Republicans’ Efforts to Reject High Speed Rail Funds Thwarted

RALEIGH A Republican push to reject $461 million in federal railroad improvement grants for North Carolina appears to have collapsed.

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger said Saturday that he didn’t think the project could be stopped. Berger’s statement came a day after Sen. Bob Rucho, a Republican from Matthews, said GOP leaders have agreed they should accept the money.

The bill to kill high-speed rail sponsored by Rep. Ric Killian of Charlotte was pulled Friday from the agenda of the House Transportation Committee, which had been scheduled to vote on the measure this week. Killian’s bill was attacked in a committee meeting last week by Democrats, business advocates and big-city mayors.

Efforts to reach Killian on Saturday were unsuccessful.

Rep. Frank Iler, chairman of the transportation committee, said the bill had been pulled at Killian’s request.

“He said he needed a little more time on it,” said Iler, an Oak Island Republican. “There’s been some controversy.”
Charlotte Observer

As much as I would like to see more high speed rail around the country the decision to implement it should be market based on public demand, not pushed through by the government with tax dollars. Killian has raised excellent questions about the state’s future obligations to this project.  Once the line is built and running, what is the state’s future financial commitment to keeping it afloat?  How profitable will it be, if at all?  Even in Europe where rail travel is fairly common, the various European governments subsidize some of it.

Right now, the only place where high speed rail really makes sense is the D.C. to NYC corridor.  That’s the only place I can imagine a profitable high speed rail line existing.  The federal government simply cannot afford to be sending half a billion dollars to North Carolina to build a new rail line.

Share

Read more at Carolina Politics Online