High-speed Train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles Free Essay Example, 2250 words

According to Wilton Woods (1989) future intercity passenger mobility will be dependent on fully utilizing all of the available options. However, much of the criticism of high-speed rail is based on concerns about its cost-effectiveness in the near to medium term. This is of particular concern since HSR is likely to rely more heavily than other modes (automobile, air, and intercity bus) on general tax revenues as opposed to user fees/taxes, although the user fees/taxes that support those other modes may not cover their so-called externality costs i. e. costs that those modes impose on other people, such as environmental pollution and deaths and injuries due to crashes (Wilton Woods 1989) Critics of high-speed rail travel say that it is not very cost-effective, but numerous benefits have been cited in support of the development of high-speed rail, including the reduction of pollution and energy usage in the transportation sector, the potential to alleviate airport and highway congesti on, improving transportation safety, promoting economic development, the provision of more options for travelers, and increasing the reliability of transport by increasing redundancy in the transportation system. Alleviation of congestion in airports and highways. High-speed rail has the capability of relieving air traffic and highway congestion in heavily traveled corridors. The use of high-speed rail can also be beneficial to commuter rail and freight rail movements if utilized on a separate right-of-way, as such services tend to share the same tracks used by already existing inter-city passenger train services. Thus, by the alleviation of congestion, high-speed rail has the potential to reduce the need to spend money on capacity expansions in other modes. Research and studies have been conducted, showing the need for high-speed rail to be extremely competitive in the area of speed and cost, in order to attract automobile travelers, because automobile travel offers more flexibili ty in the area of departure time, and does not require people to share their space with strangers. We will write a custom essay sample on High-speed Train from Las Vegas to Los Angeles or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now