Yes I am, I want to someday visit your country and see your fine Railroads, I live in So California, where they build a Railroad from somewhere to nowhere geographically speaking....And they don't know when they'll finish it.....But we know how to rip out perfectly good Rail Road Routes in the name of progress.. IE the Red Car, White Car 350 Mile line that could get you anywhere in So Calif from Sea to Mountains etc......
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=california+high+speed+rail+issues
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Old+Red+car+Rail+lines
Oh and here is the fantastic Map showing where this once great RR was laid out too.....
https://la.curbed.com/2015/11/9/9902244/red-car-map-los-angeles
And we now have a light rail line that should have been connected to Los Angeles Airport as promised, and now 20-30 years later, after they found out it did work out so well with Taxi and Bus connections, we are making the final 5-10 miles connection to the Airport, Oh I forgot, conveniently it will cost us more money....Can I cry fowl here, no I guess not.....!!!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation/LAX_station
Excuse me for a me minute, I think I just got sick and need to use the facilities....Be right back....
I hope your Rail Lines continue to flourish, good for the Scots........Ah for us, in the USA across from the Pond, we can't even get a Bullet Train built over here....Pretty sad commentary I would say, wouldn't you, for what is thought to be the richest nation on earth.....I think we have a problem for Can do and the Job is #1 when it comes to high speed trains, in fact, our fastest is the Acela by Amtrak 130 or more MPH but only in a small business Corridor, so tell me, what is wrong with this picture, our we kicking ourselves in the !@#$%^& or what, I don't know......????????????
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acela_Express
By all means check out this Wiki on what it says about actual speeds of our only high speed train.....I just moved some cobwebs in my brain, I'm old what can I say, LOL.,
but there was also a provision to make a high speed desert train from LA and or San Francisco to Las Vegas Nevada, our bordering state, never happened with all stupid environmental and idiotic Red Tape.......:'(
NEWS FLASH< OMG Richard Branson might help make this a reality, something like Space X and NASA changes in our rather paltry Space program.....
In this April 4, 2019, file photo, Richard Branson, of Virgin Group, prepares to unfurl a banner during a naming ceremony for the Brightline train station, to be renamed as Virgin Miami Central, in Miami.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/high-speed-california-las-vegas-train-plan/story?id=65264856
After a number of fits and starts, plans for a
high-speed train connecting California and Las Vegas are back on track. Representatives say the project will take about three years to complete.
The announcement was made at the Nevada Economic Development Conference on Tuesday.
The train will travel at speeds up to 150 miles per hour, making the nonstop trip between the Victor Valley region of California and the
Las Vegas Strip in about 75-90 minutes, according to
Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV.
As it is, for me to travel to Las Vegas from Los Angeles Ca, it is somewhere to 5-6 hours with Traffic.....This would be great if it could be done by Train, I would goto Las Vegas at least 2-3 times a year, now I only go once every other year, since our traffic here in California is the worst in the nation, and oh yes, we have a serious pot hole problem too...
We can promote the Olympics here, but we can't fix our stupid pot holes.......Can you believe that, so yes to your first question, am I jealous, well a little bit, but really, I am happy for you all, I know how important good Train Transportation is, only grew up around great railroads all my life, so I think I have a healthy understanding of how and why they work so well, when the powers to be make the right decisions on both sides of the fence..:hehe:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the progress of the Rail re openings, have a drink for me too....I might need one after writing my Diatribe here......
You have a blessed and wonderful weekend Sir, and please if you can, keep us posted on the good news, it helps me, and I think others to keep our Dreams coming, that maybe one day we too, can have something nice to say in the Rail Service restoration........
From the Pond across from you, Cheers my friend.:wave: