Letters to the Editor: Burbank has 'serious concerns' about the bullet train? Just build it already

To the editor: The city of Burbank has "several serious concerns" about how the bullet train would harm its water supply and airport safety. You've got to be kidding.

In America we basically travel major distances by plane. In Europe, one can get almost anywhere, near or far, by hopping on a frequent train at a nearby station with little waiting, no long trip to the airport and no outrageous ticket cost.

The trains crisscross Europe much like our highways here. And I learned a little too late that one can get from Rome to Venice, Italy, by train in less time than going to the airport for a flight.

Come on! The water supply? Airport safety? What will some bureaucrats question next? The railroad tracks cause lead poisoning? The lights from the passing train causes blindness?

Just get it built!

Ted Bacino, Palm Springs

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To the editor: Am I alone in the belief that the bullet train is California's "bridge to nowhere"?

The planners involved in this boondoggle have all of the subtlety of a sledgehammer, disregarding the concerns of the localities affected. It seems to be their modus operandi since they pay little attention to cost overruns and delays but still vote to proceed.

Where is the need? Who wants the bullet train? I don't, and I don't know anyone who is clamoring for a high-speed rail system between L.A. and San Francisco.

Kent Grigsby, Riverside

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.