The Politics of Bullet Trains
The narrative that one party supports the construction of bullet trains while the other doesn’t is absolutely, and terribly false.
With the 2016 elections making headlines in America, it is impossible to ignore the elephant in the room — or donkey. A group such ourselves, the High Speed Rail America Club, continues its promise to be unbiased, as well as never endorse any candidate, only inform and let it’s viewers and members decide for themselves. However, any issue, especially high-speed rail (HSR) quickly becomes politicized and then becomes a “pet project” of either political party. Building HSR in this country would bring infrastructure to the 21st century, revitalize the nation, and create a mass amount of jobs and capital for the country. Because of the nature of HSR concerning factors of business, infrastructure, environment, enterprise, energy, development, and transportation, it one of the few issues that crosses both support and opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. The following will look at the major HSR and rail projects in the US as well as their political history.
All Aboard Florida/Brightline
Opening in 2017, All Aboard Florida (AAF) is a private company created under Florida East Coast Industries as a way to connect Miami and Orlando through higher-speed rail after Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) shut down the previous federally funded HSR proposal (UNBIASED info as to the reasons why Gov. Scott rejected the proposal can be seen here). AAF is essentially two companies, it’s tremendous real estate and stations sector, and it’s rail sector known as Brightline and based in the swing state of Florida. Gov. Scott has in fact shown some support of the project since it does not use taxpayer dollars. Congresswoman Corrine Brown (D) from Jacksonville, has been a huge vocal supporter of the project, as well appearing in numerous rallies and public meetings concerning the project (we have some video of here speaking at the Florida Development and Finance Committee here). Opposition to AAF comes from both sides of the political spectrum. K.C. Traylor is the founder and leader behind Florida Not All Aboard (some clips here) and has been considering to run as a Republican for congress. By her side is the ever controversial, Congressman Patrick Murphy (D), vocally against AAF (video) and is now vying to run for the Senate. As for the company of All Aboard Florida themselves, they have aligned with both Republicans and Democrats, having many other Democrats speak on behalf of them, and employing advertising group SSC to make a TV ad for them (SSC is a firm aligned with prominent Republicans for campaigns).
Texas Central Railway
Based in the prominent red state, Texas Central Railway (TCR) is a private company which is moving forward on plans to bring the Central Japan Railway Company’s N700 bullet train. The president of the company is Judge Robert Eckels a former county judge of Harris county, and a Republican in the Texas House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 (see his full interview here). Prominent Democrat, Vice President Joe Biden, recently visited the site of where the Dallas station would be built and supports the project, regardless that the project is being led by the private sector as opposed to the public sector. Opposition of the project stems from a majority rural Republican based group, Texans Against HSR, which includes Glenn Addison as a director as well as support from 2 Texas state representatives that are both Republican.
California High-Speed Rail Authority
The California High-Speed Rail Authority is based in the heavily blue state of California, and is a federally and state funded project that is set to be completed in 2028 (if it doesn’t keep being pushed back). The largest supporter is without a doubt, Governor Jerry Brown of California, a prominent Democrat. The bonds for the project were supported by and approved in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s term in California, and he is a Republican. Opposition has come from conservatives and Republicans on the terms of spending for the project, and most recently and ferociously from liberals and Democrats on subsequent environmental and low income neighborhood damage that the project could cause through construction.
Conclusion
Nationally, the whole picture becomes even fuzzier. Outgoing CEO of Amtrak, Joseph Boardman, is a Republican. Last year, a bill from a Republican controlled House to fund Amtrak $242 million dollars was shot down. The same month, a Republican controlled Senate introduced a bill to fund Amtrak almost $1.65 billion which was sponsored by both a Republican and a Democrat. Presidential Republican frontrunner, Donald J. Trump, supports infrastructure reform to fix railroads. Presidential Democrat frontrunner, Bernie Sanders, supports infrastructure reform to fix railroads.
The narrative that one party supports rail and the other doesn’t is absolutely, and terribly false. The pattern described shows both REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS supporting HSR and rail transit. This pattern is not just here in the United States, but in other countries as well, where conservative and liberal parties in Europe both support and oppose rail projects. If anything, a clear pattern does show up where conservatives support HSR through private sector projects, and liberals support HSR through public sector projects as described between the states of Florida, Texas, and California. In order for HSR and improved rail transportation to become a reality, both Republicans, Democrats, public sectors, and private sectors need to work together in order to bring a robust and substantial network with the United States.
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High Speed Rail America Club is a non-profit group, based in South Florida that researches, promotes, and advocates for bullet trains and rail transportation in the US, while also collaborating with other groups and companies.
