Reader's view: It would be foolish to spend money on high-speed rail

I've been reading about the plans for high-speed rail service between Duluth and the Twin Cities, and many questions come to mind.

If this is such a good idea, and with great demand, why isn't anyone moving to form a private investor group to finance it? Wouldn't that have been an excellent means of providing money for the Omnimax, the Northwest Airlines maintenance hanger and the Great Lakes Aquarium -- instead of nailing taxpayers for funding enterprises that were unsustainable?

Already, the price tag for this proposed rail service has risen from $300 million to $500 million, and I don't believe for one minute it will stop there.

Greyhound and Jefferson bus lines are subsidized to provide service to Duluth. How big a subsidy would the train need?

This idea to build it and they will come hasn't worked in the past, and I doubt it will in this case. The 80 percent federal and

20 percent state money can be more wisely spent.

Bill Clark

Duluth