High Speed Rail Between Hilo and Kona

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When I was growing up in Southern Indiana I used to ride my horse over the remnants of a system of InterUrban trolleys that had operated between most towns and cities until the auto industry got the lines ripped up in the fifties. These were open sided electric trolleys running through farm land connecting rural farmers, small towns and small cities with big towns and cities in an area with about the same size and population density as the Big Island has now. However the weather in January in the midwest is a whole lot less hospitable than ours is for riders of open sided trolleys.

The big difference is that this system was installed as an upgrade on horse drawn wagons over muddy roads, so it was welcomed as an improvement by the people who became customers. Currently we require government subsidies to attempt to create systems which could wean people away from their cars. Personally I think there are a lot of people in outlying areas of the Island who would love to take an interurban trolley to school or work if the connectivity was feasible once they got to their hub in Pahoa, Hilo, Kailua, or Waimea. Tourists would also use it during the off-peak hours, especially those from places where they are used to public transportation like Europe, Japan and China. Maybe we need to look at lower tech solutions than high speed rail, including systems which worked in the past before everyone started to think that the only feasible form of transportation is a car, truck, or SUV. Just a little food for thought.

carol