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A comment on High-speed rail taking shape even as opponents seek to kill it. Parent comment

Re:High-speed rail taking shape even as opponents seek to ki... by Groxx on Sunday February 12, 2017 @08:27PM (#13632427)
With strange, custom-construction-requiring stuff like this, I tend to wonder how much of it would be explained by "help self/a buddy get rich". It's practically guaranteeing that there's going to be a single company supporting it for all time, which is a potentially-extremely-lucrative business deal.

If that's the case, obfuscating the reasons for these decisions is a rational move.

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Re:High-speed rail taking shape even as opponents seek to ki... by ern on Sunday February 12, 2017 @09:56PM (#13632814)
It's a bit cynical to say this but running HSR on an incompatible network protects it against future politicians who may seek to sabotage it by merging networks.
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Re:High-speed rail taking shape even as opponents seek to ki... by gsnedders on Monday February 13, 2017 @09:37AM (#13635476)
This sounds similar to the reason why the Glasgow Subway runs on a 4' (1219mm) gauge: to stop it from being taken over by the numerous (at the time privately owned) railways around the city which were all standard gauge.
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