While high-speed rail is the right technology needed to modernize California’s transportation network today, by the time the project overcomes state government bureaucracy, settles inevitable lawsuits, identifies the necessary funding, and completes construction, it may no longer be the most modern, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation technology. By that time, the answer may very well be the self-driving car.
via Viewpoints: Is high-speed rail the transport of the future? – Viewpoints – The Sacramento Bee.
Utilizing existing infrastructure when constructing more is expensive in both time and money always seemed so obvious. This no doubt comes directly from the software “lifestyle” I come from. Code it, compile it, run it, test it. This cycle process should take something like 10 seconds or possibly a week — but not months or years. We software engineers are impatient and recognize that time is a limited resource too.