Breaking the plutocratic political roadblock to high speed rail would be a step in the right direction. Total travel time between some major US cities would be reduced compared to air by fast rail. Poor, unreliable Amtrak takes a backseat to freight. I got around urban and rural Japan with ease on a variety of trains, so it is not a p…
Breaking the plutocratic political roadblock to high speed rail would be a step in the right direction. Total travel time between some major US cities would be reduced compared to air by fast rail. Poor, unreliable Amtrak takes a backseat to freight. I got around urban and rural Japan with ease on a variety of trains, so it is not a pipedream. Modern Republicanism puts corporate profits first and public (including environmental) interests last.
I had the same experience living in Germany. I could seamlessly travel from a small village on the western edge of Germany to the Frankfurt airport. One change of trains with about a 20 minute wait. Step off the train in the basement of the airport. If we put a dollar value on the lives lost to traffic accidents, rail would look cheap by comparison without even considering the environmental costs.
But would the existing rail system be able to accommodate high speed trains? Or would an entirely new rail system be necessary, or at least wholesale replacement of existing rails?
A lot of expensive new rail infrastructure would be required. The cost to build roads in Virginia 12 years ago are in the above link. You will be shocked.
Breaking the plutocratic political roadblock to high speed rail would be a step in the right direction. Total travel time between some major US cities would be reduced compared to air by fast rail. Poor, unreliable Amtrak takes a backseat to freight. I got around urban and rural Japan with ease on a variety of trains, so it is not a pipedream. Modern Republicanism puts corporate profits first and public (including environmental) interests last.
I had the same experience living in Germany. I could seamlessly travel from a small village on the western edge of Germany to the Frankfurt airport. One change of trains with about a 20 minute wait. Step off the train in the basement of the airport. If we put a dollar value on the lives lost to traffic accidents, rail would look cheap by comparison without even considering the environmental costs.
But would the existing rail system be able to accommodate high speed trains? Or would an entirely new rail system be necessary, or at least wholesale replacement of existing rails?
https://www.virginiadot.org/business/resources/gasb-roadway_values.pdf
A lot of expensive new rail infrastructure would be required. The cost to build roads in Virginia 12 years ago are in the above link. You will be shocked.