What happened to our national passenger train system like Amtrak.
I remember catching the train. It was fun. You saw the country. It was elegant. I was a kid and I learned geograpy. If you ask a kid what is the capital of their state they don't know. If ask kids from where they live what is the distance to Washington. They don't know. I remember taking the train with my Mother and Grandfather. I was given a map and a compass. It was cheap and educational. Every country makes sure their mass transit locally and national is used and taken care of. We are stupid to forfeit our use of mass transit. Even in the UK you take the bus, train or trolley. Gas has gone up because we don't use mass transit. I ride mass transit in every city and country I go to. I can see the world better that way with less cost.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert (Bobby) Wilson on -
Amtrak cannot compete with all of the money making coal and general freight trains on the largely single track system in the spacious US. The trains were pretty busy during WWII carrying troops and supplies. There was a joke in Amarillo at that time that the trains were only on time when they were 24 or 48 hours late.
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Permalink Reply by A Thompson on -
Thank you for your reply but shouldn't we seriously look at updating our national passenger trains? I was watching a program where we transport new cars by train because it is cheaper than transporting them by truck. Should we really let our national passenger trains slip away? Every country finds a way to make their passenger train system better an faster because it is cheaper than using buses, cars and cabs. I think it is a great learning experience. We throw away everything. Maybe that is why we have so much garbage?
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Permalink Reply by Dale Nelson on -
Trains should be a part of any solution. Trains can be electrified. Appears to be already the case in most of the first world. Japan runs bullet trains on electric power. When I was a kid, rode trains that ran at 120 mph.
Putting long haul loads on trains are the only way to get goods and produce moved economically now. Truck drivers are going broke with $5 diesel.
How about passenger trains in the middle of the interstates? Chicago already does that. Drivers sit stuck in traffic while trains zoom past.
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Permalink Reply by Daryl Oster on -
The reason trains displaced horses and ox carts is because they provided more transportation benefits per dollar than muscle powered transportation did. In 1835 more than 90% of Americans traveled between cities by muscle power (walking or horse). By 1910 trains were moving over 90% of Americans between major cities. Now less than 1% of Americans travel between cities by train; the reason is the vastly superior transportation value that cars and aircraft offer. It took about 35 years for most of this shift to occur.
It is already PROVEN that trains offer LESS value, so we cannot hope to go back to using trains; (in spite of the lies promulgated by the rail industry to convince city after city in the US to build rail system after rail system that go mostly unused, and require billions of dollars in government subsidy to keep in operation).
The ONLY way to displace cars and jets from the market is to innovate NEW transportation methods that offer vastly better transportation value than cars and jets do. if you click on my name you will find information on a new form of trannsportation that offers such value.
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Permalink Reply by Dale Nelson on
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Here in Los Angeles the trains are jammed. As gas is about 4.50 a gallon and rising, the trains look like a better deal. For LA the alternative to maintaining and expanding the train network is bigger roads. Which is not a real viable alternative. We have expressways all over the place that are frequently parking lots. One other feature of live here: many jobs do not come with free parking. Paying 8 to 40 dollars a day to park makes public transit a viable alternative.
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Permalink Reply by Daryl Oster on
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They only look like a better deal because the taxpayers foot most of the bill.
www.publicpurpose.com has many links and facts on the cost of trains.
Lancaster University in England did a study that shows that the more efficient cars are more efficent than trains, and the new jets are more efficient than HSR.
Trains must park too -- again the taxpayers foot the bill for the very expensive facilities.
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Permalink Reply by Debra Goldenberg on -
BART trains in the Bay Area are packed, too. We almost have a viable system with Caltrain, ACE train, BART and SF Muni subway and regional buses. It's possible to travel to any main destination without a car.
LA and SF used to have a very good trolley system. We didn't choose to abandon them, they were bought out by a collusion of rubber, auto and oil companies.
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Permalink Reply by DubleDeuce on -
I remember taking the train with my Mother and Grandfather. I was given a map and a compass.>> HA HA. Todays traveling kid would be put on an airplane and given an iPod and a GPS. He would associate the distance from his house to Washington, DC as in hours and minutes. His ONLY experience with a trolley will be the people transporter from the jetway to the baggage claim.
That old and pleasant sound of the clickity clak of the rails as the train hurdled into the night, is not to be graced upon the ear of our youth in todays world. A true shame.
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Permalink Reply by A Thompson on
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I was thinking of a quote by Theodore Roosevelt about how politiciatian and leader should veiw their roles. Theodore Roosevelt said, "This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in." I pray that we remember his words. I only thought the need of all out weighs the need of one. I am from New York. Trains and Buses are necessary and common. I say lets not throw our great rail works aside because they are old. The UK kept their rails going and improved on it. It makes to cheap to get around and it is green friendly. We need to think of the need of all. I have had a stroke very young so I type with a failing eye. Please forgive the errors. Thank you for sharing.
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Permalink Reply by Debra Goldenberg on
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A bullet train is being planned for travel from Sacramento/SF to LA/San Diego.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0204/p03s01-usgn.html
Advantages are not only saving gas, but avoiding the hassle of airports and twice as fast as driving along dull hwy 5.
And consider this, stated by the article:
"...the cost may be half of other alternatives for transporting a projected 68 million riders by 2020.
To move the same people by car and/or plane would require $82 billion of upgrades, including 2,970 additional miles of freeway lanes, 60 new airport gates and five new runways, the report says."
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Permalink Reply by A Thompson on
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Interesting because with the pricee to fly and the price for just luggage and fuel for individual cars maybe the trains my cut down of mass fuel intake. I notice in all the other countries they use their rails and buses. We are the only country that does not build on of mass transit systems.
Thank you for sharing the article. Can you tell me more about it. How do you feel about it?
Thanks for the link.
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Permalink Reply by Debra Goldenberg on
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I don't know a lot of the details, it comes up in our news every now and again as they debate how we are going to pay for it, and they just recently decided on the route through to the bay area, two were in contention. There has been some outcry from environmentalists that the route they picked goes through basically a nature preserve, but most everyone else is fine with the choice.
The sense I get is that most Californians would like to see this built, to varying degrees of enthusiasm. I think its great (you will notice my bias for rail travel, I think it offers a very good alternative to our clogged roads) and for all the reasons I stated. I think it's worth putting our money into. We've let Europe and Japan get too far ahead of us on high speed, we need to catch up, that is my feeling.
But here is more info, this is the official website: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
As the article stated, we will be voting on a ballot measure in November to provide the first $10 billion in funding through bonds, so there will most likely be some heated arguments coming along with that.
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