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2004-03-31 Europe
France expects to win China high-speed rail deal
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Posted by Seafarious 2004-03-31 5:04:45 AM|| || Front Page|| [11125 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 As much as I hate to admit it the French know more about high speed rail than anybody else. The nuclear deal makes me a little nervoius though. At least when the Frogs built their nuc plants they only built one or two different reactor designs
Posted by Cheddarhead 2004-03-31 6:05:52 AM||   2004-03-31 6:05:52 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 Those French snakes!
They'll do anything for money...and then there's their Anti-American ideology.
Their idea for a EUroweenie defense force didn't go over so well and they can't trust Putin, so Jacques and Dominique thought they'd try the Chinese.
Interesting.
However, the Chinese are as inscrutable as ever and their loyalty to France is as changeable as the I Ching.
BTW, I rode on the Chinese railroad in 1988: we Western tourists were the only people on it, plus our Red Army escort.
I wonder who's going to ride the Chinese TGV?
Posted by Jen  2004-03-31 6:12:24 AM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com]  2004-03-31 6:12:24 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 [Troll droppings deleted]
Posted by JJ TROLL 2004-03-31 6:34:28 AM||   2004-03-31 6:34:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Fred, sorry, but we've got 2 troll cleanups on Aisle 3!
Posted by Jen  2004-03-31 6:53:12 AM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com]  2004-03-31 6:53:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Jen

The French will do anything for money and Chirac is turning Marianne into a whore but high speed trains are their realm. France's TGV is much faster than the German train and despite this it hasn't suffered accidents unlike Germany's ICE. I don't know how it measures against the Shinkansen.
Posted by JFM  2004-03-31 7:03:00 AM||   2004-03-31 7:03:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 I know, JFM.
A few years ago, the voters of Texas stupidly said NO to a TGV Texas train system--very dumb!
(I don't like to fly and it would be nice to have another fast way to get from Dallas to Austin, Houston and San Antonio.)
Posted by Jen  2004-03-31 7:09:15 AM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com]  2004-03-31 7:09:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 I thought Canada was already selling nuclear technology to China. We beat them to it!
Posted by Rafael 2004-03-31 7:30:03 AM||   2004-03-31 7:30:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 I don't know how it measures against the Shinkansen.

Pretty close, but the Chinese can't buy Japanese trains. They wanted to, but when plans leaked out the protests started. Chinese still remember the Japanese invasion and occupation and hold a grudge.
Posted by Steve  2004-03-31 8:24:17 AM||   2004-03-31 8:24:17 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 How in the hell are you gonna ride on the roof of a TGV?
Posted by Shipman 2004-03-31 9:48:55 AM||   2004-03-31 9:48:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Jen, the Florida voters said yes to such a high speed rail. I love trains, riding trains, photographing trains... but this is a rathole.

I think Texas was wise reject such a plan. Florida has already caved to Mickey Mouse, the stop in Orlando will be at Disney World not the convention centre, I'm begging more stops will be added and the average speed continue to decline.
Posted by Shipman 2004-03-31 9:52:31 AM||   2004-03-31 9:52:31 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 will the French bring their own rail-bombs, or do the Chinese have some homegrown?
Posted by Frank G  2004-03-31 9:55:57 AM||   2004-03-31 9:55:57 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 A few years ago, the voters of Texas stupidly said NO to a TGV Texas train system--very dumb!

They were smart to reject the proposal. The high taxes you see in much of Europe is spent on infrastructure like this - infrastructure that isn't economically viable on its own, and has to be subsidized by taxpayers. Would you pay a $3 per gallon gas tax for a bullet train?
Posted by Zhang Fei  2004-03-31 12:11:33 PM||   2004-03-31 12:11:33 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Uh, no.
Guess I'll have to drive after all--like Shipman, I love trains, but not expensive trains.
Posted by Jen  2004-03-31 12:18:04 PM|| [http://www.greatestjeneration.com]  2004-03-31 12:18:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Good point, Shipman.
But it would be fun to watch them go flying off into space when she hits about a buck ten. It'd be like Chinese Disneyworld.
Posted by tu3031 2004-03-31 7:46:19 PM||   2004-03-31 7:46:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 Off-topic or abusive comments deleted]
Posted by CJ TROLL 2004-03-31 6:34:28 AM||   2004-03-31 6:34:28 AM|| Front Page Top

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