[davexunit]

Pleasantly surprised by this. Finally some real investment in high speed rail. The LA to Las Vegas high speed line seems like an obvious mistake, though. Definitely excited about the northeast corridor improvements. They say the Downeaster line is going to be improved, but no details. I wish the Downeaster went further up the coast of Maine.

edit: Looks like the Downeaster could get extended to Rockland. Neat! https://www.wabi.tv/2023/12/08/downeaster-could-extend-furth...

[potatochup]

> The LA to Las Vegas high speed line seems like an obvious mistake, though

I'm curious as to why you think this? LA<->Vegas on I15 gets supremely busy during the weekends. I dunno how much regular commuter traffic there would be during weekdays, but it seems like it would see high demand, especially if its a) faster than driving and b) you can drink on the train. My main issue with it is that it doesn't actually get very far into LA.

[eitally]

If they put slot machines in the cars, or dedicated casino car(s), they could pay for themselves!

[jsutton]

Key point: on weekends. Northeast corridor is high demand all week long. And much more of the national economy flows through that region. LA <> Vegas is mostly leisure.

[aaomidi]

Covering leisure use cases helps reduce need for cars.

It’s very smart, and allows the west coast to grow its population.

[davexunit]

If the Biden admin truly cared about the environment, they wouldn't be making it easier to get to Las Vegas.