Bigger and heavier trucks damage roads. Railroads own thei track network and have an incentive to minimize wear. Trucks use PUBLIC road systems and have less incentive.
Bullcrap, there's an incentive for truck to minimize wear and is called maximum permitted weight per axle and you get fines in the order of 1000's of dollars if you exceed that even by 1kg, the US maximum weight per axle is around 7 metric tons per Axle, and that's 5 tones lower than in Germany or France, and 2.3 tons lower than in anywhere outside NAFTA, the weight of a 18 wheeler truck in the USA in around 34 tons while in germany is 60 tons and in anywhere outside NA is 45 tons. The reason roads are awful in many parts of the US is just because the Standard for roads are much lower than in Germany, a german road uses a 2 meter deep multilayer compacted rock, gravel, sand and earth foundation and is paved with 50cm of reinforced concrete i live in a country where roads are private funded and build and the roads are shit, they use less than 10cm of concrete in a merely worked ground surface and they crack in less than 5 years
False. Many of our freeways and major highways have weigh stations, and they would give you penalties that could exceed thousands of dollars for exceeding weight limit. The reason why American roads are in a derelict state is because building standards are inferior to European standards. Meanwhile, the FHWA imposes the strictest road safety standards in the world, but you still have a higher road fatality rate than in most of Europe, since people learn to drive at a younger age and they get less vetting from the DMV, which is why driving in Europe is safer
The Federal Reserve announced it will hold interest rates near zero. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke Thursday saying, “the outlook for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on the success of efforts to keep the virus in check.” th-cam.com/video/U_1PDPKaljk/w-d-xo.html
I really can't agree more as to how much more efficient trains are compared to trucks. However, I believe that trains will get a short term advantage in the near future as we run out of oil since tracks can be electrified and powered with solar power whereas a proper substitute for diesel for traditional trucks or battery powered trucks are a long way off. I loved this video a lot!
I am for trains, they are very fuel efficient to carry all that material across the country. I would like the option to attach passenger cars behind freight trains, you only need a few of them in comparison to the whole train. The other option is to have a custom flatbed rail car whose purpose is to carry an RV with passenger inside.
interesting, freight trains do not appear often on the media, as perhaps they are not considered very cool, yet they remain one of the key transportation modes
@@Phazon8058MS hahaha I've worked the tracks from Winnipeg to Armstrong and your comment made my day. Nothing like trying to get onto dugald rd with a cn train coming in or leaving Symington yard lol.
@@nakinajay As much as trains can be really annoying, there's something quintessentially Winnipeg about waiting 15 minutes for a train to pass, only for another train to start coming from the other way just as the first train ends.
1,5 for miles, 1,8 for nautical miles, 3,7 for gallons and 0.3 for feet. 4 factors you gotta know, its not that difficult. the rest is training and gets easier every time.
*Not without mistakes, sadly.* For example, the author is shockingly unaware that economies can only be compared by PPP GDP, not by nominal one, which is useless. To show just how absurd nominal comparisons are, it is enough to look at the UK in recent years. Nominally, the UK's GDP is ruined due to the UK pound/USD ratio drastically flatting. In reality, the economy of the UK did not fall at all.
@@Andreas4696 Unfortunately, not fine. It distorts viewers' perception quite a bit both in general and in railways business specifically. For example, judging from the nonsensical nominal GDP Russia should be of no interest but in reality, Russia's actual/PPP GDP is about as big as Germany's (though in reality is bigger since the Russian economy has way higher percentage of "grey" economy still, making it a top-five global economy) and specifically, in railways, it is in top five in terms of amounts of cargo carried via railways and number one in terms of distances (tonne-kilometre). And, of course, China is number one in terms of the amounts of cargo carried via railways (tonnes), which is tied to its number one position in PPP GDP. The system of railways in the USA is unique so it certainly deserves a separate video but it should have been noted that it is not like how railways work in the world; for that, China or Russia should have been considered as the strongest examples. So it would be interesting to see another video on this.
Semiramis Bonaparte actually most of the track that Amtrak runs on is owned by freight companies. For instance at 4:06 when he says Chicago to Seattle, that’s the same route the empire builder goes. That is owned by bnsf. Probably the same thing with the California zyphyr and Texas eagle.
Tropicalfire correct. The Crescent from New Orleans to NYC runs Norfolk Southern track. Amtrak only owns a small bit of their own track in the northeast, and leases track from other class ones.
I find it interesting that this so reversed between Europe and the US. I once read a statement along the lines of "In the United States, cars move people and trains move freight, while in Europe, trains move people and trucks move freight." This is of course massively simplified, but there is some truth to it. Passenger rail is scarce in the US while there are few freight trains in Europe (which are apparently also a lot shorter). This might have to do with good passenger rail infrastructure in Europe that makes those trains, which are a higher priority, occupy the tracks. And high speed rail lines are in most cases not even allowed to be used by freight trains.
Mostly, the reason why freight trains in Western Europe are not as dominant, is: 1. Train tracks are used more, sometimes up to 11 scheduled passenger trains per hour per direction plus others (freight, empty stock). Fitting other trains in is more difficult. 2. Direct result of (1) is that you cannot run such long trains, because they are very slow to start up. If an American train goes in an emergency brake application, it would probably take half an hour to get it starting again. In The Netherlands, that would cancel 5 passenger trains, leading to prompt parlementary enquetes... 3. Since distances here are shorter, the trucks can often offer more direct routes. 4. For its area, Europe has more harbours, since more of the continent is close to the sea. Therefore, distances to harbours are shorter, so you can truck easy. 5. Europa has more inland rivers, so containers are often transported on barges (mostly on the Rhine). And there are probably even more reasons.
Well I am from Germany. And the ICE (intercity express, passenger train) goes up to 300km/h = 190mil/h. Since Germany is not that big you are nearly always faster by train than by car. If you book your ticket 2 month ahead of time you do only pay around 23 euros to get to anywhere in Germany in around 4-7 hours. Since we pay a lot for gas it's especially alone cheaper to get from a to b by train. Well since you first have to get your freight from a ship onto a train and after driving for a short time the freight needs to go on a truck, there are not many distances where it's worth it to but your freight on a train first. Although a lot of freight gets to Germany from the Rotterdam harbor or from other countries which are although very close.
The density of freight trains depends heavily on the country and it's government. Some governments (prime example: germany's) always talk about getting more freight around by train, whilst actually doing the opposite, whilst other countries like Switzerland or Austria tend to invest heavily in their railroad infrastructure and having less and less trucks on the highways. The EU is funding railroads which they consider as being important heavily, especially those going through rough terrain. By doing so it tries to put international freight services on trains rather than trucks (for obvious reasons).
@CK AK Flying is cheaper in Europe than in the US actually, Ryanair consistantly has fares for 10 Euros or less, so I don't think that's the reason. It just has to be competitive.
In my opinion I don't believe there is a shortage just a lack of people with common sense, they'll not pay attention during the class they have to take and when the breakdown they also have an emotional brake down, my dad has worked as a truck driver since around 07 and tells me all about the stuff he deals with
my impression is that few people want to start a career as a truck driver these days since it is widely believed this is a job that will very soon be automated
7:03 Every single railroad company intersects at Chicago. That’s one impressive transport hub, I can’t even imagine the city planning needed and logistics of that.
Chicago has historically been the train city of the us due to being a major commercial hotspot for the country, (although that has been changing over the decades)
At one time they had six major railroad stations to serve all the passenger trains. Union Station Northwestern Station Lasalle Street Station Dearborn Station Grand Central Station Central Station I'm not even sure if there's even a map of Chicago's rail network at its peak, there's too many lines
Also, you can sail cargo ships from Chicago to either the Atlantic Ocean or down to the Gulf of Mexico. This is true of all the Great Lake cities, and of course ship sizes are limited compared to ocean cargo, but it’s a factor. Just amazing that the entire Great Lakes network is linked both down to the Mississippi and east to the st Lawrence
In Sweden where I live, 80% of all the tracks is electrified so the "1 gallon per ton of freight" fuel consumption is a lot less since our energy grid is based on mostly hydropower and nuclear energy Edit: But since it's electrified then you're not able to stack containers on top of each other
In India you can stack a container on a container even in electrified routes. Passenger trains dont operate in those routes. moreover India also has double decker trains.
@@krishnamohansharma7705 yeah we also have dubble decker passenger trains but they are only just tall enough to fit between the train and the cable. So at the moment, you only have room for one container
according to the video, most tracks are private owned by freight companies in the US they appear to be single line cheap tracks, because they transport low value freight radicaly different from smaller countries that focus on high value passengers cars they build more expensive double and express electrified lanes
This has been one of Wendover's most informative videos and so many things make sense in its context. Like coal being $34/ton no wonder we love burning it!
@@GodlyHawks burning coal is way cheaper (at first glance) than investing in renewables, but in the long term, nations suffer from enviromental damages and air pollution because of diseases that occur more often under these circumstandes and which cause costs for society
@@GodlyHawks Coal is dead. Met coal has a future. Steel Mills won't being the jobs back like they did on the past, just more mechanized. Mingo Junction fired back up on the river. The future of the area is in natural gas, plastic production and hopefully the industry will follow lower energy prices and proximity to resources.
@@Makoto778 Most don't do it for the views at all, these riders look like migrants to me. Most modern riders ride for freedom and as an ultra-low cost travel form. Its a surprisingly deep subject with loads of history tied to it.
I don't think it would be cost effective. But many people would want to go on a train from a freight terminal on the west coast to a freight terminal near Chicago on a train that takes nearly a week. There would have to be enough passengers to cover ticket infrastructure, changes to allow members of the public at the stations, the cost of the wagon or wagons and one more crew member in each shift
Mayank Vashisht I do compare it to long distance trains in Europe, and its the other way around. European services dont even come close to the American standards, as US companies have to go that extra mile to win over customers or the customers will just fly or drive. In Europe people have way less options, and railway companies know this. And you heard this from a European who lives in the EU. Sounds like you just made an anti-US comment that somehow fits your narrative.
Having just ridden Amtrak's City of New Orleans route from NO to Chicago, it's not hard to see why long distance passenger service is failing. While I loved the trip, I can't imagine doing 18 hours in coach class (the drive is ~14 hours). Sleep in the tiny sleeper cabin was fitful at best, and the food was a letdown. Even so, I'm a fan of trains, so I enjoyed the overall journey very much.
Don't know about the U.S but here in India our Gov't is shifting from Diesel to electric trains and the Railway is saving alot. Freight trains are now faster and cleaner than before !
Electric lokomotives have a number of advantages. They are generaly lighter, have a better power to weight ratio, and with the power generated in large scale, dedicated powerplants, they can be overall more efficient, even with transmition losses. With fewer moving parts compared to a diesel engine they are also more reliable and need less maintenance. In addition in mountainous regions, regenerative breaking can be used to get a lot of power back. If you synchronise trains ascending and descending a mountain, the descending train can generate a substantial portion of the energy the ascending one uses. However, there are disadvantages as well: The infrastructure is expensive and vulnerable both to natural events as well as sabotage - you'd think stealing the powerlines is a stupid idea - and it is - but this is actually done. Also you have not insubstatial transmition losses.
Too much track in the US to make that transition. Plus the mountain railroading would require large amounts of energy for electric trains. The current US power grid could not sustain the required output and would have to be expanded significantly to accommodate such a switch.
Ethan Matz On the long haul through sparsely populated areas in the US, the infrastructure costs are clearly too high atm, and in the forseeable future. Maybe, for a few routes where there allready is a lot of infrastructure. However, with rising costs for fossil fuels, the situation might change in a few dacades.
no ships are still more efficient. there is no limit to the size of a ship out site of the fact that it needs a harbour to get in and enough cargo to be so big.
There has been talk about building a bridge across the Bering Strait. That would make it theoretically possible to drive from New York to Paris or even from New York to Johannesburg. th-cam.com/video/VgHJ7qLajWc/w-d-xo.html But the Eurasiaan continent doesn't have an integrated rail system. Even in Australia every state has a different railway system. The gauge or gap between the rails is different in each state.
Europe is connected to Asia by road and rail, and yet they still use shipping through the Suez Canal because its cheaper. That might change some day, but there's the complexity of heaps of international border crossings, language barriers and different train companies and systems, including different gauge (width) railway tracks. Not to mention the wars and the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Even the Internet cables from Europe to Asia just go through the sea.
@@newsgetsold even if Seuze is not a option and they have to go around the cape it is still cheaper do to the bulk. 1 train can carry about 120 containers in one go before it becomes to heavy. 1 ship can carry up to 10.000 containers in one go and even grow bigger the water has no max to carry.
As a Rutherford resident I’d be ok with the incorrect pronunciation if they just acknowledged we’re in NJ. Should be New JERSEY Giants and Jets😒 would love to see him try saying Secaucus 😂
0:37 ... This figure ... "90% of world trade goes by sea" is the most important figure when trying to grasp geopolitics. It's the reason most of the US defense budget goes to the Navy. The nation that dominates the seas get's to call the shots. Which even extends to to the world accepting the dollar as the reserve currency, the petrodollar
Hey I'ma longtime fan just wanted to say Best video ever !! My dad was truck driver for a very long time. He did intermodal last few years of his career. I've been to many train yards around Atlanta with him and this brings me back. I wish he was still alive so I can show him this video :(
2:57 Wow, I had no idea freight trains could get this long! Two to four kilometres! That's crazy. I wonder how long you would have to wait at a railroad crossing to let such a train through! EDIT: 5 years after I left this comment, I now live in North America and have to wait a long time on railroad crossings when one of these trains goes by! (I think the ones I see are more like 1-1.5 km long.)
0:15 "Relatively small countries where one could never be more than a few hundred miles or kilometers from the ocean". Well Germany is pretty away from the ocean. Even if you consider seas which Germany has only on the north(North Sea and Baltic Sea), from the most southern parts to those seas it's around 640km. Probably the distance from the sea/ocean played the role historically in not having so much of colonies.
there are driverless cars already too. And believe me they're going to be much safer then those driven by people- provided they all work under the one system and communicate with each other
@@mateuszpapla there is nothing safe about those driverless death traps, they could easily be hacked! yes they advertise them as safe but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Mr Wendover, your videos are so professional. You put internet links, and you actually take time to read all these paragraphs and shrink the information so the audience can understand it. This is unbelievably hard-to-master skill, and you add subtitles to your videos - that also takes time. You are the most hard-working TH-camr I know. Respect! 👊
1:56 "Trucks, of course, can go anywhere. Trains can only go where there are tracks." Anywhere? Trucks can only go on roads with appropriate height and weight limits. The US having built out a truly all-encompassing series of roads, including but not limited to the Interstate system, is not something to just assume away. It's a big part of why trucking is only 5x as expensive per ton-mile.
The American Interstate highway system is based on Germany's autobahn! General Eisenhower during WW2 saw the efficiency of Germany's autobahn and how they could move their military around the country so easily with their highway that once he got back and was elected President went on to pioneer our Interstate highway system! So, thank you to Germany for the great idea!!!
I genuinely like this video it's made very good and with high quality as someone who works in cargo (maritime) I always wonder where the cargo ends up when we drop it over at port
Public train transport has to happen through public train terminals, which are expensive to build. Freight rail is more accessible from the industrial point of view. I can have rail line going to the back of my warehouse in PA and load up a cart full of coffee beans, but I'm not going to go to the city center to hop on a train out of town. Especially when we all drive to work anyway... which means we have cars. Private transport > Public transport
@@bro589 we have cars here as well, but for many people, no matter if they are commuters or travellers, passenger trains of all kinds are a relevant thing for them. As I had to go to the neighbouring city approximately an hour away I also chose the bus, train and subway above the car
He's moved on from planes to trains, boys
I like it!
That's mustard channel dumbass. Quit getting confused.
Automobiles may be next; oh, the hilarity!
aircraft**** and yeah TREASON
I think you'll find most railfans are also avgeeks, and vice versa.
Bigger and heavier trucks damage roads. Railroads own thei track network and have an incentive to minimize wear. Trucks use PUBLIC road systems and have less incentive.
Bullcrap, there's an incentive for truck to minimize wear and is called maximum permitted weight per axle and you get fines in the order of 1000's of dollars if you exceed that even by 1kg, the US maximum weight per axle is around 7 metric tons per Axle, and that's 5 tones lower than in Germany or France, and 2.3 tons lower than in anywhere outside NAFTA, the weight of a 18 wheeler truck in the USA in around 34 tons while in germany is 60 tons and in anywhere outside NA is 45 tons.
The reason roads are awful in many parts of the US is just because the Standard for roads are much lower than in Germany, a german road uses a 2 meter deep multilayer compacted rock, gravel, sand and earth foundation and is paved with 50cm of reinforced concrete
i live in a country where roads are private funded and build and the roads are shit, they use less than 10cm of concrete in a merely worked ground surface and they crack in less than 5 years
False. Many of our freeways and major highways have weigh stations, and they would give you penalties that could exceed thousands of dollars for exceeding weight limit. The reason why American roads are in a derelict state is because building standards are inferior to European standards. Meanwhile, the FHWA imposes the strictest road safety standards in the world, but you still have a higher road fatality rate than in most of Europe, since people learn to drive at a younger age and they get less vetting from the DMV, which is why driving in Europe is safer
The Federal Reserve announced it will hold interest rates near zero. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke Thursday saying, “the outlook for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on the success of efforts to keep the virus in check.” th-cam.com/video/U_1PDPKaljk/w-d-xo.html
@@brandenr6073 The main reason european roads are safer isn’t because of better drivers, but rather due to better roads and city planning.
great cinematics. I have always been fascinated by America's freight transportation system.. It's amazing how cheap and fuel efficient they are..
I like trains!
The guy at 2:48 must be on a GTA mission 😂
I really can't agree more as to how much more efficient trains are compared to trucks. However, I believe that trains will get a short term advantage in the near future as we run out of oil since tracks can be electrified and powered with solar power whereas a proper substitute for diesel for traditional trucks or battery powered trucks are a long way off. I loved this video a lot!
I could use one of those trains to haul the knowledge you're distributing
I am for trains, they are very fuel efficient to carry all that material across the country. I would like the option to attach passenger cars behind freight trains, you only need a few of them in comparison to the whole train. The other option is to have a custom flatbed rail car whose purpose is to carry an RV with passenger inside.
interesting, freight trains do not appear often on the media, as perhaps they are not considered very cool, yet they remain one of the key transportation modes
I think you should title this video as how freight trains connect in the usa
This is great
1:23 thats Pittsburgh
I live in Canada and when you see a freight train coming through a rail crossing, you put your car in park. They’re sooooo long. 🤦🏼♀️
leanneland because PSR is a total disaster
Winnipegger?
@@Phazon8058MS hahaha I've worked the tracks from Winnipeg to Armstrong and your comment made my day. Nothing like trying to get onto dugald rd with a cn train coming in or leaving Symington yard lol.
@@nakinajay As much as trains can be really annoying, there's something quintessentially Winnipeg about waiting 15 minutes for a train to pass, only for another train to start coming from the other way just as the first train ends.
@@Phazon8058MS haha yes indeed. Thank you for the reply and wishing you all the best.
Trains? I think you mean *ground planes*
ground planes? I think you mean *landships*
I don't think that means what you think it means...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_plane
What an original joke.
Planes? I think you mean sky trains
@@correctopinion505 Land barge. Land barge is the phrase you want.
Me: it’s midnight and I should sleep
TH-cam: TRAINS PLANES AND AUTOMOBILES BABY
I have never identified with a TH-cam comment this much before
Me too.
OMG same!!! there is a rail track almost right across the street, I usually dont have a problem with planes or automobiles though
then "BOOM! 6AM!"
S
Thank you for including both miles and kilometers. The most annoying thing is having to pause a video to do a math conversion.
1,5 for miles, 1,8 for nautical miles, 3,7 for gallons and 0.3 for feet. 4 factors you gotta know, its not that difficult. the rest is training and gets easier every time.
@@uwootmviii8695 instead we could simply use international system altogether. 0 conversion factors needed.
@@joaotrovaofilho of course!
well..murica..
@@ericolens3 metric is really simple though, that's one of its advantages
I like how he is not smug about it like some other TH-camrs *cough cough Real Engineering*
Transport : EXISTS
Wendover : imma nut
🌰
Haha fucking lit comment dude
Ugly burned 1900 I FINNA BUST
😂😂😂😢😤🥰🤗😂😂😂😚😚😚🤪🤪😀😅😅😀😀😀😄😄
Over my head
One of the few educational youtube channel with citations. This goes underappreciated :(
I love ur videos
They do have 2 million subs.
*Not without mistakes, sadly.* For example, the author is shockingly unaware that economies can only be compared by PPP GDP, not by nominal one, which is useless. To show just how absurd nominal comparisons are, it is enough to look at the UK in recent years. Nominally, the UK's GDP is ruined due to the UK pound/USD ratio drastically flatting. In reality, the economy of the UK did not fall at all.
@@StrangerHappened For the sake of this video, nominal GDP works perfectly fine.
@@Andreas4696 Unfortunately, not fine. It distorts viewers' perception quite a bit both in general and in railways business specifically. For example, judging from the nonsensical nominal GDP Russia should be of no interest but in reality, Russia's actual/PPP GDP is about as big as Germany's (though in reality is bigger since the Russian economy has way higher percentage of "grey" economy still, making it a top-five global economy) and specifically, in railways, it is in top five in terms of amounts of cargo carried via railways and number one in terms of distances (tonne-kilometre). And, of course, China is number one in terms of the amounts of cargo carried via railways (tonnes), which is tied to its number one position in PPP GDP. The system of railways in the USA is unique so it certainly deserves a separate video but it should have been noted that it is not like how railways work in the world; for that, China or Russia should have been considered as the strongest examples. So it would be interesting to see another video on this.
Wow, that's a ton of freight for just four cents!
AdamandRachel O'Connor
Grr, take your thumbs up and leave, please
I could absolutely pay to send a ton of freight across the country myself, but I don’t think that I even own a ton of goods. Crazy!
But how much for cruise ships though?...
I'd argue with my half ton, just my two cents
Timren1 couple million
Amtrak: ok so I'm going to build some passenger railway.
America: we don't do that here.
wtf are you talking about. There's many passenger railways. Please stop commenting on America if you aren't American
Semiramis Bonaparte actually most of the track that Amtrak runs on is owned by freight companies. For instance at 4:06 when he says Chicago to Seattle, that’s the same route the empire builder goes. That is owned by bnsf. Probably the same thing with the California zyphyr and Texas eagle.
Tropicalfire correct. The Crescent from New Orleans to NYC runs Norfolk Southern track. Amtrak only owns a small bit of their own track in the northeast, and leases track from other class ones.
Semiramis Bonaparte ok I live in America and I agree, are Lassiter System was built for freight not passenger.
Yes, that's why freight train gets priority over passenger trains. And that is why Amtrak and my local(chicago-suburbs metra) are usually late.
There's an idiot driver swerving to exit at 8:32.
It be like that sometimes.
Lmao
* laughs in European *
lol
I-90 on a Friday night is some scary shit lol
Really must appreciate the effort to include both metric and imperial units in the video....!! U're awesome Sam!!!
So you didn’t have the time to type “you” but you did have the time to put an apostrophe?
He probably has a quite large non-American audience (myself included).
Liked for the way you spelled u're
ikr
0:18 "...a few hundred miles or kilometers" There's just something weird about that statement. A few hundred miles or a few hundred kilometers.
I was going to make a joke but I lost my train of thought
try to keep the conversation on track please...
Evidently you need more train-ing
I don't get it
This quickly went off the rails
I was a-freight that would happen.
meanwhile in japan:
JR: "Tracks for passengers and freights are both mine"
What freight?
kof ola JR does freight. But from what I saw last time I was in Japan, it’s mostly intermodal and oil.
Joao Bueno Guimarâes the oil is imported. But you need to get the oil from the ship to places and how are you going to do that?
*high fives in German*
@@ironlynx9512 *then cries in German*
Hummmm not about planes?
The Iron Armenian aka G.I. Haigs it has been a long time since a plane video
trains are just LAND PLANES
Planes were mentioned though
i mean, your not wrong?
Tripp Belcher true
I find it interesting that this so reversed between Europe and the US. I once read a statement along the lines of "In the United States, cars move people and trains move freight, while in Europe, trains move people and trucks move freight." This is of course massively simplified, but there is some truth to it. Passenger rail is scarce in the US while there are few freight trains in Europe (which are apparently also a lot shorter). This might have to do with good passenger rail infrastructure in Europe that makes those trains, which are a higher priority, occupy the tracks. And high speed rail lines are in most cases not even allowed to be used by freight trains.
Mostly, the reason why freight trains in Western Europe are not as dominant, is:
1. Train tracks are used more, sometimes up to 11 scheduled passenger trains per hour per direction plus others (freight, empty stock). Fitting other trains in is more difficult.
2. Direct result of (1) is that you cannot run such long trains, because they are very slow to start up. If an American train goes in an emergency brake application, it would probably take half an hour to get it starting again. In The Netherlands, that would cancel 5 passenger trains, leading to prompt parlementary enquetes...
3. Since distances here are shorter, the trucks can often offer more direct routes.
4. For its area, Europe has more harbours, since more of the continent is close to the sea. Therefore, distances to harbours are shorter, so you can truck easy.
5. Europa has more inland rivers, so containers are often transported on barges (mostly on the Rhine).
And there are probably even more reasons.
Well I am from Germany. And the ICE (intercity express, passenger train) goes up to 300km/h = 190mil/h. Since Germany is not that big you are nearly always faster by train than by car. If you book your ticket 2 month ahead of time you do only pay around 23 euros to get to anywhere in Germany in around 4-7 hours. Since we pay a lot for gas it's especially alone cheaper to get from a to b by train.
Well since you first have to get your freight from a ship onto a train and after driving for a short time the freight needs to go on a truck, there are not many distances where it's worth it to but your freight on a train first.
Although a lot of freight gets to Germany from the Rotterdam harbor or from other countries which are although very close.
@@marco23p Thanks for the info. I bet one reason is also: Money and lobbying.
The density of freight trains depends heavily on the country and it's government. Some governments (prime example: germany's) always talk about getting more freight around by train, whilst actually doing the opposite, whilst other countries like Switzerland or Austria tend to invest heavily in their railroad infrastructure and having less and less trucks on the highways. The EU is funding railroads which they consider as being important heavily, especially those going through rough terrain. By doing so it tries to put international freight services on trains rather than trucks (for obvious reasons).
@CK AK Flying is cheaper in Europe than in the US actually, Ryanair consistantly has fares for 10 Euros or less, so I don't think that's the reason. It just has to be competitive.
There is no shortage of truck drivers... there's only a shortage of truck drivers who will work for the shit pay
there is a shortage of both
In my opinion I don't believe there is a shortage just a lack of people with common sense, they'll not pay attention during the class they have to take and when the breakdown they also have an emotional brake down, my dad has worked as a truck driver since around 07 and tells me all about the stuff he deals with
Yeup, same tune, diffrent lyrics in the Airlines. Companies need to change, or get real good at automation.
I thought it was funny as shit when he mentioned driverless trucks. I would love to see a driverless truck back up to a crowded dock.
my impression is that few people want to start a career as a truck driver these days since it is widely believed this is a job that will very soon be automated
It's amazing how cheap and fuel efficient they are.
In india almost every train is run by electric locomotive
economy of scale
@@prakashjha6388 Those are diesel electric 😂
You pronounced both "Wenatchee" and "Spokane" perfectly. As a resident of eastern Washington, I'm impressed.
scwt89 Washingtonians unite!
scwt89 he said Lathrop California wrong tho, its supposed to sound like “Lay-Throp” not “Lah-throp”
He did mispronounce Norfolk, NE. As any Nebraska native will tell you, its pronounced "Nor-FORK"
He pronounced Kearny NJ wrong though lol. It's pronounced like car-ny
He pronounced Glasgow, as a scot from Glasgow this make me happy
WENDOVER LOGISTIC/ TRANSPORT
He needs to form a consulting firm for himself if he hasn't already.
transport tycoon!
@@alveolate Yes was looking for this comment
@@TireFill i just picture the soundtrack playing when i watch wendover
Commenting this from a train
Show of
@@ftse07 *off
@Grant C. *000fff
th-cam.com/video/uKWcIaJtS6Q/w-d-xo.html
Amtrak?
Relationship ended with Planes.
Now trains are Wendover's best friend
What can I say?
They *coupled* together
*FACEPALM*
@@Lord_Magikarp Ba dum tsss
7:03 Every single railroad company intersects at Chicago.
That’s one impressive transport hub, I can’t even imagine the city planning needed and logistics of that.
Chicago has historically been the train city of the us due to being a major commercial hotspot for the country, (although that has been changing over the decades)
At one time they had six major railroad stations to serve all the passenger trains.
Union Station
Northwestern Station
Lasalle Street Station
Dearborn Station
Grand Central Station
Central Station
I'm not even sure if there's even a map of Chicago's rail network at its peak, there's too many lines
Historically there were dozens of railroads that all intersected there.
St Louis is another good one
Also, you can sail cargo ships from Chicago to either the Atlantic Ocean or down to the Gulf of Mexico. This is true of all the Great Lake cities, and of course ship sizes are limited compared to ocean cargo, but it’s a factor.
Just amazing that the entire Great Lakes network is linked both down to the Mississippi and east to the st Lawrence
Finally someone else who respects American freight trains, that’s my dream job, is operating them.
Csx is hiring now, many locations. Get your application in
@@joker2668 Yeah I’ve seen lots of ads for it. Thanks for the information. However, I apologize, I am under 18.
@@meme-xn6wr patience
@@bradleybaker8872 That’s the plan, thank you. (Intended to be nice, and not rude)
Good for you bro! Hope you get there soon!!!
The Planes of the Rails.
The rails of planes.
The planes of the land
seems like we americans only care about oil
We've learned about Planes and Automobiles, now we finally get to learn about Trains. the classic P,T, and A
One of his first and most popular videos was all about why Trains suck in America
Can we have a video on planes? I'm getting blue balled here.
True
I actually want another "this country's geography problem" video.
Blue balled by a 777 9X...
In Sweden where I live, 80% of all the tracks is electrified so the "1 gallon per ton of freight" fuel consumption is a lot less since our energy grid is based on mostly hydropower and nuclear energy
Edit: But since it's electrified then you're not able to stack containers on top of each other
In India you can stack a container on a container even in electrified routes. Passenger trains dont operate in those routes. moreover India also has double decker trains.
@@krishnamohansharma7705 yeah we also have dubble decker passenger trains but they are only just tall enough to fit between the train and the cable. So at the moment, you only have room for one container
high speed lines need lower aspect ratio cabins
stacking is fine for freight because lower speed helps in reducing costs
but not so for passengers
according to the video, most tracks are private owned by freight companies in the US
they appear to be single line cheap tracks, because they transport low value freight
radicaly different from smaller countries that focus on high value passengers cars
they build more expensive double and express electrified lanes
@@zazugee stacking passengers works great ... guess why there are so many double-deck passenger trains, both in the regional and in the HSR sector
This has been one of Wendover's most informative videos and so many things make sense in its context. Like coal being $34/ton no wonder we love burning it!
Haskie
It’s been the only thing keeping poor West Virginia afloat since the steel industry died off.
@@GodlyHawks the amount you're saving by burning coal is taken by increasing health costs
@@GodlyHawks burning coal is way cheaper (at first glance) than investing in renewables, but in the long term, nations suffer from enviromental damages and air pollution because of diseases that occur more often under these circumstandes and which cause costs for society
@@GodlyHawks Coal is dead. Met coal has a future. Steel Mills won't being the jobs back like they did on the past, just more mechanized. Mingo Junction fired back up on the river. The future of the area is in natural gas, plastic production and hopefully the industry will follow lower energy prices and proximity to resources.
Freight trains connect my nation to China, which helps my glorious nation prosper. My trains are the best trains
You sure they wont crash on their way to Seoul?
You are the last people in the world to use war trains. You should get some type of reward for that
That sounds like trump said it. Even the part about China.
North Korean leaders famously love trains. Your dad was afraid of planes, so he always use trains, even when he went to Russia on an official visit
How many carriages of your train are devoted to concubines?
Nobody:
Wendover: TRAINS
Nobody:
You: Random TH-cam comment
Nobody:
Sethbling:
MINECARTS
Nobody:
OP: "Wendover: TRAINS"
Me: I thought it says "TARS".
At 2:48, someone's riding on the train
Freight hopping..... dangerous and illegal yet people do it just to enjoy the views.
Yep... someone riding on top and tunnel coming :) I wonder how this all ended
snitch
@@Makoto778 Most don't do it for the views at all, these riders look like migrants to me. Most modern riders ride for freedom and as an ultra-low cost travel form. Its a surprisingly deep subject with loads of history tied to it.
that man is a real madlad
The title should have been:
How freight train connect the US
Agree!
I totally agree
Agree!
Yeaaaa
So, yeah, *the world.* 😏
Long distance freight trains should have a comfortable sleeper car for passengers.
*People would pay for such a trip,* if they can see landscapes.
Amtrak runs passenger trains with sleeper cars on cross country trips
I don't think it would be cost effective. But many people would want to go on a train from a freight terminal on the west coast to a freight terminal near Chicago on a train that takes nearly a week. There would have to be enough passengers to cover ticket infrastructure, changes to allow members of the public at the stations, the cost of the wagon or wagons and one more crew member in each shift
Mayank Vashisht I do compare it to long distance trains in Europe, and its the other way around. European services dont even come close to the American standards, as US companies have to go that extra mile to win over customers or the customers will just fly or drive. In Europe people have way less options, and railway companies know this.
And you heard this from a European who lives in the EU.
Sounds like you just made an anti-US comment that somehow fits your narrative.
@@mayankvashisht6856 premium trains in India like maharaja express are most expensive and most luxurious train ride on planet
Having just ridden Amtrak's City of New Orleans route from NO to Chicago, it's not hard to see why long distance passenger service is failing. While I loved the trip, I can't imagine doing 18 hours in coach class (the drive is ~14 hours). Sleep in the tiny sleeper cabin was fitful at best, and the food was a letdown. Even so, I'm a fan of trains, so I enjoyed the overall journey very much.
He made this video just to talk about the price of planes he’s not switching to trains
"It would take nearly an hour to walk past this train."
It takes nearly an hour for one of those $&#/*& trains to get through an intersection.
Complain to your government they put the road there
*Its time for Thomas to leave, he had seen everything*
Yeah I've seen everything that there has been to see
When Sam constantly upload videos about land, sea and air
*Perfectly balanced, as all things should be*
@@leg10n68 But everything changed when the fire videos attacked
*It was-
th-cam.com/video/6fWUMVdO8fc/w-d-xo.html
Gordon is still pissed about that Japanese "Shinkansen" being the "fastest express" on the island of Sodor
It's not "kEARney", it's pronounced "CAR-KNEE" new jersey lol
And it's not "lah-throp" but "lay-throp"
It's not redcar, it's redcur
I just commented this before I saw that, as a meadowlander I can’t not point it out :)
Lmao I was gonna say the same thing
Yeah, I get he's not from the area, but it still hurt me to hear him say it.
I've wanted a freight train video on this channel for so long. This has absolutely made my day!
Don't know about the U.S but here in India our Gov't is shifting from Diesel to electric trains and the Railway is saving alot. Freight trains are now faster and cleaner than before !
Electric lokomotives have a number of advantages.
They are generaly lighter, have a better power to weight ratio, and with the power generated in large scale, dedicated powerplants, they can be overall more efficient, even with transmition losses. With fewer moving parts compared to a diesel engine they are also more reliable and need less maintenance.
In addition in mountainous regions, regenerative breaking can be used to get a lot of power back.
If you synchronise trains ascending and descending a mountain, the descending train can generate a substantial portion of the energy the ascending one uses.
However, there are disadvantages as well:
The infrastructure is expensive and vulnerable both to natural events as well as sabotage - you'd think stealing the powerlines is a stupid idea - and it is - but this is actually done.
Also you have not insubstatial transmition losses.
Too much track in the US to make that transition. Plus the mountain railroading would require large amounts of energy for electric trains. The current US power grid could not sustain the required output and would have to be expanded significantly to accommodate such a switch.
Fuck you bitch
Ethan Matz
On the long haul through sparsely populated areas in the US, the infrastructure costs are clearly too high atm, and in the forseeable future.
Maybe, for a few routes where there allready is a lot of infrastructure.
However, with rising costs for fossil fuels, the situation might change in a few dacades.
@@GarrusN7 Unlike India, we have nuclear power, gas and abundant of coal. Our grid is doing fine.
I know this is an older video, but Canadian Pacific now also travels from coast to coast, since they bought back their track to St. John, NB.
Well my morning just got a lot better
coolx10249 why
We need to build railroad tracks across the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean to connect us to the other continents
The Alaskan/Russian tunnel is the only way I believe we'll connect the world by rail but even that has it's issues
no ships are still more efficient. there is no limit to the size of a ship out site of the fact that it needs a harbour to get in and enough cargo to be so big.
There has been talk about building a bridge across the Bering Strait. That would make it theoretically possible to drive from New York to Paris or even from New York to Johannesburg. th-cam.com/video/VgHJ7qLajWc/w-d-xo.html
But the Eurasiaan continent doesn't have an integrated rail system. Even in Australia every state has a different railway system. The gauge or gap between the rails is different in each state.
Europe is connected to Asia by road and rail, and yet they still use shipping through the Suez Canal because its cheaper. That might change some day, but there's the complexity of heaps of international border crossings, language barriers and different train companies and systems, including different gauge (width) railway tracks. Not to mention the wars and the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.
Even the Internet cables from Europe to Asia just go through the sea.
@@newsgetsold even if Seuze is not a option and they have to go around the cape it is still cheaper do to the bulk.
1 train can carry about 120 containers in one go before it becomes to heavy.
1 ship can carry up to 10.000 containers in one go and even grow bigger the water has no max to carry.
He's done planes
He's done trains
But he needs to do automobiles
No, fuck cars
@@waabmigizi7369 even supercars?
he's only 1% done with trains. Theres a while left. And since this is a logistics channels he needs to do ships
Trains have one more advantage:
Train carry trucks.
They do that so it’s easier that way when the train arrives at its destination all they need to do is takeoff the trailer and attach a semito it
trailer on flatcar
Kearny, NJ! Jumped out of my seat when I saw my hometown. Soccertown, USA, baby. Future reference: it's pronounced Car-Knee.
As a Rutherford resident I’d be ok with the incorrect pronunciation if they just acknowledged we’re in NJ. Should be New JERSEY Giants and Jets😒 would love to see him try saying Secaucus 😂
Yo I literally get so freaking excited whenever a Wendover vid pops up in my feed🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Who actually dislikes these videos? They're educational videos of exceptional quality. The hell is wrong with those people?
They got no mother
great cinematics. I have always been fascinated by America's freight transportation system.
Fun Fact: The lead locomotive in the thumbnail is a ES44AC/DC/C4
except when it was a blurred out BNSF EMD SD70ACe
Everyone who said “why are they using a train instead of a space ship” in Solo, should watch this video. Fuel ain’t cheap
Ever heard of the Black Mesa and Lake Powell railroad? They had completely automated trains, until the unions ended it.
My dad has worked for BNSF for 20 years. It’s cool to see a video on the rail roads
0:37 ... This figure ... "90% of world trade goes by sea" is the most important figure when trying to grasp geopolitics. It's the reason most of the US defense budget goes to the Navy. The nation that dominates the seas get's to call the shots. Which even extends to to the world accepting the dollar as the reserve currency, the petrodollar
Thomas the Tank Engine would like to know your location
Sodor
🌚
I always appreciate these videos. They’re so well researched and so well illustrated it makes the concepts easy to understand
How freightining
"These countries have some areas over 1000 miles from the coast"
Australia: "So . . . . .next door then"
Meh. Australia has like only one railroad going east-west, so...
@@brandenr6073 That is extremely vital to Australia's economy. Some of Australia's freight trains in Western Australia are around 7 km long.
Australia has three different primary rail gauges. The most popular gauge, Standard gauge, only takes up something like 51% of the rail lines
There is not a single place in Australia that is even 1000 miles from the coast. Australia is big, but it DOES have coastline all around.
Hey I'ma longtime fan just wanted to say Best video ever !!
My dad was truck driver for a very long time. He did intermodal last few years of his career. I've been to many train yards around Atlanta with him and this brings me back.
I wish he was still alive so I can show him this video :(
Missing planes, but trains are welcome also!
Yet another amazing video. As a content creator myself, I highly admire your videos. Keep up the great work.
The moment when you realise that you will never own a real train 😞😟😭😭
There about $5k for the cheapest, and replicas are up to $500 (including hiring someone to do the weathering)
Not with that attitude you wont!
uhh you know you can't own a train? Unless you own track and yeah...
unless that's ironic but yeah
@@frefels2628 many people do, just look up Amtrak with private cars.
2:57 Wow, I had no idea freight trains could get this long! Two to four kilometres! That's crazy. I wonder how long you would have to wait at a railroad crossing to let such a train through!
EDIT: 5 years after I left this comment, I now live in North America and have to wait a long time on railroad crossings when one of these trains goes by! (I think the ones I see are more like 1-1.5 km long.)
It would depend on the speed of the train....
We had waited 7 mins for a train to pass
I've waited 45 minutes before. It was a very slow moving train. Stopped a couple times. That's rural America 😂
@@kaned5543 only 45 min, damn ur lucky. In Canada you wait like an hour for it to pass, and that's if your driving beside it.
Usually on the mainline about 3-5 minutes but when they are leaving or entering a town or rail yard that when the minutes become double digit.
I work for railway driving locomotive in can and we make Canada function for real, your electronics cars and oil is mostly us and all the grain is us
Hahahahaha I’m smart I knew this already
* train enthusiast noises *
0:15 "Relatively small countries where one could never be more than a few hundred miles or kilometers from the ocean". Well Germany is pretty away from the ocean. Even if you consider seas which Germany has only on the north(North Sea and Baltic Sea), from the most southern parts to those seas it's around 640km. Probably the distance from the sea/ocean played the role historically in not having so much of colonies.
Tittle : how freight trains connect the world
Video : train schedule of usa
7:56 Sorry. I'm from that city's county and hearing you say it like that hurts my soul. It's pronounced Car-knee
Finally, someone comments this.
Up next: 🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊
How do carrier pigeons work ..
1 carrier ton of bird doodooo costs
*Trainover Productions*
Trains are looking better than Cars and Planes!!! I AM RIGHT!!!
I Love your content! The focus on logistics and transportation is enlightening, fascinating, and surprisingly entertaining.
Driverless trucks is about the dumbest idea I've ever heard of.
Alexandra Lynn Poyser exactly, I don’t not want 10 ton missile coming at you with nobody to intervene.
there are driverless cars already too. And believe me they're going to be much safer then those driven by people- provided they all work under the one system and communicate with each other
@@mateuszpapla there is nothing safe about those driverless death traps, they could easily be hacked! yes they advertise them as safe but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Mr Wendover, your videos are so professional. You put internet links, and you actually take time to read all these paragraphs and shrink the information so the audience can understand it. This is unbelievably hard-to-master skill, and you add subtitles to your videos - that also takes time. You are the most hard-working TH-camr I know. Respect! 👊
What we see: "How Freight Trains Connect the World"
What Wendover sees: "How Freight Ground Planes Connect the World"
I love American trains. They are big, powerful and beautiful, not like the ugly and dull European trains.
never seen a big powerful Europen train then lol
Greetings from a logistics operations professor from Brazil
Imagine citing 29 sources for a train logistics video
Your train of thought is right on track.
Trains > Planes
I was on an Amtrak train and was delayed because a BNSF driver reached the 12-hour limit. It was the Winter Park Express if your curious.
I know Trains are my specialty
you got to make another collab video with real life lore and real engineering
I see wendover I click.
At 3:42 you can see everything is slanted because that's how the camera works.
I think that's cool
1:56 "Trucks, of course, can go anywhere. Trains can only go where there are tracks."
Anywhere? Trucks can only go on roads with appropriate height and weight limits. The US having built out a truly all-encompassing series of roads, including but not limited to the Interstate system, is not something to just assume away. It's a big part of why trucking is only 5x as expensive per ton-mile.
Do more people live, have shops and businesses near roads or railway tracks?
The American Interstate highway system is based on Germany's autobahn! General Eisenhower during WW2 saw the efficiency of Germany's autobahn and how they could move their military around the country so easily with their highway that once he got back and was elected President went on to pioneer our Interstate highway system! So, thank you to Germany for the great idea!!!
India is constructing a massive Dedicated Freight corridors all over with double stack electric train can run at upto 120 kmph!
I genuinely like this video it's made very good and with high quality as someone who works in cargo (maritime) I always wonder where the cargo ends up when we drop it over at port
So America has bad public transport yet has one of the best freight train network
We just aren't that into train travel.
Public train transport has to happen through public train terminals, which are expensive to build. Freight rail is more accessible from the industrial point of view. I can have rail line going to the back of my warehouse in PA and load up a cart full of coffee beans, but I'm not going to go to the city center to hop on a train out of town. Especially when we all drive to work anyway... which means we have cars. Private transport > Public transport
@@bro589 we have cars here as well, but for many people, no matter if they are commuters or travellers, passenger trains of all kinds are a relevant thing for them. As I had to go to the neighbouring city approximately an hour away I also chose the bus, train and subway above the car
In NYC we use the subway system a lot
Thomas Turner? More like Thomas the Tank Engine, amirite
I guess