We need to upgrade our public transportation to early to mid 20th century standards. Before air travel became popular and affordable and before the interstate system there were trains that went everywhere in the nation. You could get on a train in Concordia, KS and get off the train in Springfield, MO. Extraordinary. We could completely ween our nation from foreign oil and create many jobs if we returned to the rail.
What does the new rail look like?
You drive to the depot and park your car on a conveyor that places your vehicle on the train. You go straight to your seat, you have a pass and there is an app on your phone that takes note of you and asks you where you are going. You enter that you are on your way to Limon, Colorado from West Plains, MO. The train starts and you open your lap top to check the Daily Kos. After a while you've read it all and decide to take in the scenery. The train is approaching Kansas City, your phone tells you it's time to change trains. As you pull into the station, the phone gives you a detailed map of the station, tells you it will be 15 minutes, and asks if you wish to place an order at the station restaurant. The train stops, you grab your lap top bag and go to the next platform to catch the I-70 flyer. As you wait you read about the train's hybrid electric engine. You learn that under the right conditions the train is powered completely by wind turbines and when the wind isn't blowing, the biodiesel engine makes up for the lost power. Then the train pulls into the platform. It is as quiet as a subway train, the wind must be blowing! You get on the train, find your seat, and pick out a netflix movie to watch as you travel through Kansas. When you arrive in Limon, you go to the vehicle check and get your car.
How it works.
Everywhere there is a controlled access highway, there is a train line. At every exit, there is a depot. Each train has automatically loaded automobile cars to store vehicles and charging stations for the electrics. Loading stations would be in each city with a population over 50,000.
The train can operate on electric third rail or diesel depending on the environment. The trains would have dedicated wind turbines and solar generators. The diesel could be made from waste cooking oil and domestic crude.
How to pay for it.
Bonds. Issue tax free ten year train bonds. A bond initiative is easier than using public funds, however, the government could issue interest free loans to break ground on the project. Also as the economy can handle it, issue grants.
Local service, national benefits
Benefits to a comprehensive national rail service are Lowering our need for foreign energy, shrinking our carbon footprint, clearing traffic, reducing auto accidents, more jobs, and allowing more of us to see the nation. Imagine yourself relaxing on a train to everywhere, transportation without the guilt.