As I’m still peeved about Caltrain’s two year shutdown of weekend train service, I thought I’d take a look at what the high speed rail plans are. Someone decided the project would be better marketed as the “baby bullet train” and indeed it was funded successfully. But I ran across an article about the critics of the “baby bullet”, not the project, but the name. It quotes two members of Caltrain’s citizens’ advisory committee who believe the name is too violent. One says “The Baby Bullet name is a loaded gun. We live in a world of violence right now — why have a bullet?” Another thinks the name sounds too much like a toy, and besides it’s not a bullet train, it’ll only go 79 mph. But Caltrain’s executive director thinks the name will continue to market well and plans to let it stick. I don’t think someone who considers the name “baby bullet” violent should be throwing terms around like “loaded gun.”