Oops, Obama, 9/15/11, ""At a time when countries like China are building high-speed rail lines and gleaming new airports, we’ve got over a million unemployed construction workers -- many of them Latino -- who could be doing the same thing right here in the United States. That’s not right. ...And that’s why Congress should pass this bill right away.""
3/12/12, "China high-speed rail track collapses," UK Telegraph
"Time-Weekly, a semi-official newspaper, in early March cited a whistle-blower, Ni Hongjun, saying that he had tried to warn the railways ministry in 2010 that the Wuhan-Yichang rail link was at risk from heavy rain.
He said the construction company building the high-speed railway was using earth instead of gravel and that earth can be softened when heavy rains occur, leaving the railway "facing a major security risk".
China's cabinet criticised the railways ministry last December for lax safety standards and poor handling of the July 2010 crash, but said it remained committed to high-speed rail."
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3/12/12, "China railway workers repair 'collapsed' new line," BBC
"Forty people died last summer in a crash on a rapid train line in eastern Zhejiang province and the entire high speed scheme has been dogged with reports of corruption." (end of article)
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3/12/12, "China high-speed railway section reportedly collapses, reviving safety fears, jolting shares," Washington Post
"Engineers working on some projects have complained of problems with contractors using inferior concrete or inadequate steel support bars. A report last week by the state-run magazine Time Weekly reported allegations that builders on another section of the same Wuhan-Yichang line may have compromised safety by substituting soil for rocks in the railway bed....
Authorities slowed expansion of the multibillion-dollar bullet train system following the July 23 crash near Wenzhou, in southeastern China. It was triggered by a lightning strike, though a government probe also blamed faulty signal systems and missteps by train operators.
Since the Wenzhou crash, there have been reports of problems with brakes, signaling systems and faulty construction. In one case the Railways Ministry ordered almost all of a $260 million railway line in northeastern China redone after finding contractors had farmed the work out to unqualified construction companies that filled railway bridges’ foundations with rocks and sand instead of concrete....
Still, the government says it intends to push ahead with the program. China is due to spend 400 billion yuan ($630 billion) this year on railway infrastructure, down from 469 billion yuan in 2011 and over 700 billion yuan in 2010."
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The Chinese D train derailed with two of its carriages falling off a bridge , AP, from 7/24/11, UK Telegraph. "China sacks railway officials following high-speed crash"
9/15/11, "Obama makes case for bill at gala," Politico Staff
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Communist China hopes California will buy some of their trains. Why not?
8/14/11, "China's enthusiasm for high-speed rail stalls," AP, USA Today, Joe McDonald
"China's infatuation with high-speed rail soured at bullet train velocity.
Six months ago, the rail network was a success symbol and the basis of a planned high-tech export industry. But after a July crash that killed 40 people, Beijing has suspended new construction and is recalling problem-plagued trains,
- raising questions about the future of such prestige projects.
It was an extraordinary reversal for a project that once enjoyed political status on a level with China's manned space program.".
"Chinese contractors want to bid for work on a planned California high-speed line, though it might be harder to woo buyers who see China's
- government has lost faith in its own system.
"The only thing they are going to rectify is the domestic buildout of their infrastructure," she said. "I think they still will push for more exports of advanced manufactured goods
- such as these railway systems." (end of article)
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Questioning the reliability of Communist China's high speed rail system is not allowed and can get you fired.
7/25/11, "China's effort to muzzle news of train crash sparks outcry," Reuters, Ben Blanchard, Sui-Lee Wee
"Government directives demanding journalists not question official accounts of a deadly high-speed train crash in eastern China are fueling public anger and suspicion about conflicting details of the accident,
- such as the death toll."...
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