Is America’s quest for high-speed trains finally picking up steam?::New projects in California, Texas, and Florida are a sign that the United States is finally getting serious about modernizing its commuter railway system.

  • qooqie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    583·
    2 years ago

    At least with younger folk yeah. Only people that hate trains are boomers and weirdos who think gasoline is the second manliest thing other than trump. It’s a huge project though, don’t know if I’ll ever live to see New York connected to Texas by high speed rail

    • deranger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      28·
      2 years ago

      Considering railroads have done over $200 billion in stock buybacks (about the cost for coast to coast high speed rail) I think it’s very possible, we just have to nationalize.

      It’s very profitable to run a railroad into the ground and push as much shipping to trucks as you can.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.worldEnglish
      172·
      2 years ago

      Only people that hate trains are boomers and weirdos who think gasoline is the second manliest thing other than trump.

      Mass transit has also burned quite a few people with reliability. The train not showing up on time was regular enough I had to stop using it to go to work. There is only so many times you can be late to work before it becomes your fault for not fixing the issue; in my case, by no longer taking the train and driving instead.

      • Two@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        2 years ago

        The problem is that Amtrak doesn’t own most or even any of those rails, instead having to pay for the right to use them. The reason why this is a problem is that it’s hard to upgrade rails to high speed when you don’t own them. Amtrak trains also often have to stop and give passage to freight trains, which is unlike what you’d see in Japan where passenger trains are on their own, dedicated rails.

      • uis@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        Even in Japan (basically the gold standard for public transportation) you are changing trains pretty regularly, have a LOT of stops along the way, and may need to do the last leg on a bus route that only runs twice a day.

        In Europe it considered the worst PT. Bus once a day on a tiny island? Sounds insane. Japan still base their PT operation on schedules instead of intervals.

        have a LOT of stops along the way, and may need to do the last leg on a bus route that only runs twice a day.

        No… Even regular intercity train Moscow-Belgorod train makes about 5 stops in regional centers. High-speed like Sapsan(or a lot of similar trains) that stops only on last stop 650 km apart.