January 6, 2006
BUENO TRENO (via Brandon Heathcotte):
Mexico reviving travel by train: Billions poured into new Bullet, Suburban trains (Chris Hawley, Jan. 6, 2006 , AZ Republic)
High-speed bullet trains whooshing across the Mexican countryside. Electric commuter trains slicing through Mexico City. Gleaming new train stations and state-of-the-art switching systems. [...]Now construction crews are tearing up streets along the weed-covered rails leading into Mexico City's crumbling Buenavista station, preparing the way for a new $5 billion commuter-rail system that officials are calling the Suburban Train.
And the government is about to open bidding on a $12 billion, 180-mph "Tren Bala," or bullet train, the western hemisphere's first, that will run 360 miles between Mexico City and Guadalajara, the country' second-largest city. There are also plans for a new cargo rail line that could cut 10 hours off the trip from the Pacific port of Manzanillo and Aguascalientes in central Mexico.
The government says it needs trains because Mexico's highways are becoming overloaded with cars, especially around Mexico City, the world's second-largest metropolis after Tokyo. Gridlock-weary chilangos, as Mexico City residents are known, are praising the idea.
We're importing a superior culture. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 6, 2006 4:37 PM
"We're importing a superior culture."
Superior to what, Aztecs?
Posted by: NC3 at January 6, 2006 5:40 PMThat's it. Close the border.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 6, 2006 5:42 PMoj. Would you be willing to move one time zone west in order to live in such a superior culture?
Posted by: erp at January 6, 2006 6:09 PMWho, who's gonna ride a train without an hombre arreto (since their best workers are already in the U.S.)?
Posted by: KRS at January 6, 2006 6:14 PMerp:
No, but we're importing Mexicans hand over fist to do all our scut work here.
Posted by: oj at January 6, 2006 6:34 PMChecking my National Geographic Atlas of the World, Mexico City to Guadalahara is on the way via highway 15 to Arizona. Looks like they won't have to walk so far. And since it's a bullet train, it won't take as long either.
Posted by: AllenS at January 6, 2006 6:44 PMWell, they are a soccer-loving people . . .
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at January 6, 2006 6:55 PMJim's right, OJ. You've got a cognitive dissonance problem here.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at January 6, 2006 7:27 PMThey shouldn't call it the Suburban Train, it should be the Gringo train.
We've paid for all this 1 way or another.
Posted by: Sandy P at January 6, 2006 8:37 PMAre they going to have illegal Guatemalens cleaning said trains?
Oh, that's right, they can't.
The Mexicans have very, very strict laws on that topic, I think it's spelled out in their Constitution around the 30-39 mark.
Posted by: Sandy P at January 6, 2006 8:38 PMOJ:
My apartment roommate grew up in South Sioux City, NE, which has a large Hispanic population. At the town's high school, sports like football and baseball lose out because the majority of Hispanic kids want to play soccer.
No culture in which kids play soccer instead of baseball can ever be superior to ours. Equal, yes -- surely they surpass us in other areas. But definitely not superior.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at January 7, 2006 3:01 AMIf it were truly superior, they wouldn't be fleeing it by the millions. Nor feel compelled to.
Posted by: Noel at January 7, 2006 8:41 AMNoel, how you say, he nail it.
Don OJ, it sound much better if you call it "Buen Tren."
Posted by: Pepe at January 7, 2006 9:03 AMnoel:
Mexican economics is inferior.
Pepe:
Isn't that French?
Posted by: oj at January 7, 2006 9:15 AMwell at one time, not so long ago, mexico was a colony of france. which blows my mind a little.
Posted by: toe at January 7, 2006 11:49 AMtoe, luckily it didn't rub off on them.
Posted by: erp at January 7, 2006 1:02 PMNoel:
I'm not sure it's always fair to count economic performance as part of culture. India had horrible economic problems for a long time but Indians living overseas absolutely thrived.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at January 7, 2006 1:43 PMYes, Indians thrive where culture allows them to.
Posted by: oj at January 7, 2006 2:01 PM