The Quest for the Holy Rail

High Speed Rail as religion - nice post on the problems with HSR forecasts, and the evangelical aspects of HSR promotion.

"Well, I don't know how to refute a claim about what it's going to be like waiting for a train in California in 2035. I have no idea what the headways will be in 2035. I don't know what good it will do to see a real high speed train, either. I've seen some, I've ridden some, and they're great. So are Ferraris". ... "No one knows how much tickets will cost. No one knows how much business travel will be replaced by telecommuting. It's the future! We have no idea what is out there. "

Note: title of this post from comment section of King's post.