Below is a copy of the letter I sent to all the Government Officials listed
in the Garden Railway Links
section of this web site.
Honorable members of the United States Government:
Tuesday, September 11th 2001, was more than a day of
unspeakable disaster by cowards that hide in the dark.
It was a kind of awakening as to where the United States stands in
regards to its infrastructure.
We have two kinds of mass transportation in the United
States. One is Air travel and the
other is Rail travel. As Tuesdays
terrorist attack has demonstrated, we rely to heavily on our Air
Transportation System. This would
not have effected our country so drastically if we would have had a High Speed
and more complete Rail System in place. We
have been dealing with a continuing increase in Air and Truck transportation
of goods for some time now. We
talk about problems with Air Traffic Control, the condition of our roads and
traffic jams. Why is it that we
never talk about Rail Travel? Don’t
you think it’s time to put together a commission or research group, at the
government level, to revamp our Rail System and promote expansion and
innovation?
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The current laws regarding the rail system and how it functions should
be overhauled.
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We need to study other countries rail systems, selecting the best
ideas.
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We need to think about grants and low interest loans to promote current
and new companies to get into the rail business.
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The Air Travel System has main hubs in all our large cities.
We should have main Rail Hubs in these same cities with High Speed,
Non-Stop trains running between them.
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We should look at integrating these Rail Hubs with the Airports. Sharing
parking lots and some of the infrastructure that already exists there. I should be able to go to the Detroit Metro “Transportation
Center” and get a Plane, Train or Bus ticket and depart from there!
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Some countries own their rail system and the land it is on.
Maintaining those systems while charging a fee to those companies who
use the tracks. Maybe this is something we should be doing.
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There should be multiple High Speed Tracks in this country running
between the East and West coasts. There
is no reason I shouldn’t be able to get on a train in New York on Monday
morning and get off in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
By having a high speed mass transit system in place we
could save an incredible amount of money in the Air Travel and Road Systems. We
could reduce the need for Road and Airport Expansions.
Reduce air pollution by decreasing the number of trucks on the road and
the number of Air Plane trips. The
speed of Mail, Parcel Delivery and other Truck based deliveries of goods would
be increased significantly. These
goods could get from any major city to another city in 1/3rd the
time. It would also create a
great boost in the American Economy. Instead
of just funneling additional funds into the economy in general, lets have the
government put up some funds and back a program that strengthens Americas
infrastructure, creates jobs and brings the economy back from it’s current
down turn. It’s be done before in this country during the depression.
We have a great opportunity in our hands and I hope
that you will call on others in the government to pursue this avenue.
You have the power to strengthen this country and we count on you and
your staff to make this country great!
Sincerely,
John R Fuller
Troy, Michigan
United States of America
