Has the U.S. unwisely neglected the development of maglev high-speed rail as one way to lessen oil dependence?

Question

If the U.S. built enough of the next generation modular nuclear power reactors, then we could emulate France and their electric high-speed rail technology. We could out-do them by building an above-grade maglev rail network throughout the U.S. that would be completely safe and definitely would enhance our travel options and get us closer to a more desirable situation of not having to be hooked on foreigh oil.

Answer 1

What are these trains going to run on?  Think about that.  The land isn't available to build the tracks.

Answer 2

contact your state senator or congressman

Answer 3

The U.S. has grossly neglected rail transport and allowed road travel to grow incredibly.  It would be good for America to take its lesson from Europe and, more recently, Japan and China.

Answer 4

We could do that. How much uranium do we have? Would we need to import that and create another energy dependency? Maglev is so power hungry that it would take nuclear power plants to keep up. How long does it take to pay for a nuclear plant out of the profits?

Could we use solar voltaic power on each rooftop to supply the energy in each house? Sell the surplus back to the grid for use at night. Or even better, after the batteries from your electric car are no longer suitable to power your car but still good enough to store energy for your house, eliminate the grid from your personal equation.

Combine solar, wind and localized power generators on site to power our nation with no radioactive or carbon loaded pollution. That is going give Enron type companies a stomach ache, and petrochemical titans a blow to the knees, but we need clean fuel that we don't burn at all.

There are many ways to generate clean energy that doesn't effect our ecology. Wind generators will change the air currents once we get huge wind farms up and running.

Tidal generators may cause marine disturbances that we have not thought of yet. We have  record of acting before we know what we are doing and making things worse and not knowing how to reverse it.

Don't "F" with mother nature or mother nature will "F" with you and she never loses.

Answer 5

In a perfect world we would have that, but for now it simple isn't cost feasible. Currently there is only one commercially operated mag-lev system and that is the Shanghai airport train into the city.

There is little evidence to show commuters are will to take high speed trains over flying though. Look at how poor Amtrak does.