Why The US Has No High-Speed Rail

[frush11]

When my wife and I were dating, we would take Amtrak back and forth between NC and Alexandria. shyt would take 4 hours and may be delayed due to them using CSX's tracks. I remember them mufukkas saying a train slated to leave at 730 was delayed until 2PM

The potential of getting to a destination over 200 miles away in an hour would be a blessing, especially if you don't live near an airport. I suspect there's some going on though bc the possibility of folks living in rural areas but able to work in urban areas? Might throw off them voting numbers lol

Also will completely fukk up the housing markets. Less people moving to big cities.

 

[gldnone913]

whats Wild is the shyt with rail has been going on since forever. Take Amtrak along the north east and all of the tracks just happen to go thru poor areas with some very small exceptions. And when it does go thru and affluent city center, the tracks are underground or tucked away along part of the coastline where you can’t build shyt.

CSX has rail in a headlock and only a buyout or the govt Debo-ing them is going to change things. shyt is shameful when you have something like the Shinkansen in Japan with ZERO casualties in like 50+ years and we can barely get a train set to go 70MPH max speed.

shyt is crazy....going north of DC is a totally different experience. Train moving, quick stops....much more relaxing. Meanwhile, CSX has to pay Amtrak for every minute their trains are late due to them lol.

 

[gldnone913]

Also will completely fukk up the housing markets. Less people moving to big cities.

Yeah....an influx of mufukkas moving to rural areas would throw a wrench into a lot of shyt

 

[Michael's Black Son]

shyt is crazy....going north of DC is a totally different experience. Train moving, quick stops....much more relaxing. Meanwhile, CSX has to pay Amtrak for every minute their trains are late due to them lol.

I already feel like the train makes too many stops north of DC. That shyt needs to be DC, Baltimore, Philly, Newark, NYC and then have the train keep going. For whatever reason there’s always a little layover in NYC no matter the train so them folks going to Boston are outta luck unless NY is their originating stop.

 

[UberEatsDriver]

This shyt goes all the way back to ford. He purposely sabotaged public transportation and went to war against it across the country in order to sell cars/create a car culture in America. You can't do shyt in this country for the general public without someone calling you a communist, anti-american or softie who hates money. In large part because a bunch of insanely rich motherfukkers in the late 18th/early 19th century decided to sow all of it up behind them for security.

Don’t forget about Robert Moses who kept the tradition alive.

 

[UberEatsDriver]

fukk CSX

 

[BlackMajik]

1 Milly

 

[ryda518]

I'm so jealous

I literally said the same thing

I knew they was good but not that good

 

[Jblaze204]

fukk CSX

What's that? I tried to Google but i still don't understand

 

[Crayola Coyote]

Rick Scott fukked it up.

The Orlando-Tampa portion was supposed to be the first HSR project in the country to serve as a showcase for other regions back around 2010. It was supposed to connect the 2 tourist cities so vacationers could hit both in the same trip cause it would be a 40 min ride between them. Then the next phases would’ve connected Miami, Jacksonville, and ATL.

That skeletal piece of shyt Rick Scott cancelled it even though it was approved by the outgoing legislature of Dems and Repubs. The only reason he did it was because he didn’t want Obama to get a political W for something “socialist.”

He made up some shyt about not doing it because of cost overruns. Then 3 corporations stepped up and said they would eat any cost overruns because it would ultimately help them make more money and he still nixed it. The business community wanted it too.

Dude is pure scum.

only in Florida

 

[BlackMajik]

Five-point plan aims to accelerate US high-speed development

Biden often uses Amtrak services and the plan looks to build on his campaign promise to “spark the second great railroad revolution” in the US.

USHSR’s five-point high-speed rail plan comprises:

1 Create a new High-Speed Rail Development Authority within the US Department of Transport (USDOT) to direct and coordinate the national programme, working closely with the states. The authority would be tasked with initiating new high-speed rail projects, conducting route studies, filing for permits, assembling land, hiring contractors and consultants, and hiring concessionaires to operate the trains. This includes streamlining the approvals process by allowing simultaneous approvals, shortened timelines, and single agency approvals.

2 Identify and designate the nation’s top five high-speed rail priority projects as “special projects of national significance.” These projects would be fast-tracked to completion with the full support of the federal government.

USHSR’s five proposed projects are:

• California high-speed rail – $US 60bn
• Texas high-speed rail – $US 20bn
• Northeast Corridor (NEC) upgrade, New York City tunnels – $US 50bn
• Cascadia high-speed rail (Vancouver – Seattle – Portland) – $US 40bn, and
• Florida high-speed rail (Tampa – Orlando) – $US 2.5bn.

3 Select second-tier projects to receive funding and assistance for early works, including planning, route studies, permits, land acquisition, and pre-construction works.

USHSR proposed projects include:

• Chicago – Milwaukee – $US 8bn
• Atlanta – Charlotte – $US 18bn
• Denver – Albuquerque – $US 40bn
• Nashville – Memphis – $US 15bn
• Chicago – Detroit – $US 30bn
• Phoenix – Tucson – $US 12bn, and
• Kansas City – St Louis – $US 19bn.

4 Coordinate closely on transit-oriented development (TOD) planning with local cities and jurisdictions to maximise community and economic development opportunities brought by new high-speed stations.

TOD combines regional planning, city revitalisation, suburban renewal, smart growth, and walkable neighbourhoods. USHSR says directly coordinating the land development around high-speed rail stations will maximise community and property benefits.

5 Work with the airlines and airports to replace short-haul flights with high-speed rail and extend high-speed lines to major airports. Encourage partnerships with airlines on combined tickets for trips with part of the journey on a train and part on an aeroplane. USHSR says this would begin to reshape the US domestic travel market, making travel easier, faster, and greener while also benefiting the airlines and airports who could better utilise their facilities for longer-distance flights.

“We look forward to working closely with the new Biden-Harris administration on rolling out a national high-speed rail network,” says USHSR president, Mr Andy Kunz. “For decades Joe Biden has proven to be one of rail’s great leaders. We’re ready to work with him, congress, governors, and the American people to get many new systems built across this great nation so everyone can ride them.”

 

[BlackMajik]

Ugh I can't wait to travel again, I wanna go to Europe and ride the trains already

 

[BlackMajik]

Some recent High Speed Rail news and articles

High-speed rail would get $205B boost via new bill

America needs high-speed rail

All Aboard: Why high-speed rail is the future of transportation in the U.S., Wisconsin



Gen Z’s high-speed rail meme dream, explained

 

[Action Mike]

Don't get excited, those new lines will take decades to complete

 

[Rell Lauren]

Don't get excited, those new lines will take decades to complete

With the unions leading the way.

To sum it up succinctly, we don't have high speed rail b/c people truly underestimate how large this country is. It is 3,000 miles from West to East. In Europe, you can drive through multiple countries in one, 24 hour period. You can't do that here. It is more economical and convenient to fly than it is to ride by rail or drive.