While China invests billions in it's 21st century infrastructure

[Pepsi]

• Tweet

I've been to China a few times in the past years and it's remarkable what they are building in that country: new high speed rail links and other infrastructure projects which will make the country more efficient and competitive globally.

Meanwhile in this country...

NJ gov: I'm sticking with decision to scrap tunnel

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday that he's standing by his decision to kill the nation's biggest public works project, a train tunnel connecting New Jersey to New York City.

Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party for his fearless budget-slashing, has argued that his cash-strapped state can't afford to pay for any overruns on the $9 billion-plus rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The state is on the hook for $2.7 billion plus overruns.

"In the end, my decision does not change," Christie said. "I cannot place upon the citizens of New Jersey an open-ended letter of credit, and that's what this project represents."

The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are each contributing $3 billion.

The governor said he was given four financial options for salvaging the project, but he said no agreement could guarantee that New Jersey taxpayers would not pay more than $2.7 billion for the completed project.

Construction began last year on the tunnel, which has been in the works for 20 years. In September, Christie suspended work on the tunnel and ordered a cost review. He pulled the plug on the project two weeks ago but gave himself time to reconsider at the behest of federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The tunnel is intended to supplement a century-old two-track tunnel that has been at capacity for years, NJ Transit officials have said. It would double the capacity for NJ Transit commuter trains and Amtrak trains between Pennsylvania Station in New York and the city's populous New Jersey suburbs, part of a region that has some of the nation's longest commutes.

More than 625,000 people trek into Manhattan from New Jersey each work day, about 185,000 by rail, and even a minor derailment or delay translates into long stretches of waiting for trains to get to and from work.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g90Br0me8JfHZr7u0kZ106s-i-5A?docId=f9b05cc9bd204aac82db1dfb21a9a5f9

[Coke]

Conservatives are in actuality, Regressives.  They are a negative bunch that is power hungry and absent of any vision.  Furthermore, they are profiting from the errors and deficiencies in our society.  China is doing the right thing.  They are smart and will soon overtake us.

[Pepsi]

meanwhile..

China unveils 260mph train line



A new high-speed rail line has been opened in China amid boasts from officials over the use of domestic technology to set world records.

Many of the trains plying the new railway between Shanghai's western suburb of Hongqiao and Hangzhou will travel the 126 miles in 45 minutes - about half the time trains usually take to make the trip at their fastest speeds.

The China-made CRH380 train has been clocked at almost 262 mph - a world speed record - though it will usually operate at a maximum speed of 220 mph.

The line was opened as China prepares to have 10,000 miles of high-speed rail in operation by 2012.

The effort to develop China's own ultra high-speed rail technology is a showcase project almost on a par with the country's space programme as a symbol of national pride and importance.

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/china-unveils-260mph-train-line-2394196.html