Originally Posted by
Roody
I don't know either if good rail could compete here. But competition isn't really something that can be known, since highways were given every advantage by government while railways were being starved out of existence. There has never been free competition in the transportation sector--nor should there be. Transportation is part of the "common good" that can most efficiently be provided by government, not by the private sector. So it's kind of foolish to talk about competition between highways and railways. This form of competition doesn't even exist now, never has, and never will. Nor should it.
As for property rights, the Roberts Court has pretty much written those off with it's eminent domain rulings. Even private developers can now confiscate private homes to build shopping malls or apartment complexes, so it shouldn't be too hard to take over the land for public projects like a railway or highway.
I agree the struggle to keep what one has worked for is getting harder every year. Still may of the local communities in our area have fought the plans for a HSR to a standstill in our area and I am not convinced that in Texas that might not work as well if indeed that is what the people want. There is always a strong movement towards NIMBY for projects like this and court challenges can slow the projects to a near stop.
If if the people along the way can be convinced that there is something in it for them personally it would go a long way in opening ROW for a HSR. That being said it seems as if those ROWs come mostly at the expense of those communities and property owners that have the least power to fight it so the ROWs get moved to those areas. The origional HSR in my state was supposed to run straight down the coast from SF to LA and San Diego. The wealthier communities along the way have more or less stopped that plan and moved the planned route inland to sparsely populated communities. And it has been years since the origional plan was approved and yet little or no real progress is being made. The following may be one reason:
Bullet train runs into rising opposition over Southern California routes - LA Times