Just in case anybody needs a reminder of how woefully far behind the United States has fallen, this should be a wake-up call. This comes from Swissinfo.
December 9, 2007 – 1:01 PM
New Lötschberg rail tunnel opens to passengers
One of the first passenger trains passes the tunnel near Visp in southwestern
Switzerland (Keystone)
The opening of the 34.6km tunnel and the introduction of a new timetable will reduce journey times considerably from many parts of the country to the southwest.
Former cabinet minister Adolf Ogi, the driving force behind the New Railway Links through the Alps (NRLA) project that also includes the Gotthard base tunnel, was among the guests who travelled south from Bern to Visp on Sunday.
Filed under: International High Speed Rail
Trains For America 
Woefully inadequate passenger rail in the US is a gross understatement. Traffic density, both freight and passenger, though mostly passenger is increasing almost daily through the Alps. A friend in Zurich tells me that even with the new base tunnel, many trains will still use the older BLS route that has existed since the early 1900s. I also recently read where the scheduling through the tunnel is so tight that if a train is more than 5 minutes late, it misses it’s time slot and has to use the old route. The old route is considerably more scenic and were I to travel to Switzerland, I would want to ride the older route at least in one direction. Scenery in a tunnel is the same as it is at FL-35 as far as I am concerned.
Wakeup congress, lets get on with what we know we must have before it is too late. Right now, if Amtrak could order new equipment, it would be 3 or more years until delivery, mostly because of large orders from —- CHINA.
Jerry Sullivan, P.E.
displaced former Sunset Limited Rider