It appears that both China and Japan are ready, willing, and able to fund CA HSR, whereas it is alleged that no such investors can be found within the USA:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-15/china-touts-complete-package-for-california-railway.html
Who would invest a wad of money in an area that is over 20 billion $ in debt? Does Calif. want to buy a HS rail service or wants someone to finance and build it? Canada has Bombardier to build complete systems around the world, but we sure don’t get to see much of them up here, Instead we tend to look to Europe for railway and LRT equipment.
I would tend to be shy of having another country own and operate a public transit system, Hey! next they could run the health program, social networks maybe even the military.
I think only China is actually going to pay for the whole thing, Japan is willing to loan California the money. Now what is China seeing that we are not? I am sensing a catch in this offer.
Maybe the catch is that all trains, rail, ties, etc. must be of Chinese manufacture.
Chinese tourists, nouveau riche, get to travel free on the HSR? [(-D]
-Crandell
It will be d**ned hard for whoever finances this project to get paid, or to reposses it. What would they do with it if they had it? Railroad infrastructure is the most illiquid capital investment there is and is subject to government medling at every stage, getting in, operating, and getting out. Only a fool will finance it. Obama is in for 2.3billion IIRC. That is chump change in this deal, but he is the first fool. Lets see who will be the greatest fool.
Mac
Actually, any country that is biding on a High Speed Rail project in the US, has to fully comply with a “made in USA” policy. That goes for the making of the ties, rails, and even the trains.
If there is anything to this, it will be interesting to see if the Cal. legislature is as picky about the historical/political pedigree of a sugar daddy as it was about a potential contractor, France.
Only if they take government money, if they receive a franchise to build and operate they don’t need to comply with the Made in USA policy. Besides which the policy only covers a percentage of the project.
Bombardier is the largest manufacturer of passenger equipment in Europe. Just last month it was announced that they won a large order for the next generation of High-Speed trainsets in Italy, the ETR-1000.
Apparently the Chinese are beginning to move out into World commerce at least in the railroad arena. Linked here is an article from RailwayGazette referencing a sale of locomotives to Australia:
There seem to be more and more instances of the Chinese Railway Equipment Companies buiding all over the globe on new construction and different levels of bids to provoide equipment, cars and locomotives.
Since they are a major creditor of the USA, it makes sense they would want to reinvest back into this Country.
Recall some years back when there was a deal afoot by the Clinton Adminoistration to sell Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay to COSCO for a container port? ( COSCO being the anacronym for China Ocean Shipping Corp.) It was only in the final stages the deal fell apart, when it was realized that China was about to gain a foothold (or Naval Base, right in San Francisco Bay, if you will).
The Chinese have over the last years accumulated quite a stash of cash, so it stands to reason they want to get some benefit out of it. Maybe they’ll buy California at a Bankruptcy Auction?? Anybody translate Mexican into Chinese?[:-,]