Many obvious questions arise from this apparent setback for high speed rail in the Golden State. I will leave that for your comments and discussion. The Los Angeles Times reports the latest developments in detail. Here is the highlight.

Officials at Union Pacific railroad recently told the California High Speed Rail Authority that they have safety and operational concerns about running a bullet train close to lumbering freight trains.

“Just look at what happened in L.A. a few years ago,” said Scott Moore, a Union Pacific vice president, citing the 2005 crash of a Metrolink passenger train that killed 11 and hampered rail operations.

Of course, the big question is: what is one of those fancy new trains ran off the end of the earth?

Turning HSR Development over to the State Department of Transportation is the same as handing it over to trucking interests. Truckers and airlines are in a life-or-death struggle to maintain the old way of doing things, even if gas hits $6 a gallon. Their representatives in state legislatures are bought and paid for.

Union Pacific’s argument should be taken seriously, and it should be taken for what it is: an argument.

The railroad, first, wants to be absolved from liability in case of an accident. This is a legitimate concern and something lawmakers and proponents need to face. High speed trains operate around other transportation and population all over the world without incident, so everybody needs to take a deep breath and move on.

Taxpayers will be called on to make improvements to railroad property, and that is noting more than the cost of doing business. It may be that California will have to buy some rail lines. 

It is a question of individual freedom. Will we continue to be held hostage by industrial special interests and foreign oil barons? 

Finally, let us all remember that the nation’s rail system was built by a public-private partnership in which rail carriers got subsidies in the form of land and other valuable considerations. In return, we get a transportation system which should be available for public use.

Comments, anybody?