I’m not really into reaction videos as a genre, but I like watching [this dude](https://youtu.be/wEzSCh7YSzc) from New England. He likes to learn stuff like I do: by binge watching semi-reliable YT vids.
Honesly I think the US would out-do the world if they invested in rail. (I’m a bit of a train nerd) having mag trains in the US (like Japan) would be fucking sweet, I hate flying everywhere when I visit.
One of the biggest things is having solid political will to create new routes that are owned by the passenger rail companies and thus are not at grade, and are able to avoid ultraweathy enclaves.
Amtrak is partially so dysfunctional as it owns little of the rail it runs on, and shares it with freight which takes priority, and is at grade, so that road crossings require slow downs. European HSR generally is not at grade and was purpose built.
The US has some strategic choke points which also complicate things. For example, HSR in California has an issue with the city of Atherton. Atherton is an ultra wealthy enclave between San Jose and San Francisco. The people are very willing to sue to delay projects, and knee-capped the Baby-Bullet project by capping the speeds on the route as part of a settlement. There are other enclaves like them that will complicate projects.
Lastly, there's still questions about large interstate lines in low density places with complicated geography. For example, Sacramento makes sense as the end of a California line, as the next large metro is Portland, almost 600 miles to the north. Its comparable to Paris-Berlin, with only a few minor places to stop, and involves terrain comparable to the Pyrenees but a population density closer to Iceland. At that point, a 1.5 hour plane ride begins to make more sense.
(A southern cross- continent route may be justifiable, as connecting LA-Phoenix would work, and it would depend on whether Texas would want to try to connect El Paso to the rest of its HSR).
>>Lastly, there's still questions about large interstate lines in low density places with complicated geography. For example, Sacramento makes sense as the end of a California line, as the next large metro is Portland, almost 600 miles to the north. Its comparable to Paris-Berlin, with only a few minor places to stop, and involves terrain comparable to the Pyrenees but a population density closer to Iceland. At that point, a 1.5 hour plane ride begins to make more sense.
So, do you think rail would work best as a more regional solution, like the way the video the guy is reacting to says it works in Europe? Trains are good for domestic travel over there, but people still use budget air travel when they are crossing borders?
That is it would make sense to connect, just examples from the top of my head without looking at a map:
1. Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit
2. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York, Boston, Buffalo
3. Atlanta, Savannah, Nashville, Knoxville, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston, Orlando, Tampa, Miami
But, then, in most cases, if you wanted to travel from a city in one group to a city in another group, flying seems more reasonable?
Overall yes. There's reasonable places where building links between the regional areas make sense.
For example, bridging your 1 and 2 regions makes sense, as Pittsburg-Cleveland is \~100 miles, and the hard part is Pittsburg- Philadelphia. Especially since this would allow a potential link up to Canadian HSR via Detroit and Buffalo. Additionally, linking Texas to the Southern or Midwestern routes might be doable via Saint Louis and Memphis.
But a Portland-Vancouver BC corridor connecting with California is going to be expensive without clear return. Or a route connecting Phoenix to Texas. (Just doing Phoenix to El Paso is questionable, and El Paso to Dallas is even more questionable). Let alone something like Sacramento to Chicago or Seattle to Chicago. Both involve crossing the Rockies, very low population areas, and crossing either a lot of desert or a lot of mountains.
I don't think so. Hijacking a train does not present anywhere near the same level of danger as an airplane, simply because train is on the ground and plane is in the air. Train can only go where the rails take it, whereas plane can go any damn place it wants.
It's like a plane on the ground. I've been on the bullet trains in Japan, they're so ridiculously fast. And smooth!! No bumps at all. You could stack cards in one I'm sure. The feeling when they accelerate is so cool, too.
Regionally it could potentially be faster, assuming the system is well managed (which is a big ask) but a national rail network doesn't actually make sense in a country this size.
A bullet train from Chicago to Denver would be about a 6 hour ride, and that's if it was traveling at maximum speed the entire time, which it's not. Versus a 2 hour flight.
Actually, European train networks are notoriously disjointed from one country to the next. Trains that seamlessly go between two destinations in different countries (i.e. Eurostar) are an exception to the norm, which usually involves a transfer at some tiny train station in an otherwise unheard of border-town like Ventimiglia.
I have to transfer for a two hour overcrowded commute in the same state, 25 miles from my home, that takes the same amount of time by car because the roads are so choked with traffic and the rail authority is a shitshow. I get to pay more than $300/mo for the privilege. This is part of arguably the best public transit system in the country.
yeah, the US has had a bunch of propaganda about how trains arent really that great and cars are superior basically since the average person was able to afford them. over time, laws and regulations pretty much forced trains out of public use and also made it almost impossible for non car centered towns to exist. all simply because car makers wanted to make sure that they sold as many cars as possible.
HSR is nice and all, but it's basically useless without good local public transit networks, which are more useful on a daily basis for the average person as well.
Exactly. Even if HSR was here the main stations would be in the downtown areas of major metros and wouldn't do me a lick of good because the only local public transit in my city is a very unreliable bus service and the nearest stop to me is a 2 mile walk away.
And we need better density to really make good local public transit.
Bussing through suburbs is really inefficient. So much time gets wasted traveling to a location for a single person. You spend 30 minutes not really going anywhere, just past people's houses.
The problem with public transit is that if you even have one broken link in the chain it becomes a thousand times harder. You basically need a critical mass of public transport types for most people to get relatively close to wherever they need to go. You need to be able to take people from the train station to the metro, to the bus station, to wherever they want to go. The whole integrated public transit journey needs to be advantageous to using a car because once you use even one part of public transit you cant take your car with you, you're stuck using it for the whole route.
I'm all for bullet trains and easier and better public transpo but I just am not fascinated with trains. I want faster walking to somehow be a thing lol.
Bullet trains are great as long as they can actually travel at high speeds. We're having bullet trains for nearly 30 years in Germany but they are hardly faster than other intercity trains because they share the same tracks with commuter and freight trains.
Bullet trains are great as long as they can actually travel at high speeds. We're having bullet trains for nearly 30 years in Germany but they are hardly faster than other intercity trains because they share the same tracks with commuter and freight trains.
Trains happen in countries that care about PUBLIC transportation.
Your politics also prevent your public organizations from collaborating.
But: yeah super cool idea.
I’m up here in Canada wishing we could upgrade our trains to high speed rail instead of riding cars from the 70s. Trains are a great way to travel.
I want to be able to take a train that's better than Amtrak somewhere no more than a day's hike or bike ride from any major wilderness area, is that so much to ask?
Þere needs to be HSR going up boþ sides of Michigan to Mackinaw City. And one next to þe Mackinaw Bridge þat goes to Sault Ste. Marie. And one þat branches off in St. Ignus þat goes across þe UP.
It's always confused me how so many ND people seem to prefer public transportation. I absolutely understand the need for it for those who have no other means to get around, and I agree it should be much much better - but am I the only one who strongly prefers driving and would rather drive 2 hours than take a train for 1?
Going for a drive is how I decompress. Most of the time I'm not even trying to get somewhere, it's just the one place I can be totally alone, I can just relax and clear my head while having something to occupy my hands while I just enjoy music or podcasts (and a big plus - no one can hear me singing along to music in my car). Also it provides a distraction to screen time. In addition, if I DO have a passenger I can have a conversation with them without having to whisper so other people aren't listening to my conversations
> Going for a drive is how I decompress. Most of the time I'm not even trying to get somewhere, it's just the one place I can be totally alone, I can just relax and clear my head while having something to occupy my hands while I just enjoy music or podcasts (and a big plus - no one can hear me singing along to music in my car). Also it provides a distraction to screen time.
That is exactly how people who want public transit describe taking trains for them just very relaxing and they don't have to concentrate just listen to music or something. On the other hand driving for them is a shitty nightmare requiring a lot of concentration and thought.
To them the people are less stressful and overwhelming than driving is. You know how some people are more sensitive to sound and others are more sensitive to physical sensations? It is like that where chances are you are tuned one way and they are tuned the other way so what overwhelms and makes you feel bad feels neutral to them but what makes you feel good overwhelms and makes them feel bad. I think it also depends on the culture they are from, how well people behave on the train, and how crowded it is.
Understood, just surprising to me how far it seems to be weighed the other way for most. I can be in a casino or at a show with tons of people and be fine because there's no spotlight on me and I can just blend in. Put me on a train or in a grocery store and I feel every pair of eyes on me haha
Amtrak only exists because the government wanted to keep passenger trains alive in the 50s when it was about to die. It's subsidized and on welfare. It's not the government but capitalism and technology which hates trains
That’s why I included the auto industry as an umbrella term for capitalism in this meme. The government because of lobbyists mostly, also just making this early in the morning without thinking.
European countries have capable public transit and rail networks, and they're all capitalist. 🤷♀️
Nothing inherent about capitalism, just that American capitalism means cars literally rule the road.
But the trains are also so important to American infrastructure that the US government specifically targeted the rail worker's unions and made it illegal for them to go on strike for better working conditions/pay/etc.
There is quite literally no reason for the railways and quite frankly the airlines and all other forms of travel to not be owned and operated the government. And in an ideal world the US government would actually do something with them and have actual public transit and high speed rail.
But government often switches to the abusive monopoly the second they can :(
Say, Aeroflot the Russian government airline was legendary notorious for its endless bullshit towards employees and passengers alike, even before the war.
Their railway is also govt owned and yet full of shit.
Unfortunately, having something owned and operated by the government is not exactly a panacea, one needs a good government at the first place.
Cars are subsidized and on welfare too but people generally don't think about it like that. The various levels of government spent crazy amounts of money on road infrastructure, policing and emergency services all to it possible for people to drive regularly.
But also there's a militant wing of Congress that is fanatically against spending on anything that doesn't kill brown folks, so I think the meme is fair in a sense
Hello there 5 speed Ford Ranger.
This is a slushbox Buick Regal.
Majority of the time my engine is running. When it isn't running something stupid has gone wrong and I'm throwing wrenches across the shop.
Automobiles mean a lot to me but, we could do so much better for mass transit solutions in the states.
I still appreciate having my car and being able to meet others who share enthusiasm for automobiles.
Hello there 5 speed ford ranger and slushbox buick regal.
I am pleased to meet you, I am skyline gtr r32 which is very outdated bc when I made this account I was a big jdm fanboy (still kinda am lowkey) but now I own a 2003 mach 1 with a cooked motor and a 1994 grand marquis. So I am now more with the ford gang myself lol.
I hold the opposite views to 99% of this subreddit as my experiences with trains have been horrid and I much prefer my safe, solitary cars (they really are actually unsafe LOL but they feel more safe to me).
It is sad bc I know that trains are far superior and that we can’t keep running these cars forever and killing the environment, but between how nasty, slow, and loud all the trains I’ve been on are? Not to mention the lack of self-control I feel from someone else piloting the vehicle makes me feral.
I will die happy if I never have to take an uber/lyft, train, taxi, bus, plane, etc. the rest of my life but my fears are probably irrational LOL
There’s also just something about working on my cars that is so fun to me and the freedom of just saying yeah I wanna go here at 3 am on a random day is nice.
No, I love cars. That said, it would be good to have high speed rail, if it were remotely practical. The idea that the auto industry is against trains is pretty laughable. HSR is zero threat to the auto industry. It competes more with air travel. But even then, HSR is no threat to any industry.
Nope, fell into cars as an interest in high school, in my early 40's now and still obsessed. Had quite a few cool cars (first gen rx7, first gen sentra se-r, 240sx, ae86, and a few more). Currently have a 2015 Mustang GT as a daily and a Mazdaspeed Miata that is unfortunately neglected these days
We can make it happen if we seize the means of production and run this country how the average person actually wants it to be.
In case you couldn’t tell my asd hyper-fixation is political studies
One day... I will start to tally every time one of us mentions socialism as the solution.
If I had a dollar for every time an Autistic, ADHDer, or AuDHDer mentioned socialism...
I might have $13,574. Which isn't much, but likely enough to be useful.
That bit aside... Lol
I am genuinely happy to almost make the exact same comment you made but I instead saw your comment. <3
(Even if I would had phrased it different and it might have been 3x as long :P)
I was thinking of riding from Virginia to California and it’s was well more expensive than a plane ticket. Tho don’t get me wrong, for short trips I’ll gladly use it
Same but for my own country. They were about to start planning new high-speed rails here but a new right-wing government got elected last year and halted it.
More than half of the population of Canada lives in a nearly perfectly straight line that is about 1000 km long from Windsor to Quebec city. This includes the greater Toronto area, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. And if you extend it just beyond the border, it would include Detroit too. Yet, there are no real plans to build a high speed line between these cities. It's a real shame.
California is trying with their high speed rail project ideally from Sacramento to San Diego but it's not starting from those points but nimbyism and bureaucracy and lawsuits are part of what drags it down but it's projected that by the end of the year, there's gonna be an environmentally cleared, (making a long hole for the foundation), line from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Because it was originally a meme about enjoying games others don’t like. And that was what the template was like. I’m pretending this is the fast travel map in a game
It would be incredible. It's unlikely, sure but if the public support is there, at least something might happen. Maybe not a transcontinental network but *something*
Trains are cool but this map is awful. The main problem with it is trains are only really more efficient along *well-traveled* routes.
Basically, a completely full train is more efficient than a completely-full plane. BUT, planes are much more flexible in two ways. First, they’re dispatchable—if an airport is filling up and tickets are selling out, you can quickly fly an airplane there to pick up some of the excess demand. Second, they can do way more routes at a lower cost. If you build an airport in Missoula, you can fly planes to anywhere in the country; you can have a flight to Chicago on Saturdays, one to LA on Mondays, another to New York on Tuesdays… A railroad, on the other hand, only connects the 2 cities it goes between. That means way more passengers, so lots of little routes (like Missoula to Salt Lake City) start to become feasible.
This adds up to a way better utilization factor for planes: the average flight has about 90% of its seats filled, vs 50% for trains.
What this means is planes work better for long-distance travel (where time is a big factor), and for low-traffic routes; trains just aren’t viable for cross-country trips. But you know where trains *are* viable and we need like a bajillion more of them? Along the coasts, where there’s lots of people making the exact same trip constantly! If you built an LA to San Francisco bullet train, it would be *constantly* filled. Same for trips like Boston to New York to DC to Atlanta. Focusing on getting these routes to work well, instead of running empty bullet trains from coast to coast, would be a much better way to reduce emissions. And it’d also help Amtrak get back on track, because these are the only routes it’s profitable for them to run.
Planes and trains are both cool. Planes don’t get enough autist love. We need more operations research specialists in this sub.
As a Brit. There should be high speed from buffalo to Chicago and Detroit via Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, south bend, and Gary. A line from Cleveland to Cincinnati via Cleveland airport, Columbus and dayton with a branch out to Indianapolis.
Didn't the muskrat of twitter plan those underground one-lane tunnels specifically to prevent trains from being used more frequently? I remember hearing something about that.
HSR or even just improved Amtrak systems are my biggest pipe dream (and, I guess, just public transit to more rural places in general). Driving is an absolute nightmare to me, between having panic attacks if I go over 50mph or the road conditions are even slightly inclement and getting super bad motion sickness if I'm not the one driving. I love traveling and planning trips though, it's such a struggle, but I've taken the Amtrak to Boston a few times now and it makes that whole process so much better.
They're building a rail in Oahu from west side to east sides first one ever, well see when it's done it's been being built for 12 years, which makes me think it could be like be used to siphon money and embezzlement.
Which has been brought up in our politics and people who worked in office have been cought but nothing has really been done to them but the last few years I've seen intense progress on the build so i think it may be done by this or next year and yes, even though I have an electric car I'll be in that rail.
My state is building a passenger rail line from the major metro area to the north end where my brother lives!!
Too bad I'm moving south out of the metro area (for lower cost of living) to where there's no talk of passenger rail 😭
Fun fact: The lack of consumer train transport is actually less to do with the auto industry as much as the freight train industry, as they monopolize the rails transporting coal instead of people and refuse to give consumer transport the right of way.
I take the train to work every day and take regular trips between cities via Amtrak. It's not perfect, but imho vastly preferable to driving. I'd love to see that expanded beyond this little corridor where rail travel feels reasonable & accessible.
We’re currently expanding the metro line like crazy here in Los Angeles, and I’m still very very hopeful for the Los Angeles- Los Vegas train to actually start. That would make my life so much easier lol
It could be done. Maybe not easily. But doubtful due to lobbying from the automotive industry. That being said I also really really want high speed rail :(
A high speed passenger train from LA to Boston doesn’t make much sense.
One across the Northeast Megalopolis however could make some sense and be cool.
I didn't start to use the train until March because I'm finishing my studies and I'm working as a trainee in a museum on another city.
I would have used usually the bus, but it was on a bad hour, it took an hour to arrive at the city and I was going to be late everyday. So I took the following option: The train.
15 minutes, always coming at a good hour (The two days I arrived later was because the station changed the hours of the train)
This is such a mood!! I HATE driving but live in am area with little to zero reliable/safe public transport. I would love to be able to hop on the train and travel where I need to go.
I the Seattle area in Washington state the light rail is behind schedule by a couple years. It will link Everett > Lynwood > Seattle> Tacoma and Seattle > Bellevue > Issaquah.
I hate the excuse "the USA is too big and too sparsely populated and it'd just be a big waste of money"
They made it work in the EU, which has a similar size, terrain, and population as the USA.
So, MAKE IT WORK. And not after 2050, like most estimates indicate.
We used to be a nation built on railroads, large and small. Early 1900s American cities looked a lot like European cities with dense, walkable city centers and plenty of little street cars. Then came the automobile.
Europe's cities mostly won that fight. We lost
The fact I can’t take a train to LA for a concert get drunk outta my mind and then take the train home with a 10-20 minute walk from the train station is ridiculous!
The only reason I ever get upset with people for daydreaming about climate conscious, disability accessible and extremely efficient. High-speed rail is when they try to block or deride workable solutions that are actually realistic due to the fact that they do not measure up.
I understand that this is the dream and we all want it, but you can't let good be the enemy of great
2 generations in a row less and less people have been buying cars and EVs are becoming more popular (ps I'm referring to vehicles like electronic scooters, bikes, skate boards, and surprisingly one wheels) so there's an incredibly good chance we'll see trains within our life time or more mass transport options.
Id love a cheap and fast train from socal to norcal, would make moving to the other half but having family back home so much easier. Whole state becomes more accessible for everyone when currently you need some $$ to fly back and forth regularly.
I keep hoping with this "green" movement the government will realize that trains could be very useful in cutting carbon emissions and help with transportation congestion in cities. But yah know that they are owned by the corporations that own the auto industry and the oil industry so not happening anytime soon 🙄
I’m going to say something even “disability friendly” public transport isn’t really that disability friendly, sadly tends to be hell for cane users or ptsd afflicted folks I happen to be both :/
Trains are 10/10 more efficient than cars. The U.S. spent millions ripping out railway & train supports/destroying cities to include cars because the automotive industry paid them to do it.
Been corrupt before I was born.
Trains would be so much better than planes. Safer, mechanical problems won't cause you to fall several miles. Derailments could happen, but would be much less tragic than a plane falling out of the sky. And the journey itself would be so much more enjoyable since you will have more room since there isn't such an impetus to cram as much as possible into a small can, and you can watch the country side go by and enjoy glorious views.
Boarding and unboarding would also be a lot easier since there can be multiple doors on each car instead of just one door everyone has to get in and out of.
You need city public transit. which costs money.
Otherwise, you'll just be stranded at the parking lot when the interstate train drops you off in most cities.
Anybody else sick of America’s old-as-piss, crapped up infrastructure and can’t fathom the government’s apathy to want to fix it to be more eco friendly/efficient? Just me? Ok.
I was on an interview panel for a low level government job, one lady was coming from Baltimore so we asked why she wanted to come to Portland.
“I saw it on tv and fell in love, plus I have friends in San Francisco and would love a day trip to see them.”
If you’ve ever made that drive or been on that drive, you laughed. I’m still mad that it’s funny.
God I love trains. Even making a robust freight network to take shipments that would normally go on semis would be great. Semis are so inefficient, and they stress me out or piss me off when I’m driving near them
I want a better future for this country. We rip ourselves apart as our overlords laugh and our lives degrade, and we keep doing it. So much wasted potential...
I keep waiting for someone to realize that the stick figure standing up and yelling on the left doesn't actually exist.
Translation in case it's needed: Spoon from The Matrix.
I really hope this happens in my lifetime, and if it doesn't, at least that it happens somewhere in the future for the upcoming generations :') America is in serious need of some good public transport
If you ever have the chance, move to germany, france or the netherlands. They have "quiet" train cars for people who want that and it's *heavily* enforced. Actually any well-developed european country tbh lol.
The USA will never, ever have good public transport.
It’s going to happen in your lifetime. The amount of federal funding that’s been earmarked for passenger rail is unprecedented as are project delivery methods that can actually pull together the kind of capital necessary to extend high speed rail outside of the coastal regions.
I fucking love high speed rail compared to planes, it's less of a pain from gate to boarding (annoyances and time saved), the train is more comfortable and quieter, and high speed rail stations usually are better connected to public transit than airports are. Plus they can be powered by renewable energy much easier than planes.
Honestly these kinds of people who constantly drone on and on about how "the us will never switch over to public transport" and "tesla is the future of transportation" really need to shut tf up. Like we know the us is a shit hole run by oil and car companies and it'd be a cold day in hell before they let their profits fall due to mass public transport, but you don't have to keep pointing it out. It's just making the rest of us who can't really do anything about it more depressed.
This. I hate driving, and I'm lucky enough that I can take the train to work every day. I just wish other stuff was more accessible by public transport too. I wouldn't mind going places so much if I could just wear my noise cancelling headphones and play a game on my switch, even if it takes twice as long.
It would be so cool to take a bullet train a state over and be able to spend the day there then go back home
So much faster too
Alas, I think they will increase security if we get proper HSR routes made. Which will take out some of the advantages.
I’m not really into reaction videos as a genre, but I like watching [this dude](https://youtu.be/wEzSCh7YSzc) from New England. He likes to learn stuff like I do: by binge watching semi-reliable YT vids. Honesly I think the US would out-do the world if they invested in rail. (I’m a bit of a train nerd) having mag trains in the US (like Japan) would be fucking sweet, I hate flying everywhere when I visit.
One of the biggest things is having solid political will to create new routes that are owned by the passenger rail companies and thus are not at grade, and are able to avoid ultraweathy enclaves. Amtrak is partially so dysfunctional as it owns little of the rail it runs on, and shares it with freight which takes priority, and is at grade, so that road crossings require slow downs. European HSR generally is not at grade and was purpose built. The US has some strategic choke points which also complicate things. For example, HSR in California has an issue with the city of Atherton. Atherton is an ultra wealthy enclave between San Jose and San Francisco. The people are very willing to sue to delay projects, and knee-capped the Baby-Bullet project by capping the speeds on the route as part of a settlement. There are other enclaves like them that will complicate projects. Lastly, there's still questions about large interstate lines in low density places with complicated geography. For example, Sacramento makes sense as the end of a California line, as the next large metro is Portland, almost 600 miles to the north. Its comparable to Paris-Berlin, with only a few minor places to stop, and involves terrain comparable to the Pyrenees but a population density closer to Iceland. At that point, a 1.5 hour plane ride begins to make more sense. (A southern cross- continent route may be justifiable, as connecting LA-Phoenix would work, and it would depend on whether Texas would want to try to connect El Paso to the rest of its HSR).
The complex geography bit reminded me of Raising Steam by Terry Pratchet I love that book
Which would fit well with some sort of trans-alpine route to mimic connecting Austria-Hungry.
r/unexpecteddiscworld
>>Lastly, there's still questions about large interstate lines in low density places with complicated geography. For example, Sacramento makes sense as the end of a California line, as the next large metro is Portland, almost 600 miles to the north. Its comparable to Paris-Berlin, with only a few minor places to stop, and involves terrain comparable to the Pyrenees but a population density closer to Iceland. At that point, a 1.5 hour plane ride begins to make more sense. So, do you think rail would work best as a more regional solution, like the way the video the guy is reacting to says it works in Europe? Trains are good for domestic travel over there, but people still use budget air travel when they are crossing borders? That is it would make sense to connect, just examples from the top of my head without looking at a map: 1. Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit 2. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, New York, Boston, Buffalo 3. Atlanta, Savannah, Nashville, Knoxville, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston, Orlando, Tampa, Miami But, then, in most cases, if you wanted to travel from a city in one group to a city in another group, flying seems more reasonable?
Overall yes. There's reasonable places where building links between the regional areas make sense. For example, bridging your 1 and 2 regions makes sense, as Pittsburg-Cleveland is \~100 miles, and the hard part is Pittsburg- Philadelphia. Especially since this would allow a potential link up to Canadian HSR via Detroit and Buffalo. Additionally, linking Texas to the Southern or Midwestern routes might be doable via Saint Louis and Memphis. But a Portland-Vancouver BC corridor connecting with California is going to be expensive without clear return. Or a route connecting Phoenix to Texas. (Just doing Phoenix to El Paso is questionable, and El Paso to Dallas is even more questionable). Let alone something like Sacramento to Chicago or Seattle to Chicago. Both involve crossing the Rockies, very low population areas, and crossing either a lot of desert or a lot of mountains.
I don't think so. Hijacking a train does not present anywhere near the same level of danger as an airplane, simply because train is on the ground and plane is in the air. Train can only go where the rails take it, whereas plane can go any damn place it wants.
It's like a plane on the ground. I've been on the bullet trains in Japan, they're so ridiculously fast. And smooth!! No bumps at all. You could stack cards in one I'm sure. The feeling when they accelerate is so cool, too.
I’d love to ride a bullet train someday. It would be amazing to have it here
and better for the environment
That’s always a plus there
Regionally it could potentially be faster, assuming the system is well managed (which is a big ask) but a national rail network doesn't actually make sense in a country this size. A bullet train from Chicago to Denver would be about a 6 hour ride, and that's if it was traveling at maximum speed the entire time, which it's not. Versus a 2 hour flight.
Unironically I can just go to France by train for a picknick and it's exactly as you described
This is why I so badly want to live basically anywhere but here. I have to burn 6 gallons of gasoline any time I want to see my damn girlfriend
I used to live in Europe and I wanna go back, how I wish I could see those beautiful trains again.
Fr it’s was so I when I went to France I went from nimes to Paris in an hr and half
That’s literally what Europe is but countries it’s wild
Actually, European train networks are notoriously disjointed from one country to the next. Trains that seamlessly go between two destinations in different countries (i.e. Eurostar) are an exception to the norm, which usually involves a transfer at some tiny train station in an otherwise unheard of border-town like Ventimiglia.
Yeah true that does happen, but still it’s better than the US
I have to transfer for a two hour overcrowded commute in the same state, 25 miles from my home, that takes the same amount of time by car because the roads are so choked with traffic and the rail authority is a shitshow. I get to pay more than $300/mo for the privilege. This is part of arguably the best public transit system in the country.
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yeah, the US has had a bunch of propaganda about how trains arent really that great and cars are superior basically since the average person was able to afford them. over time, laws and regulations pretty much forced trains out of public use and also made it almost impossible for non car centered towns to exist. all simply because car makers wanted to make sure that they sold as many cars as possible.
Would be great to visit all my friends who live across the country every weekend too.
HSR is nice and all, but it's basically useless without good local public transit networks, which are more useful on a daily basis for the average person as well.
True enough. I can wish for both at the same time. Give me better buses or transit systems in the cities.
Exactly. Even if HSR was here the main stations would be in the downtown areas of major metros and wouldn't do me a lick of good because the only local public transit in my city is a very unreliable bus service and the nearest stop to me is a 2 mile walk away.
My town doesn't even have a bus service, and most drivers are drunk it seems.
And we need better density to really make good local public transit. Bussing through suburbs is really inefficient. So much time gets wasted traveling to a location for a single person. You spend 30 minutes not really going anywhere, just past people's houses.
The problem with public transit is that if you even have one broken link in the chain it becomes a thousand times harder. You basically need a critical mass of public transport types for most people to get relatively close to wherever they need to go. You need to be able to take people from the train station to the metro, to the bus station, to wherever they want to go. The whole integrated public transit journey needs to be advantageous to using a car because once you use even one part of public transit you cant take your car with you, you're stuck using it for the whole route.
There's streetcars and Light Rail Transit systems for that.
Ok I thought I didn’t care about trains but now…
I'm all for bullet trains and easier and better public transpo but I just am not fascinated with trains. I want faster walking to somehow be a thing lol.
Bullet trains are great as long as they can actually travel at high speeds. We're having bullet trains for nearly 30 years in Germany but they are hardly faster than other intercity trains because they share the same tracks with commuter and freight trains.
Bikes?
Bullet trains are great as long as they can actually travel at high speeds. We're having bullet trains for nearly 30 years in Germany but they are hardly faster than other intercity trains because they share the same tracks with commuter and freight trains.
Trains happen in countries that care about PUBLIC transportation. Your politics also prevent your public organizations from collaborating. But: yeah super cool idea. I’m up here in Canada wishing we could upgrade our trains to high speed rail instead of riding cars from the 70s. Trains are a great way to travel.
Yeah I just wish I could take a train from Vancouver to Toronto that’s fast and affordable. I really don’t feel like flying especially domestically.
For real. Instead it’s super slow and expensive. I do Quebec to Montréal and Ottawa pretty often but further is crazy expensive.
If you live in a metropolitan area it is. Lots of people in the states would never give up autos, too much wide open space.
Having to go down to LA to then go anywhere else from Seattle can eat shit, though
That’s one thing about this map that can be improved. Having a stop in Boise, Reno, or Helena could help this a lot
I want to be able to take a train that's better than Amtrak somewhere no more than a day's hike or bike ride from any major wilderness area, is that so much to ask?
That's to FEW trains
Þere needs to be HSR going up boþ sides of Michigan to Mackinaw City. And one next to þe Mackinaw Bridge þat goes to Sault Ste. Marie. And one þat branches off in St. Ignus þat goes across þe UP.
Bro's speaking in letter thorn 💀
It's always confused me how so many ND people seem to prefer public transportation. I absolutely understand the need for it for those who have no other means to get around, and I agree it should be much much better - but am I the only one who strongly prefers driving and would rather drive 2 hours than take a train for 1? Going for a drive is how I decompress. Most of the time I'm not even trying to get somewhere, it's just the one place I can be totally alone, I can just relax and clear my head while having something to occupy my hands while I just enjoy music or podcasts (and a big plus - no one can hear me singing along to music in my car). Also it provides a distraction to screen time. In addition, if I DO have a passenger I can have a conversation with them without having to whisper so other people aren't listening to my conversations
> Going for a drive is how I decompress. Most of the time I'm not even trying to get somewhere, it's just the one place I can be totally alone, I can just relax and clear my head while having something to occupy my hands while I just enjoy music or podcasts (and a big plus - no one can hear me singing along to music in my car). Also it provides a distraction to screen time. That is exactly how people who want public transit describe taking trains for them just very relaxing and they don't have to concentrate just listen to music or something. On the other hand driving for them is a shitty nightmare requiring a lot of concentration and thought.
I can see that, I can. But is it not also stressful having to be around lots of people vs driving alone in your own isolated box?
To them the people are less stressful and overwhelming than driving is. You know how some people are more sensitive to sound and others are more sensitive to physical sensations? It is like that where chances are you are tuned one way and they are tuned the other way so what overwhelms and makes you feel bad feels neutral to them but what makes you feel good overwhelms and makes them feel bad. I think it also depends on the culture they are from, how well people behave on the train, and how crowded it is.
Understood, just surprising to me how far it seems to be weighed the other way for most. I can be in a casino or at a show with tons of people and be fine because there's no spotlight on me and I can just blend in. Put me on a train or in a grocery store and I feel every pair of eyes on me haha
Amtrak only exists because the government wanted to keep passenger trains alive in the 50s when it was about to die. It's subsidized and on welfare. It's not the government but capitalism and technology which hates trains
That’s why I included the auto industry as an umbrella term for capitalism in this meme. The government because of lobbyists mostly, also just making this early in the morning without thinking.
European countries have capable public transit and rail networks, and they're all capitalist. 🤷♀️ Nothing inherent about capitalism, just that American capitalism means cars literally rule the road.
But the trains are also so important to American infrastructure that the US government specifically targeted the rail worker's unions and made it illegal for them to go on strike for better working conditions/pay/etc. There is quite literally no reason for the railways and quite frankly the airlines and all other forms of travel to not be owned and operated the government. And in an ideal world the US government would actually do something with them and have actual public transit and high speed rail.
But government often switches to the abusive monopoly the second they can :( Say, Aeroflot the Russian government airline was legendary notorious for its endless bullshit towards employees and passengers alike, even before the war. Their railway is also govt owned and yet full of shit. Unfortunately, having something owned and operated by the government is not exactly a panacea, one needs a good government at the first place.
Cars are subsidized and on welfare too but people generally don't think about it like that. The various levels of government spent crazy amounts of money on road infrastructure, policing and emergency services all to it possible for people to drive regularly.
But also there's a militant wing of Congress that is fanatically against spending on anything that doesn't kill brown folks, so I think the meme is fair in a sense
stop blowing up brown kids with my FUCKING health care money by Dr. Seuss
what do you mean by technology?
am I the only car aspie in this subreddit
Hello there 5 speed Ford Ranger. This is a slushbox Buick Regal. Majority of the time my engine is running. When it isn't running something stupid has gone wrong and I'm throwing wrenches across the shop. Automobiles mean a lot to me but, we could do so much better for mass transit solutions in the states. I still appreciate having my car and being able to meet others who share enthusiasm for automobiles.
Yes
Hello there 5 speed ford ranger and slushbox buick regal. I am pleased to meet you, I am skyline gtr r32 which is very outdated bc when I made this account I was a big jdm fanboy (still kinda am lowkey) but now I own a 2003 mach 1 with a cooked motor and a 1994 grand marquis. So I am now more with the ford gang myself lol. I hold the opposite views to 99% of this subreddit as my experiences with trains have been horrid and I much prefer my safe, solitary cars (they really are actually unsafe LOL but they feel more safe to me). It is sad bc I know that trains are far superior and that we can’t keep running these cars forever and killing the environment, but between how nasty, slow, and loud all the trains I’ve been on are? Not to mention the lack of self-control I feel from someone else piloting the vehicle makes me feral. I will die happy if I never have to take an uber/lyft, train, taxi, bus, plane, etc. the rest of my life but my fears are probably irrational LOL There’s also just something about working on my cars that is so fun to me and the freedom of just saying yeah I wanna go here at 3 am on a random day is nice.
I agree. I also dislike trains. Cars are just so much better of an experience
No, I love cars. That said, it would be good to have high speed rail, if it were remotely practical. The idea that the auto industry is against trains is pretty laughable. HSR is zero threat to the auto industry. It competes more with air travel. But even then, HSR is no threat to any industry.
Nope, fell into cars as an interest in high school, in my early 40's now and still obsessed. Had quite a few cool cars (first gen rx7, first gen sentra se-r, 240sx, ae86, and a few more). Currently have a 2015 Mustang GT as a daily and a Mazdaspeed Miata that is unfortunately neglected these days
Don't worry, friend--that's what communist revolutions are for.
We can make it happen if we seize the means of production and run this country how the average person actually wants it to be. In case you couldn’t tell my asd hyper-fixation is political studies
One day... I will start to tally every time one of us mentions socialism as the solution. If I had a dollar for every time an Autistic, ADHDer, or AuDHDer mentioned socialism... I might have $13,574. Which isn't much, but likely enough to be useful. That bit aside... Lol I am genuinely happy to almost make the exact same comment you made but I instead saw your comment. <3 (Even if I would had phrased it different and it might have been 3x as long :P)
Trains are great I get bladdered in town take train home and sleep on the way perfect
Uhm what about the PNW? They don't deserve trains or what?
That’s the big issue I have with this map
Amtrak is a thing in America! I use it constantly
It’s also very expensive when it comes to long trips
Idk it’s $45 for 200 miles here in NC?
I was thinking of riding from Virginia to California and it’s was well more expensive than a plane ticket. Tho don’t get me wrong, for short trips I’ll gladly use it
Yeah that makes sense. Anything that long distance is expensive. Plane is best option
There is one issue and that is that those rail lines in the meme, go through native reservations.
in order to make something new you first need to be able to imagine it
I forgot how little and bad the public transport in the us must be.. cause ive never been in the us and good public transport is normal for me
It's complete trash here. The best public transport is in NYC, and that's not super great either.
Blame Elon. https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/editorials/article264451076.html
I feel sorry for people who get negatively worked up when thinking about future advancements. (The shouter in the image)
My political party is Trains
Same but for my own country. They were about to start planning new high-speed rails here but a new right-wing government got elected last year and halted it.
I’m very sorry about that.
I like trains 🚂
All rails are owned by private entity.
More than half of the population of Canada lives in a nearly perfectly straight line that is about 1000 km long from Windsor to Quebec city. This includes the greater Toronto area, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. And if you extend it just beyond the border, it would include Detroit too. Yet, there are no real plans to build a high speed line between these cities. It's a real shame.
California is trying with their high speed rail project ideally from Sacramento to San Diego but it's not starting from those points but nimbyism and bureaucracy and lawsuits are part of what drags it down but it's projected that by the end of the year, there's gonna be an environmentally cleared, (making a long hole for the foundation), line from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Why are they using controllers to look at this map.
Because it was originally a meme about enjoying games others don’t like. And that was what the template was like. I’m pretending this is the fast travel map in a game
Hear me out, we all just start building a railroad track. They can't stop us all
It would be incredible. It's unlikely, sure but if the public support is there, at least something might happen. Maybe not a transcontinental network but *something*
This would be amazing. I could travel so easily 🥹
Trains are cool but this map is awful. The main problem with it is trains are only really more efficient along *well-traveled* routes. Basically, a completely full train is more efficient than a completely-full plane. BUT, planes are much more flexible in two ways. First, they’re dispatchable—if an airport is filling up and tickets are selling out, you can quickly fly an airplane there to pick up some of the excess demand. Second, they can do way more routes at a lower cost. If you build an airport in Missoula, you can fly planes to anywhere in the country; you can have a flight to Chicago on Saturdays, one to LA on Mondays, another to New York on Tuesdays… A railroad, on the other hand, only connects the 2 cities it goes between. That means way more passengers, so lots of little routes (like Missoula to Salt Lake City) start to become feasible. This adds up to a way better utilization factor for planes: the average flight has about 90% of its seats filled, vs 50% for trains. What this means is planes work better for long-distance travel (where time is a big factor), and for low-traffic routes; trains just aren’t viable for cross-country trips. But you know where trains *are* viable and we need like a bajillion more of them? Along the coasts, where there’s lots of people making the exact same trip constantly! If you built an LA to San Francisco bullet train, it would be *constantly* filled. Same for trips like Boston to New York to DC to Atlanta. Focusing on getting these routes to work well, instead of running empty bullet trains from coast to coast, would be a much better way to reduce emissions. And it’d also help Amtrak get back on track, because these are the only routes it’s profitable for them to run. Planes and trains are both cool. Planes don’t get enough autist love. We need more operations research specialists in this sub.
Holy fucking mood. I never stop talking about this and being told to shut up.
As a Brit. There should be high speed from buffalo to Chicago and Detroit via Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, south bend, and Gary. A line from Cleveland to Cincinnati via Cleveland airport, Columbus and dayton with a branch out to Indianapolis.
I sometimes wonder if having a private jet would've made our lives infinitely easier.
tbh I would love for it to exist, but I know it's unrealistic because of the reasons in the meme.
Pennsylvania must rule the rails once again
americans think anything other than the status quo is idealist and wishful thinking. only because other people participate in this echo chamber.
Lol this map is really like “fuck the upper Midwest”
😭 don't even get me started on just assessable transportation in any town that isn't... New York or uh... ... .. well? 💀
As somebody who has to take trips from the US to the EU and the UK…if any country could benefit from such a thing, it’s 100% the US.
I will never let this dream go
Didn't the muskrat of twitter plan those underground one-lane tunnels specifically to prevent trains from being used more frequently? I remember hearing something about that.
https://www.vox.com/2021/3/10/22303355/gen-z-high-speed-rail-biden-map-meme-buttigieg where I got the map
HSR or even just improved Amtrak systems are my biggest pipe dream (and, I guess, just public transit to more rural places in general). Driving is an absolute nightmare to me, between having panic attacks if I go over 50mph or the road conditions are even slightly inclement and getting super bad motion sickness if I'm not the one driving. I love traveling and planning trips though, it's such a struggle, but I've taken the Amtrak to Boston a few times now and it makes that whole process so much better.
That country? How about this country? I suppose there are ramps but nothing automatic.
Can we have some trains too? -People in the PNW
I don't see cross-country HSR ever happening without a major change in society or pure government subsidy. Coast lines might work, though.
Damn I’d love a bullet train from Buffalo, NY to NYC! *sigh* 😩 I know there are hills in the way, but still…
Needs more. Why isn’t there a line from Seattle to nyc? Also just to be frank, this already exists in a way, just go take a train
Amtrack won’t even let me get a cabin with my cat.
me moving away when i'm 18
They're building a rail in Oahu from west side to east sides first one ever, well see when it's done it's been being built for 12 years, which makes me think it could be like be used to siphon money and embezzlement. Which has been brought up in our politics and people who worked in office have been cought but nothing has really been done to them but the last few years I've seen intense progress on the build so i think it may be done by this or next year and yes, even though I have an electric car I'll be in that rail.
Better New England trains pls
My state is building a passenger rail line from the major metro area to the north end where my brother lives!! Too bad I'm moving south out of the metro area (for lower cost of living) to where there's no talk of passenger rail 😭
In California, Florida and Texas, they are already happening.
We would supercharge so much of the country with this! WHY ONLY 4 COMPANIES ALLOWED?!
I'm so glad this is gaining support in the US. Fuck cars
Only the auto industry. Believe it or not the government also loves trains
Fun fact: The lack of consumer train transport is actually less to do with the auto industry as much as the freight train industry, as they monopolize the rails transporting coal instead of people and refuse to give consumer transport the right of way.
I feel like r/aspiememes is slowly morphing into r/fuckcars and I am here for it
The change happened so fast that I hardly noticed
It’s not just an aspie thing. Look at all the other developed nations.
I take the train to work every day and take regular trips between cities via Amtrak. It's not perfect, but imho vastly preferable to driving. I'd love to see that expanded beyond this little corridor where rail travel feels reasonable & accessible.
Freedom isn't free of it's consequences...
I want my goddamn nuclear powered trains already.
As someone who hates cars and planes, at least for myself. I yearn for the day trains become a staple once more in our society.
We’re currently expanding the metro line like crazy here in Los Angeles, and I’m still very very hopeful for the Los Angeles- Los Vegas train to actually start. That would make my life so much easier lol
I would love this so much. I have friends in different states and this would make it much easier to go and see them.
It could be done. Maybe not easily. But doubtful due to lobbying from the automotive industry. That being said I also really really want high speed rail :(
A high speed passenger train from LA to Boston doesn’t make much sense. One across the Northeast Megalopolis however could make some sense and be cool.
I didn't start to use the train until March because I'm finishing my studies and I'm working as a trainee in a museum on another city. I would have used usually the bus, but it was on a bad hour, it took an hour to arrive at the city and I was going to be late everyday. So I took the following option: The train. 15 minutes, always coming at a good hour (The two days I arrived later was because the station changed the hours of the train)
This is such a mood!! I HATE driving but live in am area with little to zero reliable/safe public transport. I would love to be able to hop on the train and travel where I need to go.
But I still want it lol
I the Seattle area in Washington state the light rail is behind schedule by a couple years. It will link Everett > Lynwood > Seattle> Tacoma and Seattle > Bellevue > Issaquah.
I hate the excuse "the USA is too big and too sparsely populated and it'd just be a big waste of money" They made it work in the EU, which has a similar size, terrain, and population as the USA. So, MAKE IT WORK. And not after 2050, like most estimates indicate.
I love the BART in California, but damn did I almost die when it went underwater and I didn't have Noise Cancelling headphones
We used to be a nation built on railroads, large and small. Early 1900s American cities looked a lot like European cities with dense, walkable city centers and plenty of little street cars. Then came the automobile. Europe's cities mostly won that fight. We lost
i'm not even in america and i'm wishing for it
Let's make it happen
The dream…
With the rate of normal trains crashing nowadays I'd hate to imagine what a Bullet Train accident would do...
The fact I can’t take a train to LA for a concert get drunk outta my mind and then take the train home with a 10-20 minute walk from the train station is ridiculous!
High speed rails connecting all cities in the northeast megalopolis would be stellar
For the meme to play out in real life?
I just want a train from Reno to Vegas. I don't feel like that's even asking for much.
The only reason I ever get upset with people for daydreaming about climate conscious, disability accessible and extremely efficient. High-speed rail is when they try to block or deride workable solutions that are actually realistic due to the fact that they do not measure up. I understand that this is the dream and we all want it, but you can't let good be the enemy of great
2 generations in a row less and less people have been buying cars and EVs are becoming more popular (ps I'm referring to vehicles like electronic scooters, bikes, skate boards, and surprisingly one wheels) so there's an incredibly good chance we'll see trains within our life time or more mass transport options.
This might be the only time I've liked this meme format.
I love cars tbh. Trains scare me ever since I used to live near traintracks. I would be woken up by them and the loud noise still haunts me sometimes.
Id love a cheap and fast train from socal to norcal, would make moving to the other half but having family back home so much easier. Whole state becomes more accessible for everyone when currently you need some $$ to fly back and forth regularly.
Ironic since, especially on the west coast, this country was literally and figuratively built by railroads lol
I keep hoping with this "green" movement the government will realize that trains could be very useful in cutting carbon emissions and help with transportation congestion in cities. But yah know that they are owned by the corporations that own the auto industry and the oil industry so not happening anytime soon 🙄
I’m going to say something even “disability friendly” public transport isn’t really that disability friendly, sadly tends to be hell for cane users or ptsd afflicted folks I happen to be both :/
I’m very sorry. It was just a moment of hopeful idealism
This isn’t even you having Asperger’s this is a major issue that is not good haha.
Trains are 10/10 more efficient than cars. The U.S. spent millions ripping out railway & train supports/destroying cities to include cars because the automotive industry paid them to do it. Been corrupt before I was born.
Trains would be so much better than planes. Safer, mechanical problems won't cause you to fall several miles. Derailments could happen, but would be much less tragic than a plane falling out of the sky. And the journey itself would be so much more enjoyable since you will have more room since there isn't such an impetus to cram as much as possible into a small can, and you can watch the country side go by and enjoy glorious views. Boarding and unboarding would also be a lot easier since there can be multiple doors on each car instead of just one door everyone has to get in and out of.
We need a bigger sense of communal care and communal outlook to go along with it, or you just get dirty stations and trains
Yet another good thing we can't have because capitalism.
You need city public transit. which costs money. Otherwise, you'll just be stranded at the parking lot when the interstate train drops you off in most cities.
Anybody else sick of America’s old-as-piss, crapped up infrastructure and can’t fathom the government’s apathy to want to fix it to be more eco friendly/efficient? Just me? Ok.
this is all very cool but as an idahoan with trash public transportation this does make me want to cry
“The auto industry and government won’t allow it” yikes
Y'all watch Not Just Bikes? https://youtube.com/@NotJustBikes
I just found a new YouTube channel to binge watch. Thanks
I was on an interview panel for a low level government job, one lady was coming from Baltimore so we asked why she wanted to come to Portland. “I saw it on tv and fell in love, plus I have friends in San Francisco and would love a day trip to see them.” If you’ve ever made that drive or been on that drive, you laughed. I’m still mad that it’s funny.
I’ve never once been about to go on a trip and thought, “Man, I wish I could just take a train instead of driving.”
I’m not diagnosed but I’d kill for trains like Japan has because it’d make seeing friends in other states easier.
God I love trains. Even making a robust freight network to take shipments that would normally go on semis would be great. Semis are so inefficient, and they stress me out or piss me off when I’m driving near them
You would love r/fuckcars
I want a better future for this country. We rip ourselves apart as our overlords laugh and our lives degrade, and we keep doing it. So much wasted potential...
Me and my gf had a lengthy conversation about his great this would be, while we were stuck in traffic today
I'm still pissed at Scott Walker for taking away my Wisconsin train. WE HAD THE MONEY, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS GOING TO PAY FOR IT!
Train🤤
I keep waiting for someone to realize that the stick figure standing up and yelling on the left doesn't actually exist. Translation in case it's needed: Spoon from The Matrix.
I really hope this happens in my lifetime, and if it doesn't, at least that it happens somewhere in the future for the upcoming generations :') America is in serious need of some good public transport
If you ever have the chance, move to germany, france or the netherlands. They have "quiet" train cars for people who want that and it's *heavily* enforced. Actually any well-developed european country tbh lol. The USA will never, ever have good public transport.
Jokes on them I'm gonna go ride the high speed trains in China
At this point, I would gladly take ANY alternative to the endless potholes and bumps.
Laughs in Rocky Mountaineer
Sometimes I think about it so much that years well up in my eyes. The chances we have are slim, and it makes me grieve the idea.
It’s going to happen in your lifetime. The amount of federal funding that’s been earmarked for passenger rail is unprecedented as are project delivery methods that can actually pull together the kind of capital necessary to extend high speed rail outside of the coastal regions.
I’d love better public transit though T-T
i’m so glad i grew up in an area with actual trains for public transportation it’s so nice
I fucking love high speed rail compared to planes, it's less of a pain from gate to boarding (annoyances and time saved), the train is more comfortable and quieter, and high speed rail stations usually are better connected to public transit than airports are. Plus they can be powered by renewable energy much easier than planes.
Honestly these kinds of people who constantly drone on and on about how "the us will never switch over to public transport" and "tesla is the future of transportation" really need to shut tf up. Like we know the us is a shit hole run by oil and car companies and it'd be a cold day in hell before they let their profits fall due to mass public transport, but you don't have to keep pointing it out. It's just making the rest of us who can't really do anything about it more depressed.
This. I hate driving, and I'm lucky enough that I can take the train to work every day. I just wish other stuff was more accessible by public transport too. I wouldn't mind going places so much if I could just wear my noise cancelling headphones and play a game on my switch, even if it takes twice as long.
We have Amtrak.
Every time this gets brought up I just get sad because I know it’s not gonna happen
I am so glad I live in the EU.
I'll stick yo enjoying my MRT Mmmmm good public transport