The United States truly dodged a bullet when it elected not to build any high-speed rail other than the ill-fated California route. As described in recent Youtube videos, high-speed trains are doing more harm than good to China’s economy. The two videos below present similar information but each has some unique data that justify watching both.
China’s nearly 24,000 miles of high-speed rail lines are more than twice as much as the rest of the world combined. Two of the lines — Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou — are at least covering their operating costs, but the rest are real money sinks, with at least one line not even earning enough in ticket revenues to pay for the electricity required to power the trains. Continue reading
