California seeks China's help for high-speed rail

[mike r]

Source: Reuters

California will seek China's help in financing its high-speed rail system and welcome bids from Chinese firms to help build it, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Monday.

Earlier this year, California was awarded $2.25 billion of the $8 billion set aside for high-speed rail projects under the U.S. government's stimulus plan. The state plans to build a high-speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"We look to China to build our high speed rail, to be part of the bidding process that we are going to go through," Schwarzenegger told a gather of U.S. businesses in Shanghai.

"Many countries will be bidding to build our high-speed rail, (and we plan) also to look for financing from China," he said.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68C0TY20100913

[Journeyman]

1. Here's a video of a Chinese "high speed train that never stops". . .

The Chinese are looking at some very creative ideas for transportation. I hope we can partner with them to the benefit of us all.

http://ebaumnation.com/2010/04/16/the-train-that-never-stops

[David Zephyr]

6. Wow. That's fantastic. Thanks for the video.

Here in America, we are too busy making Rogaine and Viagra and wars without end and anything that keeps us married to the oil companies.

Journeyman, great video.

[harun]

14. Wow, great idea.

[Safetykitten]

2. And we continue to wonder why we will be pummeled in the fall elections.

I have no idea which is worse, the tiny almost nothing sum of money from the government or the Chinese getting the gig.

[Proletariatprincess]

3. So much for the can-do spirit....

is the USA incapable of doing anything on it's own anymore? No wonder the country is toast.

[grasswire]

4. didn't the Chinese ALREADY build our railroads?

WTH!

This is getting humiliating.

[grasswire]

5. yes, yes

A trek that used to take four to six months could be accomplished in six days. However, this great American accomplishment could not have been achieved without the extraordinary effort of Chinese-Americans. The Central Pacific realized the enormous task ahead of them in the construction of the railroad. They had to cross the Sierra Mountains with an incline of 7,000 feet over only a 100-mile span. The only solution to the daunting task was a great deal of manpower, which quickly turned out to be in short supply. The Central Pacific turned to the Chinese-American community as a source of labor. In the beginning many questioned the ability of these men that averaged 4' 10" and only weighed 120 lbs. to do the work necessary. However, their hard work and abilities quickly allayed any fears. In fact, at the time of completion the vast majority of workers from the Central Pacific were Chinese. The Chinese worked under grueling and treacherous conditions for less money than their white counterparts. In fact, while the white workers were given their monthly salary (about $35) and food and shelter, the Chinese immigrants received only their salary (about $26-35). They had to provide their own food and tents. The railroad workers blasted and scraped their way through the Sierra Mountains at great risk to their lives. They used dynamite and hand tools while hanging over the sides of cliffs and mountains. Unfortunately, the blasting was not the only detriment they had to overcome. The workers had to endure the extreme cold of the mountain and then the extreme heat of the desert. These men deserve a great deal of credit for accomplishing a task many believed impossible. They were recognized at the end of the arduous task with the honor of laying the last rail. However, this small token of esteem paled in comparison to the accomplishment and the future ills they were about to receive. There had always been a great deal of prejudice towards the Chinese-Americans but after the completion of the Transcontinental railroad it only became worse. This prejudice came to a crescendo in the form of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended immigration for ten years. Over the next decade it was passed again and eventually the Act was renewed indefinitely in 1902, thus suspending Chinese immigration. Further, California enacted numerous discriminatory laws including special taxes and segregation. Praise for the Chinese-Americans is long overdue. The government over the last couple of decades is beginning to recognize the significant achievements of this important segment of America. The Chinese-Americans helped to fulfill the dream of a nation and were integral in the improvement of America. Their techniques and perseverance deserve to be recognized as an accomplishment that changed a nation.

From www.americanhistory.about.com

[hayu_lol]

7. Several American firms have done preliminary work...

on the engineering of such fast trains. Why then, would the gropenator want to give the money and job to other than American workers...engineers, laborers, and others?

Time to stop this huge give away. We develop the technology and then sell it to the highest bidder overseas.

[Tesha]

13. We don't have any high-speed rail techmology.

The Japanese have it (the Shinkansen).

The French have it (Alstom's TGV).

The Germans have it (Siemen's ICE trains)

The Canadians have it (Bombardier built our Acela).

The Chinese have it (MagLevs).

We *HAVE NOT* got it. We never had it (unless you
want to count the GG1 as "high speed rail).

Tesha

[Le Taz Hot]

8. Us Californians can always depend on the Chinese

to build our major rail systems for us. Weird, isn't it? Lucky for the Chinese the accommodations are much improved from the last time.

[Javaman]

9. In other developments...

the building of the high speed rail will be outsourced. In a secret deal with the chinese government, governor arnold schwarzenegger has cut a deal for the chinese to build the high speed rail in china to lower the costs.

the governor stated in his weekly state of the state radio broadcast, "what we have here is a golden opportunity to save money, china slave labor market will cut costs and save california's money!". When asked how a Californian will actually ride the highspeed rail if it's being built in china, the governor responded, "while the rail will be in operation in china, californian's will have the unique option of paying people in china to ride it for them!", he said with a smile.

This confused reported will report any new developments as they arise.

[Gecko6400]

10. Not to worry. Unless Calif. plans on using

an existing right-of-way it will never be built anyway. Can you imagine what people there will say and do if they find out its going to run on their land, or close to it, not to mention the environmental concerns that will be raised.

Anyway, don't' hold your breath as it probably not happen in our life times.

[Xithras]

11. So much for the "job creation" touted by its backers.

Every time this project makes the news, it looks more and more like an albatross.

A Chinese built, Chinese financed express transport system for the suit-set and tourists, deliberately routed to bypass population centers, commuting corridors, and other areas where rail-based alternative transportation might actually be useful.

[Owl]

12. Nearly a Trillion $ a year for "Defense" Dept. crap, yet we can't build our own high speed rail.

Pitiful.