After a brief acknowledgement that some Chinese are talking about its shoddy construction, the old gray lady jumps into a lovefest for Chinese high-speed rail.
What it either overlooks or deliberately misstates?
1. Those soaring property costs area construction bubble very similar to the one the U.S. had just a few years ago; they have little to do with high speed rail, and they exist in places outside of high0-speed rail corridors,
2. Just how shoddy the rail construction is — shoddy enough that trains aren't allowed to run at close to max speeds. Those trains will NEVER get up to 350 km/hour without the entire track system being relaid.
Beyond that, the story is of little relevance for the U.S. until enough mindsets change to make high-speed rail economically viable. And that won't happen without carbon taxes.
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