A report being circulated by a New Orleans-based public policy group says the state should use its share of federal stimulus money earmarked for high-speed rail construction to upgrade existing railroad crossings. The Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a free market, small government think tank, says the high-speed rail construction being pushed by President Barack Obama won’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions, relieve traffic congestion or benefit the average Louisiana resident.
Randal O’Toole, an economist with the libertarian leaning Cato Institute, says it would cost nearly $1 billion to upgrade 280 miles of Louisiana railroads in order to build a national high-speed rail network. “Louisiana can do many things to cost-effectively improve transportation networks in ways that save energy, reduce accidents, and cut toxic and greenhouse gas emissions,” says O’Toole. “High-speed rail is not one of those things.” Read the report here.
