this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Did they put in requirements like needing the trains to be US built? Or are we just going to end up enriching the Chinese (or elsewhere) with these purchases? Seeing as how these are for CA, they should require 75%+ US-built trains with maybe 25 to 50% of that being built in the state itself.
It isn't just about improving our rail system. It is also about building a home-grown train industry that employs Americans with good paying jobs. These programs have to look at the big picture. This is how you build a home-grown industry that then can supply trains to other parts of the country as well. If you start employing thousands of Americans in this industry, you will then get a voting bloc that looks to further high speed train penetration into other markets as well.
This is kind of how coalminers are right now - it is a shitty fuel, but you have thousands of coalminers who will vote for politicians who further coal adoption. They become a strong political group in their region and with that, it helps keep coal alive even if we need to stop using it. Those politicians want to keep those votes, and those workers want to keep their jobs, even if it destroys our environment. Well think about if a large percent of those coalminers were given jobs building trains. They would be a political force to further the high speed train agenda in our country.
In an ideal world, yes, we should build our own trains, but personally I think that's putting the cart before the horse. Let's get at least one portion of the track laid and functional before we start imposing more requirements. We can't support an American train building industry without tracks to put those trains. Any investment in infrastructure increases the likelihood that others build on that infrastructure.