35 years later, the high-speed rail is still not on horses

Obama also has a dream:

“Imagine that the train whistled through towns of all sizes, over 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour, and the starting point was a few steps away from the doorstep. The terminal was only a few blocks from the destination. What a great project. With it, we can revitalize the United States."

In the spring of 2009, the President of the United States excitedly announced that it will allocate 8 billion U.S. dollars from the economic recovery plan for the construction of a high-speed rail line across the United States. In addition, an additional US$1 billion will be invested in high-speed rail projects each year for five consecutive years. A few months later, the White House further provided concrete plans for the allocation of funds.

On the planning map of Florida, a 135-km high-speed rail line became a big winner. If all goes well, it will take away a 1.25 billion U.S. dollar allocation directly from the pockets of the federal government.

In this place called "Sunshine State," the planned high-speed rail will connect Tampa on the seashore and Orlando, an inland city. This is a narrow, flat and bustling corridor. It is said that politicians can win the entire Sunshine State as long as they win the votes along the Tampa-Orlando line.

In fact, the discussion about high-speed rail in Sunshine State began as early as 35 years ago. The then state legislature authorized a traffic research survey to show that the construction of high-speed rail along this corridor is highly feasible. When Bob Graham, who was the governor at the time, visited Japan in 1982, he was "impressed deeply" by the Japanese Shinkansen train. Almost at the same time as returning home, he authorized the establishment of the Florida High-speed Rail Committee and pointed out that Florida's infrastructure is insufficient to meet the population growth needs of the future and that there are good reasons for building high-speed railways.

However, in the ten years immediately following it, Florida was simply moody. Sometimes, they will issue a report on the feasibility of extending the high-speed rail line; sometimes, lawmakers will question the high cost of building high-speed rail. In 1990, when the governor-elect of the state heard the news about investing in high-speed trains on state taxes, he even responded indignantly: "This does not work at all!"

However, due to the increase in population and vehicles, highways in Florida are becoming increasingly congested. Another six years later, Florida decided to invest US$6.3 billion in the construction of a French high-speed train. This is a large sum. The decision to invest is tied to the federal government. Florida requires at least $300 million in cash and a $5 billion bond guarantee from the federal government.

Washington’s work efficiency has been dragged down as usual. After a few months, Florida has still not received any good news from the White House. A state legislator began to compare the entire project to "waste" and claimed that "the whole thing made me uneasy." The new governor's idea is similar. In January 1999, the new governor announced the discard of the high-speed rail program because of the possibility of taxpayers losing money and the prospects for profitability are uncertain.

This is not the end of the story. Almost every election year will come when the high-speed rail will be chewed out by politicians from the refrigerator. Soon, a constitution was added to the Florida constitution requiring that the high-speed rail linking five major cities in Florida must start on or before November 1, 2003. However, in the new amendment a few years later, this clause was again withdrawn.

When Obama came to the gymnasium at Tampa University in Sunshine State in January 2010, everything looked promising again. The Supreme Leader gave an inspiring speech to the noisy audience: “It is here, in Tampa, we will build a new high-speed rail line. I am very excited. I will be back to take it myself.”

But this time, Obama was big. On February 16, 2011, the Florida governor Rick Scott’s office issued a statement saying: “After careful consideration, Governor Rick Scott informed the US Minister of Transportation Raymond Lahoud that Florida’s decision to decline President Obama plans to build a high-speed rail between Orlando and Tampa."

The new chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Florida Stateman John Mika, said he had tried to lobby Scott not to abandon the high-speed rail plan but eventually failed. The federal government has agreed to pay 90% of the cost of construction of the high-speed rail and invest 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. It is "illogical" for Florida to cancel the construction of high-speed rail before receiving this grant. Lahoud said directly that day, he was "very disappointed" with Scott's decision, and the federal government's funding will be transferred to other states.

In this state of high unemployment, the high-speed train may bring thousands of jobs to the local people. Two disappointed Florida senators decided to take the governor to court and asked the court to enforce the high-speed rail project. “The governor is not a king.”

However, Scott still insisted on his own decision. "The two senators tried to force the state government to spend money, which clearly shows that they do not respect taxpayers." After all, "There is too much uncertainty in this high-speed rail line, too little long-term interest, and it may end up putting taxpayers at risk. I don't think about follow-up."

Although the defendant has already gone to court, the former US Navy soldier still firmly stated: "In any case, my position remains unchanged."