RRUserious
OBS Chief
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2011
- Messages
- 505
Amtrak fans like to complain about being the poor children in the rail system. But lately, if you're not oil, you don't rate at all.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579437680173044774
In fact, the rail system reminds me of an old man who ignored warnings about declining health and did whatever impulse told him at the time. Eventually, things that need to move suffer from the decades of deterioration. Circulation now runs into internal roadblocks, and the days of short-term fixes seems to be past. Now consequences are inescapable in the short and middle term. Now is time for triage, with this year's profit secondary to survival. Does the old man actually want to survive? Truth is you can't build new tracks or pipelines fast enough to prevent serious systemic loss. That should have started 20 years ago. But all the decisions arre made with attention to the bonus check or next election. And the consensus is that nowhere in the world exists a better system. We're the envy of the world? Yeh, until the old guy ends up in intensive care, he might be the envy of the world, too.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579437680173044774
In fact, the rail system reminds me of an old man who ignored warnings about declining health and did whatever impulse told him at the time. Eventually, things that need to move suffer from the decades of deterioration. Circulation now runs into internal roadblocks, and the days of short-term fixes seems to be past. Now consequences are inescapable in the short and middle term. Now is time for triage, with this year's profit secondary to survival. Does the old man actually want to survive? Truth is you can't build new tracks or pipelines fast enough to prevent serious systemic loss. That should have started 20 years ago. But all the decisions arre made with attention to the bonus check or next election. And the consensus is that nowhere in the world exists a better system. We're the envy of the world? Yeh, until the old guy ends up in intensive care, he might be the envy of the world, too.
