Yesterday’s Technology a Decade or Two from Now
13th November 2026
Public comments are due today on a proposed high-speed train between Vancouver, BC and Portland, Oregon. The idea is still in its early planning stages, but one early estimate is that it could cost as much as $150 billion due to the need for extensive tunneling through the major cities along its route.
As an op-ed in yesterday’s Seattle Time observes, $150 billion is enough to buy the entire U.S. airline industry (ungated version). Even if that estimate is a little high, the real question is why does the Pacific Northwest need high-speed rail when we already have planes that are faster, automobiles that are more convenient, and high-speed rail will be more expensive than both?
Trains take you from where you aren’t to where you don’t want to be. They became the thing because they were faster and better than horses. We don’t use horses any more, and there’s no further need for trains.
November 13th, 2026 at 08:19
Its’ about grift, and graft. See Commiefornia’s high-speed rail project. Not one stick of rail has been laid, but billions of dollars *poof* gone!
For some reason they can’t track it, either. But the 700-dollars you venmo’d to the landscaper the automated software flagged.