may-be-worlds-cheapest-less-than-double-ac-i-fare/



...........

By keeping the fares low, the bullet train will be able to steer clear of a fare war with airlines, while also retaining the existing business of higher-class railway travel.

...........

India’s first bullet train corridor, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, could turn out to be the cheapest high-speed train service in the world. The Japanese team working on its feasibility study has worked out its “fare box revenue” model, according to which the bullet train fare will be just one-and-a-half times more than the AC-I fares of other trains on the same route. According to this model, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train fare works out to about Rs 2,800, calculated on the basis of the current AC-I train fare of Rs 1,895. Currently, trains on this route take about eight hours for the 534-km journey. The bullet train is expected to take less than two hours.

[One_Life_To_Give]

5. Routine Maintenence doesn't get votes

New projects such as Bridges, Reservoirs etc. are sexy,, make people happy and can be translated into votes. Repairing leaky pipes and painting bridges may keep the infrastructure working. But people won't remember that when they walk into the voting booth. People don't exclaim that the Trains are On Time yet again today. Only when they are late or the bridge fails, snow clogs the commute do people begin to notice what had been ignored for years.

[csziggy]

6. The call it a jobs program

Contracts to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure will create jobs. In addition to hiring people the infrastructure will support growth of businesses. While it would have had more impact in 1009 when the economy was floundering, doing it now will help stave off the next crash.

Of course, the Republicans did not do it then and will not do it now. They don't really care about this country, just about keeping power in the hands of themselves and their friends.