Now's not the time to put money in trains

I couldn't believe the recent news conference report that the governors of Illinois, Michigan and Missouri were endorsing a plan to develop bullet trains that will connect Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis.

No wonder the states they represent are in so much financial difficulty. Should the expenditure of millions and millions of taxpayers' dollars to reduce the travel time between these cities by an hour or so be one of our top priorities in these difficult economic times?

Besides, is the need that great? I thought airlines already provided such a service. Other options include: auto, bus or the currently available (highly subsidized) Amtrak.

If these same governors were really concerned with their states' economy they could better lobby to see that our current railroad system works more efficiently to move our coal, soy beans, corn, machinery, etc. to their respective markets.

In the Midwest, our rail system is primarily a commodity not a people-focused transportation venue. The commercial railroads recognized that passenger traffic was a loss leader 50 or more years ago and were only too happy to exit this part of their business. The history of Amtrak, despite huge government subsidies, fails to prove the need and certainly verifies the cost.

The bullet train concept may be a nice, glamorous ideal for train buffs, but it is a lousy economic proposition for our tax dollars. We should never have built the interstate highway system if we truly wanted passenger train services to flourish.

James Mooney

Arlington Heights