As I've been struggling through Ayn Rand's classic novel Atlas Shrugged (please don't ask me how much I have left or how many times I've renewed it from the library), I feel it is all too apropos to think about North Carolina's current rail system, and our need for some major upgrades. Rand's novel, written and set in the 1950s, deals in part with a transcontinental railroad whose productivity is being hampered by some rather thought-provoking legislation. Even though this is only a mere fraction of the rather complex story, I couldn't help but make a parallel to our current high-speed rail system (or lack thereof).

A recent editorial from the Charlotte Observer highlights North Carolina's current trajectory for rail growth; which is sorely needed in the Atlanta/Birmingham/Triangle region due to a booming population and soaring gas prices. While we still seem to be behind in the actual creation of the high-speed rail, the editorialist points out:

"North Carolina has wisely preserved the rail corridor where high-speed tracks one day will be laid to carry faster trains and give travelers in the southeast a high-speed option like those available in the nation's northeast corridor."

I guess maybe I just find it a bit interesting that here we are—50 years after Rand's novel was published, years after mass automobile production and the streamlining of huge commercial jets—once again rallying for rail.