And the 375 miles are the profitable routes in the NE where you can get to 150 mph. Tell me how people won't use that elsewhere
I’ve come around to torbee’s way of thinking on trains
- Thread starter Tenacious E
- Start date
Correct. Imagine how much more of a disaster Amtrak would be if they had to build and maintain all of it!
Building roads is infrastructure, but rail is not?
You have not ridden a train?
Are ferry terminals infrastructure?
Why are cars and airlines golden?
Over 40% of the annual ridership are on those routes. They actually turn a profit
How much does the Interstate road system build/maintain per quarter without subsidies?
The Flyway bus system that runs from the Valley to LA EX and points between is busy as heck, timely, reliable and affordable.
Provide good service and it will be utilized.
Most opposition to trains eventually quotes cost. It never compares costs of roadway or airline traffic including subsidies.
Thanks to subsidies and the fact 1 out of 6 Americans live in the NE corridor. It works for that part of the country but DC to BOS is a unique part of the country. It is not repeatable.
You're comparing California and Iowa? Haha. The bus here is brand new, has free wireless and costs like 5 bucks. And runs every half an hour. It's empty.
If you could create a route to go from Omaha to Chicago averaging even 100 mph you'd have ridership. Imagine getting to Chicago from Des Moines in 3 hours.
Yes, people will ride. But not enough to make money. I know it would be cool, but it ain’t happening.
Sure, and I 100% get the land area/density difference. But I’m not dreaming of going from NY to LA via train here, rather starting small with localized, major corridor routes. Then build from there.
The poster who mentioned Houston-to-DFW not getting off the ground is a bummer reality check, I’ll acknowledge.
I get some people will always prefer driving, and that’s cool. But I’ll choose high speed train every day of the week (insert joke here). I love strolling onto the train, actually having time to stow bags and get settled, unfolding that center table to prop my book up or do some writing, or just stretching the ol’ legs and zoning out to the scenery. To me it’s idyllic.
- Sep 13, 2002
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Correct. And all your moms are the box cars I’m coming up behind.
The problem is you have to add in stops to make it profitable.
When I drove to Amsterdam it took 3 hours to get my hotel. The hotel I used was actually preset close to the train station, probably just a fifteen minute walk. But then add in the train ride took over four and a half hours and the 30 plus minutes it took to get to the train station, get tickets, wait for the train, etc….
A three hour drive took over five hours on train.
Correct, United has held EAS contracts for example for years to serve Sioux City, Mason City, Ft Dodge, Waterloo, Ottumwa, etc. That provides essential service from small rural communities.
However, you cannot compare that to the conversation to connect larger metros together. That’s apples vs oranges.
Unless….you want to propose a like-for-like argument and subsidize rail service between Ft Dodge and Chicago when they already have a direct air link subsidized.
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