It would seriously be nice for the US to step up on convenient train travel. The airlines are pushing against it because they know that if people can choose to ride in quiet, roomy, fast trains, they can kiss their little sloppy, crammed in, overbooking monopoly goodbye.
It probably wont matter ultimately because the American commercial air fleet is strategically significant to the US. You best believe they'll get put on subsidy life support indefinitely before the US gov sees a significant arm of its airlift capabilities wither away.
@@kiranreilly4916 A. We need to dramatically reduce the TSA and make air travel more convenient and less invasive B. Road infrastructure needs refurbishment first. Americans prefer to drive.
@@nonyafkinbznes1420And have another 9/11 ... Nah. Also public transportation isn't in most areas because cities have failed to invest in them. Building more roads won't help the climate. Fix what's there and build good alternatives. Like rail. And do all at the same time. If rail was given as much support as roads. We would have HSR by time now.
"Passenger rail doesn't have to be profitable, that's ridiculous. It's a public service." is such an important statement to make. It's a service you pay to have. No one asks highways to be profitable.
@@pathat8869 You would be monumentally wrong. Busses can only carry a fraction of the number of passengers that trains can, and can get stuck in traffic along with the cars. One of the biggest reasons people would opt to take trains instead of cars or busses, is to avoid traffic altogether.
@@pathat8869 The problem with buses is that they don't have their own dedicated right of way. They're subject to the same traffic which cars are subject to which can change rapidly depending on time of day, weather, and accidents. Having a rail transport network allows for a much faster and reliable service because the dedicated right of way (rails) allow them to not depend on any of those factors. The downside of rail is the high capital startup costs and that many politicians refuse to spend any money to start a rail network and instead throw money at more road infrastructure, some of which makes the problems worst, such as adding more lanes.
I recently returned from Europe. We rode several thousand miles on trains while there. Switzerland was by far the most impressive of the networks, but all were vastly superior to the US. I think anyone who has been able to experience their rail network would want the same for the US. Trains are clean, safe, very reliable, very well connected, frequent and FAST. Riding the TGV between Paris and Zurich was probably a little bit slower overall than flying but was a vastly superior experience to flying and well worth the extra hour or so total in increased travel time. The younger generations are on board with transit. I expect the next 20 years to see a massive increase in demand for intercity rail and public transport. It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more trains we have, the more people that ride them and the more people realize we were stupid to wait this long to not build more.
@@ncard00 I believe they do. However, the Acela runs on a few hundred miles of track. There are so many other city pairs and routes that would benefit greatly from Acela like trains.
@@joshburger1216Yes, and that’s exactly what Brightline is doing, with Miami - Orlando starting service in a week, and LA - Vegas starting construction this year.
@@ncard00I am definitely excited about both of those projects. Bright-line in Florida has seen ridership grow significantly and seems to be very well rated by customers.
trains are not CLEAN and SAFE if the PASSENGERS are the problem. look at any subway system in America, they aren't safe because they're filled with criminals
They know it makes it worse, but car and oil companies don’t care, they hate trains and want you to keep driving because it’s more money for them, greed was the decline of rail in the US, not the lack of willingness to do it
As someone who has used Amtrak many times and traveled to countries like Japan and Taiwan and tried their train network, the recent increase in interest in passenger rail in the US is heartening. There are so many areas and city pairs where high-speed rail - heck, even just a reliable, decently-fast rail line - would make absolute sense that it's laughable we don't have such systems already. Brightline West between LA and Vegas is just one example.
Every new segment that opens takes more cars off the road. This means that people like me, with a truck full of tools, are more efficient. It lowers the cost for our customers if we spend less time sitting in traffic. This lowers the cost of the products they make... or at least slows the rise of those costs. This may mean preventing future spikes in inflation. I service and repair forklifts, but this also affects people who are out there doing Heating and AC, refrigeration experts, plumbers... these are things that affect the costs of doing business for manufacturers, and get passed on to consumers.
@@Petriefied0246 Europeans showing us how to do it? Nah, this is learning from around the world. From Europe to Asia. America at the start dominated the train industry and we will again.
An LA to Vegas express train would be an absolute game changer, as long as it runs on a dedicated right-of-way. I really hope they succeed in that project.
Brit here - Yes of course. But also like here and the rest of Europe, Asia there are trains to pretty much every local town then high speed rail between everymajor citiy also. Example London to a local town 3 or 5 miles away, no problem train. Birmingham to any local town, no problem train. Hate to say but America is around 50 years behind every other country with connecting services. So yeh 1high speed rail and the country goes 'Yeeeehh America!' All that jibe. But then travel abroad and you will be ashamed and feel like an idiot compared to pretty much everyone, giving it large about 1 high speed rail or decent rail journey.
Its wild to think that freight has right of way on US rail services. And there's a history: the automobile companies bought up the rail lines, dismantled inner City transportation and then gave the main lines to freighter companies. Its completely by design.
I believe the initial Brightline project from Barstow to Las Vegas will be on dedicated tracks built mostly alongside Interstate 15 between the two towns. It will definitely not use the old Union Pacific tracks between the two cities. With tilting train sets, they might be able to get speeds as high as 150 mph on certain stretches.
There's one thing people need to remember when they want to say trains can't work in this country: it's that trains BUILT this country. Before cars, trains were the backbone of American transportation, and they are absolutely capable of being a legitimate transportation option if we had the will to make it happen. Many cities in this country, like Atlanta, Chicago, or Denver, are railroad cities. They grew to what they are today because of railroads. It was also common for towns to be built along railroad lines throughout the 19th century. These railway towns are responsible for much of the development in Middle America. Without trains, the middle of this country would likely have remained underdeveloped compared to the coasts.
Facts you could hop on a train in NYC/jersey city and literally go anywhere in the country. Hell streetcar suburbs were a real thing. This country was bulldozed for highways and automobiles
The town I live in right now is nicknamed Hub City because trains built and sustained it. Where I went to college in East TN was nicknamed Little NYC for the same reason.
Indeed, these are good news for the US. This cascades on positive consequences for the industry of construction, mobility, transportation and logistics. I would like a boost on the fabric labor industry of the US. This nation should return to these high standards that made the US a true competitive nation. Anything that goes to schools, hospitals, transportation such as trains, alternate energy, safety measures and ways of optimizing use of resources is a great investment. Always.
To all the train doubters I ask them to travel to Japan and see firsthand how great they are. To the US government ask the Japanese rail operators for help.
Are you talking about a country the size of California with a much larger population density and comparing it to continent-sized country with a much lower population density?
@@capmidnitethe size argument is ridiculous, that doesn’t justify the lack of better passenger rail across the US, California and many many corridors across the country can accommodate more trains, your friends in the oil industry and automobile industry just love to lobby the government to prevent rail from being competitive, that’s it
@@capmidnite Well, that is how Americans did it back in the age of Steam. Look up the MKT railroad in the age of steam. Could very well be competitive now in the age of high speed rail when bad weather hits airports.
@@capmidnite The thing is that people don't live spread out. The majority of people in the US live in cities/urban areas. As with airplanes that transport people between dense urban centres, there is no reason why the US cannot do the same, especially between close dense urban centres.
@@capmidnite Japan covers an area equal to the area between Pensacola, FL and Portland, ME. That’s still not exactly small. Besides, the US’ airspace is congested as it is. There is really no excuse for the US to not have HSR. At least in the most densely populated regions.
One important manufacturer they missed out on was Stadler. They have huge orders with MARTA, Caltrain, Dart and also come Canadian agencies and their factory in Salt lake city is absolutely massive with a lot of unique attributes in their trains. Overall a majority of major transit systems in the US are renovating their rolling stock which will take us into the future. In the next 5 to 10 years we are going to see a massive explosion of transit systems around the country as younger people are priced out of affordable cars and clamour for more public transit as they reinvest in cities and leave suburbs. An exciting future indeed
I'm very hopeful. It's about time more cities have better and reliable public transit in the US. Would love to see a national rail that is fast and reliable too. But of course the freight line drama is always a struggle.
I have taken the train from Minneapolis to Chicago and back several times. Not a bad trip, but one thing that is an issue is sharing the track with freight trains. The quality of the track, and the speed the train can travel at suffers greatly because of having to share the line. This means the passenger train has to get on a side line quite often. I used to live in Japan and most of their passenger and high speed rail is not shared with freight services. This allows the track to be better maintained and the overall travel experience is much faster and smoother. Passenger lines used to be that way in the US, but over time those lines were closed and sold off.
@@davehughesfarm7983 I know its their line, but that is why the passenger lines shouldn't have been sold off. But yeah, it happened during the era of the automobile.
As a NYC resident, I forget how blessed we are with rail options compared to the rest of the country. Although our services aren’t as high-speed or efficient as other nations, I can still use commuter trains (NJTransit, Metro North, LIRR) to get to most places in the Tri-state area and use Amtrak service to reach cities as far as Boston, DC, and Charlotte.
I remember when a friend of mine moved from TX to Philly and the mind shift that had to happen that NYC is an easy hour away by train - it's an easy afternoon visit. It's completely different life.
@@harchan448 Despite the smell and how dirty it can be, it's actually fun to live in. There are plenty of people to meet and places to go, while in a more rural area, you're going to be driving from home to the strip mall all the time. The future of cities and public transport don't have to look like New York, but it would be nice if people anywhere in the country had access to that kind of lifestyle.
@@podunkman2709 I can tell you’ve never been on a commuter train they are extremely safe even at night unlike the NYC subway. Stop watching Fox News before you make such a blanket statement.
The Alstom boom has really changed the town of Hornell. More jobs, better and new housing and much improved local economy! Great to have some recognition
Having more passenger rail and public transit won’t mean people will give up their cars, but they’ll be able to rely on them less. People will choose trains and transit when it’s a better option than driving, not just faster but also if it’s convenient, reliable, frequent, safe and comfortable. That’s why greater investment in transit and intercity passenger rail is so important. Having options makes travel better for everyone, and having redundancy on busy travel corridors so if one option, like a freeway, is out of service, then the train is there as a viable alternative. That’s happened before with the Surf Line corridor between Santa Barbara and LA when a mudslide closed Highway 101, and recently with the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia. Both those cases show the importance of having more than one viable travel option in an area. Making our existing passenger rail better is a must, but at the same time we should be investing in new types of rail like high speed trains. It’ll take a major policy shift away from continuing to build more auto infrastructure to focusing on building more transit and train infrastructure.
You don't get it. Some states fought to keep rail out of their states because it would "bring outsiders" there. And yes, they were/are talking about black people. America's racism is holding it back so badly.
@@MPdude237exactly! My relatively small city has boomed in the last decade and the traffic just keeps getting worse because they keep adding more lanes... we could use from more modes of transportation. I know they're transforming an abandoned mall from a cement wasteland to multi-use housing. I've seen some by Lake Norman and seems like a wonderful place to live. Don't even have to waste gas walking to the store right below you!
@@The_king567 glad to hear you think no trains are a waste (grammar is important). Rail transportation is a great way to get around, much more efficient than driving or flying, not to mention often more convenient and comfortable. Over twenty countries have high speed rail, countries that also have highways and air travel, yet tens of millions of people there enjoy high speed train travel regularly because they view it as the best option, just as those who still drive and fly view those as the best for their individual travel needs. Also, America has lots of trains, our country was built on them, and freight rail is critical to our economy. Passenger rail dropped significantly as the country shifted focus toward cars and air travel post WW2, but there’s been a resurgence in rail travel that’s continuing to grow as many, especially younger generations, demand better transit so they’re not burdened with having to own a car in order to live, not to mention wanting to reduce emissions so we and future generations still have a planet to comfortably live on.
Retired airline VP... Over decades, I spent a great deal of time in Switzerland and France. To me, the ability to take a clean, fast and reliable train is a luxury that many Americans may never know.
I know, but don't shoot the messenger. I'm a train and bike nut believe me, but if I need to travel from one continent to one continent under the sea I won't be taking a steam ship lol@@willabyuberton818 Why so snarky lmao
This is a LONG-OVERDUE investment in the United States. We've been dependent on auto and airline travel for too long and we're seeing the consequences.
Seriously riding a train is absolutely blissful. Sure if you absolutely need to get somewhere early fly. But there’s something about sitting in the lounge car having a meal and watching America go by
I like not having no travel phase limitations and paying extra for internet access, because I can use my phone throughout the entire journey.
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I certainly see the rise in popularity of train travel along the East coast corridor. Trains are constantly being sold out. It is more convenient than air but there is still a lot of things Amtrak needs to improve on. Delays are terrible and if it was to be rated like on time departure / arrival it would be an F. Cost is absurdly high.
It really depends on the state. In California the trains are generally on time and they’re not terribly priced. We need to get on the states more than the feds since the democrats don’t want to give Amtrak money and a blank check to start services.
If you book about a week in advance you can travel boston to NYC for $82 round trip. A bus would cost you about $70. The comfort and amenities of traveling by train make the $12 difference irrelevant for me.
Unfortunately a lot of the tracks Amtrak runs on are owned by the freight companies. There is a federal law that states passenger rail have priority, but Amtrak has no authority to enforce it so it's meaningless. There is a law currently sitting in congress that would provide Amtrak the authority to enforce passenger priority, but it hasn't gone anywhere.
I hope passenger trains become a viable alternative to plane or long distance car travel. For anyone who won't ever give up planes or cars, just think about how much less crowded the airports and highways will be if people do end up riding trains.
There really isn't anywhere were rail has replaced air or road travel without government coercion being involved. The evidence show's that what rail does do is generate more trips.
@@emilkarpo the fact that short distance flights are popular in America but not Europe makes me doubt your evidence, which you didn't cite... I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that I won't believe you unless you give a specific cited source
@@randgrithr7387 if not for TH-cam's feature to let me see your recent replies, I would have believed you to be actually that dumb, rather than making a joke. (You can't really tell with Americans, you understand)
@@emilkarpo idk man. The most convenient way to get from Tokyo to Osaka is a 2.5 hr bullet train with comfortable seats that recline like 45 degrees back and gorgeous scenic views you could book literally as you’re boarding if you need to make a last-minute trip. This in comparison to either taking a 7 hr road trip or going through the hassle of flying just to theoretically shave off an hour. Cars are a pleasant luxury in Japan’s metropolitan areas; I didn’t want for a car at all in the month I spent in Japan thanks to the combination of robust rail and bus routes but I definitely feel how much my quality of life is impacted by the lack of one in the US. Hired cars when we wanted them were also nice and convenient because Tokyo didn’t have the grid-locked traffic jamming prominent to NYC since the metro system does the heavy lifting of transporting passengers across its various cities.
In college, I had to use Amtrak to go home once or twice because my car was pretty crappy. I had to ask a friend to drive me 20 minutes on the highway to the station, the train was late picking me up and late dropping me off, and the price for a ticket was probably a little greater than the price for the amount of gas it takes to drive home. But despite all those negatives, taking the train was still a *_very_* nice change of pace and if it was more convenient in any way or cheaper, I would have absolutely taken the train more often to visit my parents even if I still had the choice to drive. I loved relaxing in a comfortable seat and not having to fight traffic on the interstate.
I had a summer off from teaching and I bought a $400 Amrak Pass that took me from Seattle to San Francisco, LA, New Orleans, Birmingham, DC, Buffalo, Chicago and then back. It took about a month. The distance between LA and New Orleans was about 40hrs. We often faced delays due to freight rail. The price was good and I had plenty of time to travel, so those weren't a big deal at the time. In return, I saw the West Coast, the downpouring rain in the Texas desert, I felt the humidity in Louisiana, the beautiful sunset over Atlanta, the view along the Hudson River, and Glacier National Park. Also, I met some interesting people along the way. There were a lot of international travelers on Amtrak too! I also brought my bike with me the whole time. Basically, the American train system isn't the best price, or the most convenient, or the most reliable, but it is vast, beautiful, and worth investing in! Just visit the Union station in your state and see for yourself
I'm from Chicago, and I don't have a drivers license. Both the CTA 'L' and Metra are taking steps to modernize their fleet and that makes me very happy to see. I hate how in some places in America, if you don't drive you're pretty much screwed, like in parts of rural Illinois where my family lives. Even here a lot of stuff is made with drivers in mind and not cyclists and transit users like me, but seeing more being put into our public transit system is a huge step in the right direction.
@@boofert.washington2499 I had driver's ed during sophomore year, and I passed the classroom portion since it was a graduation requirement. I just chose not to complete the behind the wheel portion and never got a license, since I developed a fear of driving after a car accident.
Strange. Yes I understand you don't drive but a driver's license is an essential ID that is difficult to work around not having. I knew people who had DUI's for years and no license and it was constant problems for them because nobody would take their State ID's (people think it's fake). What do you do?
@@Knight_Kin I have a state ID with the real ID star and I've never had a problem with it. I'm planning on getting a passport in the future though, as I like to travel by air and sea and some places only accept drivers licenses and passports.
@@natehill8069 Yep. The driving portion was optional, only required if you wanted your drivers license so most people did it. Only the classroom portion was required for graduation.
@@tonyburzio4107some of it might be. Some just needs to actually be put into motion. It's like before afraid to speak a new language because you're afraid you'll mess up: you'll end up never becoming fluent if you don't try.
We were ironically the global leader in passenger rail transport up to about a century ago, but they were all through private companies (and utilities like public transit naturally tend not to profit) and so were easily bought out and its rights of way paved over.
Yeah, and Brightlines approach with only building high speed lines between the big city pairs that are too long to drive and too short to fly is a good start, then we can always focus on local, regional, and intercity rail later.
One of the great things about trains is most cities have their stations downtown. Amtrak drops you in the heart of a lot of cities unlike airports. It's great.
This is why expanding the Northeast Corridor is so, so important. People in NYC, DC, Boston already know how to live without a car. Adding cities to this convenient rail network will massively spur investment in non-car infrastructure. For example, Richmond VA is the next city to be added since Amtrak is buying up land for new tracks to the south. Once the link is complete, the city will basically be forced to figure out how to accommodate tourists from New York and DC who come by train!
@@trevorstanhopeTrain tickets and taxes on properties around train stations are also revenue generators no? Except that for the later, Amtrack receives nothing.
Trains do not suffer the consequences that highways has on the climate and congestion that roads and highways do. Highways have induced demand which sinks billions of dollars into widening lanes which will just lead to more congestion in years following and the huge social and monetary cost of those commutes. Train oriented development allows for more walkable and less car dependent communities which invests much more money in local communities.
Well, there is a large number of passenger train sets built in the 1980's and 1990's that are sorely in need of replacing. That's why companies like Siemens Mobility in California and Stadler in Utah are extremely busy nowadays. It's not just the USA, either. The expansion of high-speed rail in Europe and China and the need to start replacing train sets in Japan has keep train builders very busy.
Supposedly HSR in China is contracting because their overall capacity exceeds public demand by a wide margin from building so much of it, but who really knows
@@kiranreilly4916It is still not easy to buy tickets in economically developed areas. The overcapacity is in non-economically developed regions. But China is a socialist country, and railways are public facilities, so they don't always have to clearly calculate the economic benefits. They use the money earned from lines in developed areas to subsidize those lines that are not operating well.
@@ihmpall seems like the train has left the station here. apologies for the train pun, but the central valley is actually progressing, and needs to deliver more results to be awarded more federal funds. even if the central valley gets serviced years before connecting NorCal and SoCal, that would be such a transformative investment in a state that's already a leader in domestic GDP. If we build, they will come (federal funds & riders :))
@@ihmpall in that case, look up interstate 69, or even Japan's Shinkansen (doubled in cost)...once high speed rail is built, it's so consistent and efficient, no one remembers the cost. We can't just give up/scrap projects because they are difficult or expensive
If California can finish the project, I think there will be what I call the "Metro Red Line effect". In Los Angeles, building the Metro Red Line subway was expensive and faced several challenges and controversies. However, once the Red Line was finished, and Angelenos saw the benefits, almost every part of Los Angeles County now demands a subway. After California High Speed Rail opens, every decent-sized town around the country will be clamoring for a High Speed Rail station.
Love that the people in charge are passionate about their products and improving infrastructure. Hopefully once it’s mainstream the business bros don’t come in and screw everything up to maximize profit everywhere. Basically what we’re seeing with Boeing right now.
I used to loathe having to go anywhere during rush hour, but Brightline completely turned that around for me. It's so nice to be able to leave home later/get home earlier by a significant margin.
@@MPdude237That's an important benefit of train travel that people forget. When u r on a train u can do other things like sleep, read, work etc. When ur driving there's hours of wasted time because you just can't do anything else.
It's a funding problem and it's also a policy problem. North America love their cars and if nothing changes that, all the money in the world won't help public transport. Walkable cities goes hand-in-hand with public transport.
It's not North-Americans love their cars. The issue is, most North American cities are solely designed for cars, not pedestrians/cyclists/buses/trains.
Any industry is going to grow if the government is paying the bill. $3.75BB for a corridor between Las Vegas and Southern Cal. Who is going the benefit from that, the casinos?
hahah I thought the same. I’m all for subsidizing things but subsidizing a train track that only serves one purpose is stupid. I guarantee most people will still drive the 4 hour drive to Vegas. Doesn’t solve a commute and congestion problem. Cities need more inter city and subway infrastructure no regional rails.
@@stephentomaszewski8501that’s the rub though. Brughtline is banking on people actually taking the train from so cal to vegas. Perhaps if Vegas sees that more people are coming from out of state via hsr than they’ll build more public transportation to accommodate
I am very happy we are beginning to invest in rail of varying kinds. But why is some guy who isn't American, the CEO of a supposed American rail company? Who does he employ? Are they Americans? And why does Beijing own any company, let alone land, on American soil?! WTF is going on!?
Wow none of that is true. First off trains are not profitable that’s a fact and also they’re more expensive to build and they’re not wanted read a book.
the tax dollar of this generation will be spent on the next generation. Would you be able to afford an extra 5% inflation or a few more percentage in income tax?
@@CadiKane Yes we do. That is how everyone can travel. Not everyone can travel by car, you need to be accepted to borrow money, and then have enough to maintain your vehicle, with trains, you don't have to do that. Not to mention all of the money that was taken away from railroads and street cars in the early 1900's invested in costly road projects. The cities and land were bulldozed for the roads, and DOT's have not returned the money that should be going towards rail travel since the IHS was created.
A few years ago, we rode Amtrak's "Southwest Chief" from Los Angeles to Chicago. Overall, it was a decent experience, and I would probably do it again. However, I can also imagine how much nicer it would be if the tracks and rolling-stock were updated as this video implies they could be. Furthermore, we recently traveled throughout central Europe, and, after much deliberation, decided to rent cars instead of purchasing train tickets. Most of this had to do with travel time between two points; almost without exception, traveling by car was much faster than taking the train (with all of its stops along the way). However, if I lived in Europe, I would probably use the rail service much more often, as I would probably not be in such a "rush" to squeeze in visiting a number of tourist sites.
Yeah let's go!!! 🙌 This would be great for our county! The economic, safety, and convince impacts would be huge. It would also have positive impacts on cities (fewer cars, less pollution, greater mobility). I would love to see this in my lifetime!
@@duffelbagdrag then thats is great, cosolidated power generation from Fossile fuel to electricity is more effiicent and economic then a distrubtued one, if overehead or 3rd rail electrified railroad, streetcard and light rail are widely accessable then it will be far cheaper and convient for us to ride train then to drive!
@@duffelbagdrag 1. Coverage is an relative easy fix, the infrastecture is here but currently utalise by mainly cargo after passenger service decline. 2. Funding is an investment problem, if we want to promote greater mobility and reduce the cost for fuel then per milesage speaking rail is far easier and cheaper to maintain with much higher capacity. 3. A lot of these social problems are due to many of us are in isolation, an example will be "Do you think there will be more crime on times square then a dark alleyway" Ridership and Crime happen on transit system are closely related, furthermore we could not blame a social problem on transit, this is like saying There are drug dealers at the gas station so I will never go to any gas station
And passenger rail is not heavily subsidized? Take a look at the figures on the US Department Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration regarding Federal grants paid to AMTRAK from it's inception to 2016 (the most current data they have). Has Amtrak ever had a profitable year? No, only a lowest operating deficit in certain years.
Amtrak should focus on getting their own right of ways and stop relying on the freight rail companies. Build the tracks in the center of existing Interstate Freeways and work with the states on funding that way. Also start running hub type service instead of line service. That way you can have more long distance lines that can really take advantage of high speed and efficiency. For example, on Interstate 10 you can have a high speed line that goes from Los Angeles to Jacksonville. The stops on the main line (hubs) Los Angeles, Phoenix, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, Jacksonville. Any cities between those cities would be linked to the nearest main hub city. And those cities would have micro hubs to towns around them. For example Alamogordo NM would be part of the El Paso hub. Tuscon would be part of the Phoenix hub. Mobile AL would belong to New Orleans. Tallahassee would be part of Jacksonville.
Amtrak cannot do anything Congress (or the states) do not allow them to / ask them to do. That is the problem. STATES (with FED financial backing) should prioritise building publically owned rail ROW on important corridors and then tender our operations / service level. That is how Europe does it.
@@dozyaustin Hell, many states possess miles and miles of disused/abandoned ROW that were surrendered to the states after the CONRAIL days that they could reactivate for passenger rail travel. The corridors still exist. They just need feasibility studies done and some new rail laid down.
The major problem with train travel in the US is that even though passenger rail is given priority, that rarely happens. Amtrak doesn't own its own tracks in most of the US. Freight operators should be required to create new tracks for freight-only operations.
I rode on an old Amtrak two or three times. It wasn't fast, but it was pure luxury. Super comfortable chairs, nice people, always something to look at, time to relax. I loved it.
I worked for a major Japanese manufacturer for several years..Visiting engineers always had the same question.,,”How can a rich country with such a huge land mass not have state of the art rail systems???”
@@liannebedard5521 Our huge land mass IS the problem. A shinkansen line from DC to LA would be a 17 hour trip if it made NO stops (unlikely as youd need thousands more trains to connect all the big cities), youd have to eat not 1 but 2 meals on the trip and probably want sleeper cars with showers and bathrooms. No high speed train that I am aware of has overnight service because the country they are in is small enough that all their trains can get where they are going in a workday (China might, I dont know that much about them as its all new). The wiring (and power generation) for it would cost probably the GDP of Japan for 3 years to buy and it would be a security nightmare trying to keep it safe from terrorists, vandals and thieves, requiring tens of thousand of US Marshals or Secret Service or whichever federal cop organization won that boondoggle; my bet is a new agency would be created just for that. Flying is just much easier logistically all you need are airports at the termini and the route takes care of itself. Plus we built the Interstate highway system so that the Army could get from one side to the other relatively quickly, so its gonna be there regardless may as well just drive, that way you can get around your destination once you get there.
The Amtrak is the only passenger rail that comes through my town, but it arrives at 2:30 in the morning. You can imagine why no one around here uses passenger rail.
My young children and I took 2:30 am train from North Carolina to Massachusetts years ago, aided by a friend who got off work at 1 am. One of our best family events...and we still love trains...even in their decrepitude.
I wouldn't say that I travelled widely but I visited a few countries so far (France, Turkey and Taiwan) and every time I'm coming back home (I'm a Canadian by the way), I realize how underdeveloped our transport infrastructures are in North America. The high speed train is safe, extremely convenient (you can get a seat with a nice table and work on your laptop with the WiFi), environmentally friendly and faster than a car. Also, if you develop the infrastructure enough, it can be cheaper than a car and much cheaper than the plane. I get it, Canada and the United States are huge countries and there is not enough density to cover the costs. But what if we changed our relationship with space and started densifying our population? We could do amazing things, especially in the United States. You are the richest country on Earth and your budget deficit this year is estimated at $1.5 trillion. I do not believe that you cannot cut some wasteful spending such as oil subsidies for giant companies and spend an extra $50 billion for high speed train. Even if the infrastructure remains unprofitable for a while, it will still be a wiser investment.
@@seanthe100 Honestly I wouldn’t be so sure about that. When the service is there, people start thinking differently. We’ll see in California anyway, they seem to be willing to move forward…
Bruh why no focus on Stadler? They are literally making the best train models for most American public transportation networks. Especially with the KISS and FLIRT models 😭
I ride Amtrak regularly and have done so for the past 20 years. And I love it. Could it be improved upon? Yes. But that equates to growth into the future. I'll be on board for that.
@@eriklakeland3857 I agree! There’s still a lot of controversy because of the environment. Activists say this will further erode the jungle, but at the same time historically that region has never been connected. So yeah it’ll be good for economic growth that will (hopefully!) help the local population.
I love that as soon as I click on this video, the first train soon is the one connecting San Diego to LA. My home region, and an area that desperately needs more commuter train options 🥲
I traveled thru trains all my life and I’ll never forget traveling on bullet trains back in Japan I hope we can invest more in public transportation like trains for the economy and to make it easier on spending money on gas
If US cities dont become walkable, bikeable, and transit is not improved between cities then I may move out. Living in a soulless suburb is really taking a toll on my mental health, being far away from everything and a non-existent community is really not good for someones health. No wonder kids stay inside all day, who wants to walk around a boring-ass suburb only to gain your freedom when you get a driving license, being dependent on your parents for 16 years? Thats the reason kids and young adults prefer walkable communities, public transit, and have an anti-car mentality.
lol no way you believe this crap who wants to live on top of each other and who wants to live next to losers you never met god you people are laughable do you know what the most common form of transportation is in the world it’s not trains it’s cars read a book
If you could choose between a 6 hour trip where you can move around as you please, use the restroom, get work done, watch the scenery, take a nap, or having to sit in one spot, pay attention to the road, pay for gas, find and pay for parking, which seems like the more obvious choice?
The train of course, unless it's a 6 hour plane trip, where the train would not make sense for such a long distance, unless it's a night train, where you really wanna enjoy the scenery for multiple days, like on Amtrak's longest routes.
Ok, good points. If I’m simply going to one destination and staying there, I’m all for it. Now tell me how you supposed to get around if you want to see more of the area you travel to? In most US cities, you’ll need to rent a car unless you want to plan your vacation around a public transit system that doesn’t run at all hours, won’t get you to where you need to be conveniently or simply isn’t safe. Driving solves all those potential obstacles.
I don't understand ehy car enthusiasts are so against public transport. The more people that use public transport means less cars on the road. Meaning less traffic.
I think having more trains everywhere also helps makes cities more walkable. I fully agree on decreasing car dependency through city design as well tho
@@IndustrialParrot2816 seattle would be one of the hardest to have high speed rail just for the fact the next heavily dense populated area is Portland that to much land they have to buy so they could build over not to mention the number of counties and representatives that have to vote for it
Exactly. They increase efficiency and facilitate economic growth. These profit-motivated rail companies (freight) are the reason why are railroads are falling apart. We have chemical spill after chemical spill because someone wanted to save money.
It is 630 km between Boston and D.C. Japan's newest generation of maglev-shinkansen bullet trains operate at 600 km/hr. Imagine a buttery-smooth commute between D.C. and Boston in literally one hour. Let's make this happen folks.
@@visitante-pc5zc I hope you never look at how much the military budget is. You'd have a heart attack seeing how much debt they're causing the country.
@@jmg8246yes, keep up with this ignorance. 😂 In the words of Kanye west: Even if you are not ready for the day, it cannot always be night. Keep it up.
There is certainly a place for GOOD QUALITY rail travel in the US. A couple of years ago, my wife and I took the French TGV from Strasbourg to Paris. Fast (nearly 200 mph on some stretches, with a coffee on the table in front of me and barely a ripple) and roomy. I've done the LIRR from Long Island to NYC. A much nicer trip than I was expecting and proof that good rail travel IS possible in the US.
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I'm thrilled seeing all the support for trains and transit in this comment section. I really hope this is a sign of a true paradigm shift, and we can start taking back the country to be livable and traversable again.
Highways and roads make 0 dollars and cost insane amounts of money to serve less then trains. at least public transit can sell tickets to get back some cost
America needs to look into High-Speed rail like other countries have and match those speeds. Especially for those with disabilities who cannot drive or people cannot drive in general do to other factors. This would give them a sense of freedom to live work and play in other areas and not just rely on the local transit system which a lot of times it's very difficult. When you have High-Speed rail that can go from d.c. to New York or Philly to New York or even other destinations besides major cities you give people the opportunity to move around to visit friends to visit family to seek out work opportunities that they otherwise would not have. So America really needs to get on board because not everybody can drive a vehicle.
if you can't drive you hire a taxi public transportation is styoopi for a country like usa train is highly inefficient compared to a plane for long distances nobody in his right mind takes a lane from ny to la or even seattle to la for that matter
@@larrybuchannan186 I'd work on the typing, and then research where trains make sense. Not one person in their "right mind" has NY to LA on their future agenda as a rail route..
@@larrybuchannan186 *train is highly inefficient compared to a plane for long distances* do you even know what you are talking about? Literally the opposite is true.
@@hidum5779 You would have to be a complete idio to travel from ny to la on train Hel la to sf is inefficient let alone ny to la plane is far far faster than a styoopi train get your head out of youras
Not enough people understand the amount of money we spend on maintaining roads and highways without turning a profit… it’s orders of magnitude more than we spend on rail
Remember, the United States built railroads over 100 years ago with steam passenger locomotives that traveled at over 100 miles an hour. The United States had the fastest trains on Earth. These are the same railways we now say cannot handle a train doing 90 miles an hour. We had a nationwide passenger high speed rail system over 100 years ago. What we have now is a result of neglect, not outdated technology. Petition your representatives, and ask them to restore the old system, and rebuild better for the future.
The rail can’t handle that speed because it’s old and we’re too cheap to replace them but not for long! It’s inevitable that this investment in rail will lead to the development of new physical rail and even the replacement of the old rail with modern rail capable of handling speeds up to and maybe even exceeding 169 mph well into the 180-200 mph range.
@@L154N4LG4IB the old rail system only topped out in the steam age because that was the fastest the steam engine could pull. The Japanese Bullet Train was faster than any steam engine and pulled those same trains past 120 miles per hour on the same old rails that they used to have. It was only recently that they upgraded the rails to handle even faster. The leap to 200 mph is too expensive for people today because we are trying to build a whole system from scratch. By simply rebuilding the old system and updating it bit by bit over time like the Japanese did would let us have nationwide high speed rail in less than 10 years, and Japan-level high speed rail would be gradually updated over the 50 following years. The most important part of public transport is not top speed anyway. It is running according to a schedule. japan still uses slow trains everywhere for shorter trips.
@@AllenGraetzwhich nobody wanted. It's about giving priority to passenger trains like any sane country, which will make cargo trains go a bit slower, but not push them off the tracks
@@Chopper153 um, the truck companies don't own the roads and yet they use them. Nationalization doesn't mean the freight trains can't use them. The northeast corridor is owned by Amtrak and when I was there last I saw several Norfolk Southern and CSX
The problem is often people get zealous and demand a cross country highspeed rail or linking hubs that arent practical. It'll come, but it'll take massive investments and will be focused on high usage corridors to replace short hop / commuter flights. The Miami-Orlando Line is smart, the LA-LasVegas Line is smart (of course they are, unlike the others that are basically massive gov money pits they have actual market forces to consider and will build their own tracks)
There are plenty oof other smart choices though. The calHSR in itself is a good one, though the problem is that the US just lack the civil engineering capital, companies and competences, as well as the bureaucratic and legal arsenals for this kind of projects. There are plenty of other good corridors to implement smart HSR lines. Texas triangle, rust belt, cascadian region, north Carolina/Virginia, and going up the Mississipi. Problem is, once again, that the US have no civil engineering companies able to deal with this kind of projects. No modern rail manufacturers, no boring competencies, no adminstrative frameworks to facilitate the legal side of things etc... No wonder the californian HSR is such a ruin in these conditions.
Yes, this is a long road and hopefully we're able to pave the path for the future. Build population density and suitable means to travel between them! Growing cities should plan for suitable lightrail/HSR to minimize costs in the future.
This is epic. The USA finally picking up where it left before the car-boom. Congrats with such a good program. Any developed country is only developed when public transport in, around, and between larger concentrations of people is up to par with requirements. Less war, more infrastructure, also roads and especially bridges, is needed. Again, congrats!
We need it... badly! With all this road and air traffic, roadrage, airport hassles and crazy stuff constantly going on in airplanes - I enthusiastically welcome trains. Hopefully one day we can have something as robust as Asia/Europe.
The one thing right now that rail has going for it is what’s going on in the airline industry in the United States. In fact, I would observe whether or not airlines are lobbying against high-speed rail to prevent it from becoming a legitimate competitor. I’ve gone on some Amtrak trains, and while they are not perfect, the comfort, any amount of space available is definitely more significant than that of the typical airplane, and I haven’t flown in several years, I understand it’s less comfortable than it used to be. More importantly, All of the tiny annoyance is that you have with air travel are basically gone when it comes to train travel. It’s actually so much surprising that our train infrastructure does not have the same security theater that our air infrastructure has. But the truth of the matter is, I can get on interstate train with several bags And not have to check any of them. I can walk from the ticket counter directly to the train with little to no interference. And in fact, if I want to decide to take a train at the last minute, I can do so, by arriving at the station with less than a half an hour between when I get the ticket and when the train leaves. I imagine if some of these things will change, if train travel becomes more popular in the United States, but if there is any time, we are taking a train that competes with taking a plane will take Root, this is it.
I absolutely love this! I'm too old to enjoy train travel now, but it makes me smile to believe it's making a comeback here in America. I wish they wouldn't worry so much about speed though. I'd much rather take it easy and see where I'm going and enjoy the ride. It's also great to hear about creating jobs here so we can have a place to make a little money instead of many places to spend it. Oh I could get into this! : )
Though it's exciting to see the US join more advanced nations in building high-order passenger rail I wouldn't underestimate the drastic culture and behavior change required for it to be a success with the masses in the US. Because of the US's long history of disinvestment in rail and public transit, and massive overinvestment in highways, bridges and parking lots, it has long reinforced a society where the vehicle is entrenched in its culture as the ultimate freedom tool, one that's intrinsically linked to social status and where you are literally socially cocooned from the public (typically driving solo or with your familiar or social network). In Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and other places that place more value on transportation as a public rather than a private good, a successful society is one where wealthy people choose to take the train over driving because the quality of service is high. Because it is a norm there is less social stratification, as opposed to a culture that largely sees the train as a service for poor captive riders i.e. people who have no other choice. It will be a huge task in the US to break down decades of systemic societal and cultural barriers to taking rail and public transit such as the 1) safety and socio-economic stigmas attached to taking transit in the US i.e. it's unsafe and for poor people and conversely the high social value placed on owning and driving a vehicle everywhere 2) the vehicle infrastructure is so embedded - One major symptom is that vehicle infrastructure is literally planned over the top of most major cities, rather than integrating it as a component of the built environment. In addition to competing directly with the car as a symbol of social status, many of these rail projects are planned along existing highways (which will likely cannibalize ridership / require even more parking to be built to serve the rail infrastructure / better local public transit to serve the high-speed rail when the average US citizen is not accustomed to using PT or making transfers). 3) Health - the US's addiction to passenger vehicle transportation is not something you can simply reverse and is one of the major reasons for the US's sedentary lifestyle, high obesity rates and prevalence of comorbidities 3) Health is directly linked to the built form and the low transit and active transportation mode share in the US came about not only because historically they have not been well funded or safe/viable options, but because there is a heavily entrenched culture of driving everywhere to get from A to B, and the expectation that parking will be available at every origin and destination. A strong culture or transit requires some expectation of wait time, which the US by and large does not have, and a culture of walking as a form of transportation, which is a social norm in very few US cities. The percentage of short trips by car in the US is astronomical whereas in other places walking and rolling trips account for a much higher percentage of short trips.
I'm going to choose to be cautiously optimistic and believe that passenger rail will get better and better in the US in the coming decades, like how it used to be before the post-WW2 years. We should also invest heavily in redesigning cities and suburbs to be much less car-dependent, like how they used to be, again, before the post-WW2 years. That will make rail travel, both intercity and intracity, much more practical for people and also just wildly improve the financial, environmental, and community health of cities as well as the physical and mental health of their people.
Free money handouts damages economy. Also govt. should stop EV subsidies. Why pay 7500 some rich person to buy 50grand cars? Instead, public transport shall be highly subsidized by government. Encourage brightline, Amtrak guys.
It's perfect for travel between highly urbanized Cities that are close to each other like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Franscisco, Phoenix, etc. Flying from Phoenix to LA may take almost 4-5 hours of your time (Check-in + Flying time + Taxing + Luggage) between airport versus a high speed train.
Good for US manufacturing but Amtrak and local transit are slow, dirty, and unsafe with rude employees which needs to be improved for people to want more train service.
The issue with our transit right now is that it takes me 28 minutes to drive from my house to my job. If I take public transit (which impressively drops me 1 block from work), takes 1h 6m. It's not worth doubling my commute, and battling the homeless on the walk.
@@randgrithr7387 Perhaps we'd care if they were more interesting. I can drive to my office in 20 minutes or I can take two buses in 90 minutes. My car takes me where I want when I want with who and what I want. I don't have to share space with strangers. Rail really only works for connecting major cities. Outside of that, the US's population density is too low and our land area is too big. You can't put a station for every little farm and hunting cabin.
How much does car parking cost versus the train fare? Where I live it's 35min to drive to work if traffic is good and 55min door to door on the train. However with tolls, fuel and parking costs driving is over three times as expensive as the train fare.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
It would seriously be nice for the US to step up on convenient train travel. The airlines are pushing against it because they know that if people can choose to ride in quiet, roomy, fast trains, they can kiss their little sloppy, crammed in, overbooking monopoly goodbye.
Lol this isn’t europe no need to push against it because it is not feasible
It probably wont matter ultimately because the American commercial air fleet is strategically significant to the US. You best believe they'll get put on subsidy life support indefinitely before the US gov sees a significant arm of its airlift capabilities wither away.
@@kiranreilly4916 A. We need to dramatically reduce the TSA and make air travel more convenient and less invasive
B. Road infrastructure needs refurbishment first. Americans prefer to drive.
@@nonyafkinbznes1420And have another 9/11 ... Nah.
Also public transportation isn't in most areas because cities have failed to invest in them. Building more roads won't help the climate. Fix what's there and build good alternatives. Like rail.
And do all at the same time. If rail was given as much support as roads. We would have HSR by time now.
@@nonyafkinbznes1420I think Americans only prefer driving because it’s often the only transportation option they have.
"Passenger rail doesn't have to be profitable, that's ridiculous. It's a public service." is such an important statement to make. It's a service you pay to have. No one asks highways to be profitable.
I think public transportation buses would be better than trains.
@@pathat8869 You would be monumentally wrong. Busses can only carry a fraction of the number of passengers that trains can, and can get stuck in traffic along with the cars.
One of the biggest reasons people would opt to take trains instead of cars or busses, is to avoid traffic altogether.
@@pathat8869 The problem with buses is that they don't have their own dedicated right of way. They're subject to the same traffic which cars are subject to which can change rapidly depending on time of day, weather, and accidents. Having a rail transport network allows for a much faster and reliable service because the dedicated right of way (rails) allow them to not depend on any of those factors. The downside of rail is the high capital startup costs and that many politicians refuse to spend any money to start a rail network and instead throw money at more road infrastructure, some of which makes the problems worst, such as adding more lanes.
@@TheDuckClock yes correct but buses are good for short and medium distances.
he killed me with that comment. arent freight operators profitable?
US should focus on implementing way more public transportation.
But they won’t. Politicians get paid by the car companies to vote against it.
need much more population overall and high population density to justify that
Up the video quality to 4K60fps!
@@CadiKane No, they aren't a sheep, just logical about efficiency.
noooo really ?
I recently returned from Europe. We rode several thousand miles on trains while there. Switzerland was by far the most impressive of the networks, but all were vastly superior to the US. I think anyone who has been able to experience their rail network would want the same for the US. Trains are clean, safe, very reliable, very well connected, frequent and FAST. Riding the TGV between Paris and Zurich was probably a little bit slower overall than flying but was a vastly superior experience to flying and well worth the extra hour or so total in increased travel time. The younger generations are on board with transit. I expect the next 20 years to see a massive increase in demand for intercity rail and public transport. It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more trains we have, the more people that ride them and the more people realize we were stupid to wait this long to not build more.
Don’t the current Acelas have tilting too? I know they were inspired by the Swedish flagship X2000 trains, which also have tilting.
@@ncard00 I believe they do. However, the Acela runs on a few hundred miles of track. There are so many other city pairs and routes that would benefit greatly from Acela like trains.
@@joshburger1216Yes, and that’s exactly what Brightline is doing, with Miami - Orlando starting service in a week, and LA - Vegas starting construction this year.
@@ncard00I am definitely excited about both of those projects. Bright-line in Florida has seen ridership grow significantly and seems to be very well rated by customers.
trains are not CLEAN and SAFE if the PASSENGERS are the problem. look at any subway system in America, they aren't safe because they're filled with criminals
People need to learn that adding lanes will only make traffic worse. We need to invest more in public transit than highways and roads.
They know it makes it worse, but car and oil companies don’t care, they hate trains and want you to keep driving because it’s more money for them, greed was the decline of rail in the US, not the lack of willingness to do it
Just one more lane bro
@@windbreaker2432 I swear it will fix the problem bro, just one more
@@popcorn8153it's not the casino 😂
"Adding car lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity" - Lewis Mumford, 1955
Public transportation will transform this country into something way better
Sadly we'll probably have to wait for the racist boomers to die off....older x'ers too. You ger x'ers seem on board with trains.
It won’t read a book this is a waste of time and money
@@The_king567go back to truth social trumpee
@@nolantherailfan5048 not a trump supporter
That's a big speculation. But options are good and we need more.
As someone who has used Amtrak many times and traveled to countries like Japan and Taiwan and tried their train network, the recent increase in interest in passenger rail in the US is heartening. There are so many areas and city pairs where high-speed rail - heck, even just a reliable, decently-fast rail line - would make absolute sense that it's laughable we don't have such systems already. Brightline West between LA and Vegas is just one example.
excited about the SF LA one too.. but for some reason i feel like it's gonna get delayed another 5 years at least
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist9 Yes, USians, repent of your interest in rail travel. Libertarian Jesus does _not_ approve.
@@joshbobst1629 “For I did not speak of my own accord”
This country is too corrupt now to get anything meaningful done. They're more concerned about turning boys into girls and vice versa.
@@joshbobst1629 Americans on the West Coast wanted it and the government failed. Libertarians don't even have to argue against it.
We just got a light rail line here in Seattle and it's been absolute godsend. Love just gliding past the I-5 gridlock
Every new segment that opens takes more cars off the road. This means that people like me, with a truck full of tools, are more efficient. It lowers the cost for our customers if we spend less time sitting in traffic. This lowers the cost of the products they make... or at least slows the rise of those costs. This may mean preventing future spikes in inflation. I service and repair forklifts, but this also affects people who are out there doing Heating and AC, refrigeration experts, plumbers... these are things that affect the costs of doing business for manufacturers, and get passed on to consumers.
@@josh0gOh, and the environment. It’s better for the environment.
Welcome to 1960s San Francisco Bay Area.
god bless link
When train travel went into decline in the U.S between the 60s and 80s, so did train manufacturing.
Glad to see both are beginning to make a comeback.
Even if it's the Europeans showing them how to do it.
Comeback? Did you know the new Acela replacements are stored unused because they won't stay on the tracks?
@@tonyburzio4107 passenger trains aren't limited to Acela even in the USA. Is it a train issue or a track issue?
decline?
it declined after 50s
that's when Shinkansen brought focus back on train.
and French built the fastest train
@@Petriefied0246 Europeans showing us how to do it? Nah, this is learning from around the world. From Europe to Asia. America at the start dominated the train industry and we will again.
An LA to Vegas express train would be an absolute game changer, as long as it runs on a dedicated right-of-way. I really hope they succeed in that project.
And ppl won't spend hrs at the Stateline when lanes reduce to 2 lanes entering cali
Brit here - Yes of course. But also like here and the rest of Europe, Asia there are trains to pretty much every local town then high speed rail between everymajor citiy also. Example London to a local town 3 or 5 miles away, no problem train. Birmingham to any local town, no problem train. Hate to say but America is around 50 years behind every other country with connecting services.
So yeh 1high speed rail and the country goes 'Yeeeehh America!' All that jibe. But then travel abroad and you will be ashamed and feel like an idiot compared to pretty much everyone, giving it large about 1 high speed rail or decent rail journey.
Its wild to think that freight has right of way on US rail services. And there's a history: the automobile companies bought up the rail lines, dismantled inner City transportation and then gave the main lines to freighter companies. Its completely by design.
I believe the initial Brightline project from Barstow to Las Vegas will be on dedicated tracks built mostly alongside Interstate 15 between the two towns. It will definitely not use the old Union Pacific tracks between the two cities. With tilting train sets, they might be able to get speeds as high as 150 mph on certain stretches.
Nice idea except it's taking people to a desert hot spot that has water supply limitations. Maybe it could help with the orderly evacuation ...
There's one thing people need to remember when they want to say trains can't work in this country: it's that trains BUILT this country. Before cars, trains were the backbone of American transportation, and they are absolutely capable of being a legitimate transportation option if we had the will to make it happen. Many cities in this country, like Atlanta, Chicago, or Denver, are railroad cities. They grew to what they are today because of railroads. It was also common for towns to be built along railroad lines throughout the 19th century. These railway towns are responsible for much of the development in Middle America. Without trains, the middle of this country would likely have remained underdeveloped compared to the coasts.
You can move to China if you want commie life. We value freedom here in America. We drive CARS, not commie boxes
Facts you could hop on a train in NYC/jersey city and literally go anywhere in the country. Hell streetcar suburbs were a real thing. This country was bulldozed for highways and automobiles
The town I live in right now is nicknamed Hub City because trains built and sustained it.
Where I went to college in East TN was nicknamed Little NYC for the same reason.
Yeah but then came the truck 😁
@@WARGODS-ez1bu Freight trains are still a much larger part of American shipping infrastructure than trucks are
Love to see the US start to invest more in public transportation I hope we continue to see more trains in the future!
FALSE. We are building a lot of stuff, but its all JUNK!
Indeed, these are good news for the US. This cascades on positive consequences for the industry of construction, mobility, transportation and logistics.
I would like a boost on the fabric labor industry of the US. This nation should return to these high standards that made the US a true competitive nation. Anything that goes to schools, hospitals, transportation such as trains, alternate energy, safety measures and ways of optimizing use of resources is a great investment.
Always.
Agreed
Thanks to president Biden as well
You shouldn’t
To all the train doubters I ask them to travel to Japan and see firsthand how great they are. To the US government ask the Japanese rail operators for help.
Are you talking about a country the size of California with a much larger population density and comparing it to continent-sized country with a much lower population density?
@@capmidnitethe size argument is ridiculous, that doesn’t justify the lack of better passenger rail across the US, California and many many corridors across the country can accommodate more trains, your friends in the oil industry and automobile industry just love to lobby the government to prevent rail from being competitive, that’s it
@@capmidnite Well, that is how Americans did it back in the age of Steam. Look up the MKT railroad in the age of steam. Could very well be competitive now in the age of high speed rail when bad weather hits airports.
@@capmidnite The thing is that people don't live spread out. The majority of people in the US live in cities/urban areas. As with airplanes that transport people between dense urban centres, there is no reason why the US cannot do the same, especially between close dense urban centres.
@@capmidnite Japan covers an area equal to the area between Pensacola, FL and Portland, ME. That’s still not exactly small. Besides, the US’ airspace is congested as it is. There is really no excuse for the US to not have HSR. At least in the most densely populated regions.
One important manufacturer they missed out on was Stadler. They have huge orders with MARTA, Caltrain, Dart and also come Canadian agencies and their factory in Salt lake city is absolutely massive with a lot of unique attributes in their trains. Overall a majority of major transit systems in the US are renovating their rolling stock which will take us into the future. In the next 5 to 10 years we are going to see a massive explosion of transit systems around the country as younger people are priced out of affordable cars and clamour for more public transit as they reinvest in cities and leave suburbs. An exciting future indeed
true that!
Exciting for the people who wont be slumming it up in the city with no car anyway!
I'm very hopeful. It's about time more cities have better and reliable public transit in the US. Would love to see a national rail that is fast and reliable too. But of course the freight line drama is always a struggle.
Maybe. Americans aren't exactly flocking into big cities at the moment.
Hopefully MARTA gets better - right now it's not very reliable
As a lifelong rail fan living in a town that lost its passenger trains in the 60's, I'm excited for this.
I have taken the train from Minneapolis to Chicago and back several times. Not a bad trip, but one thing that is an issue is sharing the track with freight trains. The quality of the track, and the speed the train can travel at suffers greatly because of having to share the line. This means the passenger train has to get on a side line quite often. I used to live in Japan and most of their passenger and high speed rail is not shared with freight services. This allows the track to be better maintained and the overall travel experience is much faster and smoother. Passenger lines used to be that way in the US, but over time those lines were closed and sold off.
Its the freight companies line....Thats how it is...
@@davehughesfarm7983 I know its their line, but that is why the passenger lines shouldn't have been sold off. But yeah, it happened during the era of the automobile.
It could be fixed with improvements to track and OSC electrification would massively improve acceleration and reduce emissions
Unfortunately there just isn't enough funding for Amtrak to be able to build all their own rails across the country.
Passenger-only lines have always been rare in the US. There is no "used to be that way". Never has been that way.
As a NYC resident, I forget how blessed we are with rail options compared to the rest of the country. Although our services aren’t as high-speed or efficient as other nations, I can still use commuter trains (NJTransit, Metro North, LIRR) to get to most places in the Tri-state area and use Amtrak service to reach cities as far as Boston, DC, and Charlotte.
I DON'T KNOW HOW ANYONE COULD LIVE NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember when a friend of mine moved from TX to Philly and the mind shift that had to happen that NYC is an easy hour away by train - it's an easy afternoon visit. It's completely different life.
@@harchan448 Despite the smell and how dirty it can be, it's actually fun to live in. There are plenty of people to meet and places to go, while in a more rural area, you're going to be driving from home to the strip mall all the time. The future of cities and public transport don't have to look like New York, but it would be nice if people anywhere in the country had access to that kind of lifestyle.
Yep, what a joy to ride these trains at night. I think russia-ukraine war frontline could be safe place
@@podunkman2709 I can tell you’ve never been on a commuter train they are extremely safe even at night unlike the NYC subway. Stop watching Fox News before you make such a blanket statement.
The Alstom boom has really changed the town of Hornell. More jobs, better and new housing and much improved local economy! Great to have some recognition
This is very nice. We need to reduce our dependence on cars.
Public transportation could help save a lot for a household. Car centric infrastructure is super expensive
It won’t
Having more passenger rail and public transit won’t mean people will give up their cars, but they’ll be able to rely on them less. People will choose trains and transit when it’s a better option than driving, not just faster but also if it’s convenient, reliable, frequent, safe and comfortable. That’s why greater investment in transit and intercity passenger rail is so important.
Having options makes travel better for everyone, and having redundancy on busy travel corridors so if one option, like a freeway, is out of service, then the train is there as a viable alternative. That’s happened before with the Surf Line corridor between Santa Barbara and LA when a mudslide closed Highway 101, and recently with the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia. Both those cases show the importance of having more than one viable travel option in an area.
Making our existing passenger rail better is a must, but at the same time we should be investing in new types of rail like high speed trains. It’ll take a major policy shift away from continuing to build more auto infrastructure to focusing on building more transit and train infrastructure.
You don't get it. Some states fought to keep rail out of their states because it would "bring outsiders" there. And yes, they were/are talking about black people. America's racism is holding it back so badly.
I agree with this statement. If good public transit is built and used, it would alleviate traffic for those of us who chose or must drive.
@@MPdude237exactly! My relatively small city has boomed in the last decade and the traffic just keeps getting worse because they keep adding more lanes... we could use from more modes of transportation. I know they're transforming an abandoned mall from a cement wasteland to multi-use housing. I've seen some by Lake Norman and seems like a wonderful place to live. Don't even have to waste gas walking to the store right below you!
No trains are a waste of time and money it’s good we don’t have and we never will
@@The_king567 glad to hear you think no trains are a waste (grammar is important).
Rail transportation is a great way to get around, much more efficient than driving or flying, not to mention often more convenient and comfortable. Over twenty countries have high speed rail, countries that also have highways and air travel, yet tens of millions of people there enjoy high speed train travel regularly because they view it as the best option, just as those who still drive and fly view those as the best for their individual travel needs.
Also, America has lots of trains, our country was built on them, and freight rail is critical to our economy. Passenger rail dropped significantly as the country shifted focus toward cars and air travel post WW2, but there’s been a resurgence in rail travel that’s continuing to grow as many, especially younger generations, demand better transit so they’re not burdened with having to own a car in order to live, not to mention wanting to reduce emissions so we and future generations still have a planet to comfortably live on.
Retired airline VP... Over decades, I spent a great deal of time in Switzerland and France. To me, the ability to take a clean, fast and reliable train is a luxury that many Americans may never know.
And you're responsible for a little part of that problem, good on ya.
@@willabyuberton818 we need more air travel so pilot salaries continue to sky rocket. dream on.
Sadly the ignorance of our people here is to blame. Sadly the oil and car lords control the politicians and media to store things their way.
The airline industry has successfully lobbied against HSR. You should know this if you're really a former VP in the airline industry.
I know, but don't shoot the messenger. I'm a train and bike nut believe me, but if I need to travel from one continent to one continent under the sea I won't be taking a steam ship lol@@willabyuberton818 Why so snarky lmao
This is a LONG-OVERDUE investment in the United States.
We've been dependent on auto and airline travel for too long and we're seeing the consequences.
Seriously riding a train is absolutely blissful. Sure if you absolutely need to get somewhere early fly. But there’s something about sitting in the lounge car having a meal and watching America go by
I like not having no travel phase limitations and paying extra for internet access, because I can use my phone throughout the entire journey.
I certainly see the rise in popularity of train travel along the East coast corridor. Trains are constantly being sold out. It is more convenient than air but there is still a lot of things Amtrak needs to improve on. Delays are terrible and if it was to be rated like on time departure / arrival it would be an F. Cost is absurdly high.
It really depends on the state. In California the trains are generally on time and they’re not terribly priced. We need to get on the states more than the feds since the democrats don’t want to give Amtrak money and a blank check to start services.
If you book about a week in advance you can travel boston to NYC for $82 round trip. A bus would cost you about $70. The comfort and amenities of traveling by train make the $12 difference irrelevant for me.
Unfortunately a lot of the tracks Amtrak runs on are owned by the freight companies. There is a federal law that states passenger rail have priority, but Amtrak has no authority to enforce it so it's meaningless. There is a law currently sitting in congress that would provide Amtrak the authority to enforce passenger priority, but it hasn't gone anywhere.
Biggest problem is lack of funding.
@@rbbbc132Amtrak owns all their tracks from DC al the way to boston
I hope passenger trains become a viable alternative to plane or long distance car travel.
For anyone who won't ever give up planes or cars, just think about how much less crowded the airports and highways will be if people do end up riding trains.
There really isn't anywhere were rail has replaced air or road travel without government coercion being involved. The evidence show's that what rail does do is generate more trips.
You know what else could reduce traffic?
Just one more lane bro.
@@emilkarpo the fact that short distance flights are popular in America but not Europe makes me doubt your evidence, which you didn't cite... I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that I won't believe you unless you give a specific cited source
@@randgrithr7387 if not for TH-cam's feature to let me see your recent replies, I would have believed you to be actually that dumb, rather than making a joke. (You can't really tell with Americans, you understand)
@@emilkarpo idk man. The most convenient way to get from Tokyo to Osaka is a 2.5 hr bullet train with comfortable seats that recline like 45 degrees back and gorgeous scenic views you could book literally as you’re boarding if you need to make a last-minute trip. This in comparison to either taking a 7 hr road trip or going through the hassle of flying just to theoretically shave off an hour. Cars are a pleasant luxury in Japan’s metropolitan areas; I didn’t want for a car at all in the month I spent in Japan thanks to the combination of robust rail and bus routes but I definitely feel how much my quality of life is impacted by the lack of one in the US. Hired cars when we wanted them were also nice and convenient because Tokyo didn’t have the grid-locked traffic jamming prominent to NYC since the metro system does the heavy lifting of transporting passengers across its various cities.
In college, I had to use Amtrak to go home once or twice because my car was pretty crappy. I had to ask a friend to drive me 20 minutes on the highway to the station, the train was late picking me up and late dropping me off, and the price for a ticket was probably a little greater than the price for the amount of gas it takes to drive home. But despite all those negatives, taking the train was still a *_very_* nice change of pace and if it was more convenient in any way or cheaper, I would have absolutely taken the train more often to visit my parents even if I still had the choice to drive. I loved relaxing in a comfortable seat and not having to fight traffic on the interstate.
I had a summer off from teaching and I bought a $400 Amrak Pass that took me from Seattle to San Francisco, LA, New Orleans, Birmingham, DC, Buffalo, Chicago and then back. It took about a month. The distance between LA and New Orleans was about 40hrs. We often faced delays due to freight rail. The price was good and I had plenty of time to travel, so those weren't a big deal at the time. In return, I saw the West Coast, the downpouring rain in the Texas desert, I felt the humidity in Louisiana, the beautiful sunset over Atlanta, the view along the Hudson River, and Glacier National Park. Also, I met some interesting people along the way. There were a lot of international travelers on Amtrak too! I also brought my bike with me the whole time.
Basically, the American train system isn't the best price, or the most convenient, or the most reliable, but it is vast, beautiful, and worth investing in! Just visit the Union station in your state and see for yourself
I am planning a trip for next year 🌹
track built by Chinese labor in 1800s.
@@Cordycep1so?
I'm from Chicago, and I don't have a drivers license. Both the CTA 'L' and Metra are taking steps to modernize their fleet and that makes me very happy to see. I hate how in some places in America, if you don't drive you're pretty much screwed, like in parts of rural Illinois where my family lives. Even here a lot of stuff is made with drivers in mind and not cyclists and transit users like me, but seeing more being put into our public transit system is a huge step in the right direction.
@@boofert.washington2499 I had driver's ed during sophomore year, and I passed the classroom portion since it was a graduation requirement. I just chose not to complete the behind the wheel portion and never got a license, since I developed a fear of driving after a car accident.
Strange. Yes I understand you don't drive but a driver's license is an essential ID that is difficult to work around not having. I knew people who had DUI's for years and no license and it was constant problems for them because nobody would take their State ID's (people think it's fake). What do you do?
@@Knight_Kin I have a state ID with the real ID star and I've never had a problem with it. I'm planning on getting a passport in the future though, as I like to travel by air and sea and some places only accept drivers licenses and passports.
@@regalthelion You were _REQUIRED_ to take driver's ed?!?!?!?!? Wow, we fought to get in it.
@@natehill8069 Yep. The driving portion was optional, only required if you wanted your drivers license so most people did it. Only the classroom portion was required for graduation.
Great to see rail travel and manufacturing making a come back in the United States
FALSE. We are building a lot of stuff, but its all JUNK!
@@tonyburzio4107some of it might be. Some just needs to actually be put into motion. It's like before afraid to speak a new language because you're afraid you'll mess up: you'll end up never becoming fluent if you don't try.
It would be great if the United States had high-speed trains such as China, Spain, Japan, among others.
USA does have high speed trains... @@amelianywhere
It’s not
i dream of a united states that builds rail like the rest of the world. hopefully there will be a boom in passenger rail some day soon.
We were ironically the global leader in passenger rail transport up to about a century ago, but they were all through private companies (and utilities like public transit naturally tend not to profit) and so were easily bought out and its rights of way paved over.
Sweet dream...Now wake up and go back to work...
Excellent! More of this please: clean, efficient, AND it’ll help reduce traffic without needing “one more lane” because it’ll get people off the roads
Yeah, and Brightlines approach with only building high speed lines between the big city pairs that are too long to drive and too short to fly is a good start, then we can always focus on local, regional, and intercity rail later.
@@ncard00brightline hasn’t built any high speed lines. And no 120 isn’t high speed
These discussions always ignore the center of the country. What about them? People are too spread out across the Great Plains for it to work well.
Problem is, what do you do when you get to the city youre going to? Uber is pretty pricey. Cities need to invest in public transportation as well.
One of the great things about trains is most cities have their stations downtown. Amtrak drops you in the heart of a lot of cities unlike airports. It's great.
This is why expanding the Northeast Corridor is so, so important.
People in NYC, DC, Boston already know how to live without a car. Adding cities to this convenient rail network will massively spur investment in non-car infrastructure.
For example, Richmond VA is the next city to be added since Amtrak is buying up land for new tracks to the south. Once the link is complete, the city will basically be forced to figure out how to accommodate tourists from New York and DC who come by train!
Yes, but gotta start somewhere and eliminate flying with high speed rail.
Cities are investing in public transportation
Another kind of public transportation that can connect passangers to their final destiny.
I mean if the govt could afford some spare change from our vital military budget, Americans would gladly use the trains
I want Siemens to succeed, it is by far the most interesting German company in my opinion.
It also has a funny name 😂
I don't care about the means, more and better trains are always better.
Siemens doesn't build nicer & faster trains than Nippon Sharyo sorry.
@@mattr7442 they want to support the American economy, so of course they are gonna buy from a company whom has an assembly line in America
@@ncard00exactly! All those trains manufacturers are needed and we need more trains which are mostly electric and not diesel
The point about profitability is an excellent point.
Highways generate zero revenue but society still sees them as worthwhile.
Must not understand the concept of toll roads or vehicle/gas taxes which are revenue generators
@@trevorstanhope Must not understand the concept that vehicle/gax taxes do not fully cover the cost of interstate highway repair/construction/upkeep.
Do you not know what revenue means?
@@trevorstanhopeTrain tickets and taxes on properties around train stations are also revenue generators no? Except that for the later, Amtrack receives nothing.
@@marcbuisson2463Explain why the CTA, MTA and Amtrak never makes a cent, and instead constantly asks for bailouts.
Trains do not suffer the consequences that highways has on the climate and congestion that roads and highways do. Highways have induced demand which sinks billions of dollars into widening lanes which will just lead to more congestion in years following and the huge social and monetary cost of those commutes. Train oriented development allows for more walkable and less car dependent communities which invests much more money in local communities.
Fake bot
Up the video quality to 4K60fps!
@@CadiKane Nobody is subbing to your channel bot.
@@TommyTom21 what ??? Who cares
@@CadiKane But what he says is true though, more than what youve said
lt's a joke that you can't go from Atlanta to Miami directly without going through New Orleans or Washington, .
this investment is wayoverdue.
Great to see the US investing in railways. They are often a better solution to cars and planes.
They don’t read a book
@@The_king567yes they do. Read a book
@@darthmaul216 they don’t what’s the most common form of transportation it’s not cars
I think I speak for most millennials and gen zs here: WE WANT MORE TRAINS!
Agreed
100%
Couldn’t agree morw
YESSSSSS
When you reach your destination you now hire a taxi or rent a car. How convenient!
Well, there is a large number of passenger train sets built in the 1980's and 1990's that are sorely in need of replacing. That's why companies like Siemens Mobility in California and Stadler in Utah are extremely busy nowadays.
It's not just the USA, either. The expansion of high-speed rail in Europe and China and the need to start replacing train sets in Japan has keep train builders very busy.
Supposedly HSR in China is contracting because their overall capacity exceeds public demand by a wide margin from building so much of it, but who really knows
@@kiranreilly4916they did build way more infrastructure than they could use in the near term. I guess we'll see how it does in the following decades
@@kiranreilly4916It is still not easy to buy tickets in economically developed areas. The overcapacity is in non-economically developed regions. But China is a socialist country, and railways are public facilities, so they don't always have to clearly calculate the economic benefits. They use the money earned from lines in developed areas to subsidize those lines that are not operating well.
Come on California High Speed Rail, we can do this!! It won't be built fast, It won't be cheap, but it will be a massive game changer.
I love trains but something that badly off budget needs to be scrapped. No one is gonna take budgets seriously otherwise
@@ihmpallor instead of scrapping it, it can be used as lessons learned for future attempts.
@@ihmpall seems like the train has left the station here. apologies for the train pun, but the central valley is actually progressing, and needs to deliver more results to be awarded more federal funds. even if the central valley gets serviced years before connecting NorCal and SoCal, that would be such a transformative investment in a state that's already a leader in domestic GDP.
If we build, they will come (federal funds & riders :))
@@ihmpall in that case, look up interstate 69, or even Japan's Shinkansen (doubled in cost)...once high speed rail is built, it's so consistent and efficient, no one remembers the cost. We can't just give up/scrap projects because they are difficult or expensive
If California can finish the project, I think there will be what I call the "Metro Red Line effect". In Los Angeles, building the Metro Red Line subway was expensive and faced several challenges and controversies. However, once the Red Line was finished, and Angelenos saw the benefits, almost every part of Los Angeles County now demands a subway. After California High Speed Rail opens, every decent-sized town around the country will be clamoring for a High Speed Rail station.
Love that the people in charge are passionate about their products and improving infrastructure. Hopefully once it’s mainstream the business bros don’t come in and screw everything up to maximize profit everywhere. Basically what we’re seeing with Boeing right now.
I used to loathe having to go anywhere during rush hour, but Brightline completely turned that around for me. It's so nice to be able to leave home later/get home earlier by a significant margin.
I would love that. Not to mention the fact that I could doze off or do something on they way to and from work would also be a welcome addition.
@@MPdude237That's an important benefit of train travel that people forget. When u r on a train u can do other things like sleep, read, work etc. When ur driving there's hours of wasted time because you just can't do anything else.
I am pretty sure younger generations will embrace train travel more than air plane travel
They definitely will if seats keep shrinking
@@counterfit5 Seats aren't shrinking. People grow too big either from genetics or lack of caloric discipline.
It's a funding problem and it's also a policy problem. North America love their cars and if nothing changes that, all the money in the world won't help public transport. Walkable cities goes hand-in-hand with public transport.
It's not North-Americans love their cars. The issue is, most North American cities are solely designed for cars, not pedestrians/cyclists/buses/trains.
Any industry is going to grow if the government is paying the bill. $3.75BB for a corridor between Las Vegas and Southern Cal. Who is going the benefit from that, the casinos?
hahah I thought the same. I’m all for subsidizing things but subsidizing a train track that only serves one purpose is stupid. I guarantee most people will still drive the 4 hour drive to Vegas. Doesn’t solve a commute and congestion problem. Cities need more inter city and subway infrastructure no regional rails.
@@seanshen8325North American cities weren’t designed for cars, they were bulldozed for cars.
@@stephentomaszewski8501that’s the rub though. Brughtline is banking on people actually taking the train from so cal to vegas. Perhaps if Vegas sees that more people are coming from out of state via hsr than they’ll build more public transportation to accommodate
I am very happy we are beginning to invest in rail of varying kinds. But why is some guy who isn't American, the CEO of a supposed American rail company? Who does he employ? Are they Americans? And why does Beijing own any company, let alone land, on American soil?! WTF is going on!?
Imagine the positive impacts both environmentally and economically of implementing high quality mass transit
It's a long road, but I'm optimistic! Creating a better world for future generations.
Wow none of that is true. First off trains are not profitable that’s a fact and also they’re more expensive to build and they’re not wanted read a book.
@@evantom8726no you shouldn’t be and that’s not are problem
@@The_king567the train itself may not be profitable, but it significantly boosts the economy of cities and towns along it’s path.
@@thatoneguy611 still a waste of money
We need lots of trains 🚆 for public transportation.
No we don’t
Up the video quality to 4K60fps!
the tax dollar of this generation will be spent on the next generation. Would you be able to afford an extra 5% inflation or a few more percentage in income tax?
@@CadiKaneIt would give people more options, and free up space on the roads for you cars lovers.
@@CadiKane Yes we do. That is how everyone can travel. Not everyone can travel by car, you need to be accepted to borrow money, and then have enough to maintain your vehicle, with trains, you don't have to do that. Not to mention all of the money that was taken away from railroads and street cars in the early 1900's invested in costly road projects. The cities and land were bulldozed for the roads, and DOT's have not returned the money that should be going towards rail travel since the IHS was created.
A few years ago, we rode Amtrak's "Southwest Chief" from Los Angeles to Chicago. Overall, it was a decent experience, and I would probably do it again. However, I can also imagine how much nicer it would be if the tracks and rolling-stock were updated as this video implies they could be.
Furthermore, we recently traveled throughout central Europe, and, after much deliberation, decided to rent cars instead of purchasing train tickets. Most of this had to do with travel time between two points; almost without exception, traveling by car was much faster than taking the train (with all of its stops along the way). However, if I lived in Europe, I would probably use the rail service much more often, as I would probably not be in such a "rush" to squeeze in visiting a number of tourist sites.
Yeah let's go!!! 🙌 This would be great for our county! The economic, safety, and convince impacts would be huge. It would also have positive impacts on cities (fewer cars, less pollution, greater mobility). I would love to see this in my lifetime!
Personally I would love to see more train infrastructure. If it were more convenient I would take it more.
@@duffelbagdrag then thats is great, cosolidated power generation from Fossile fuel to electricity is more effiicent and economic then a distrubtued one, if overehead or 3rd rail electrified railroad, streetcard and light rail are widely accessable then it will be far cheaper and convient for us to ride train then to drive!
@@duffelbagdrag 1. Coverage is an relative easy fix, the infrastecture is here but currently utalise by mainly cargo after passenger service decline.
2. Funding is an investment problem, if we want to promote greater mobility and reduce the cost for fuel then per milesage speaking rail is far easier and cheaper to maintain with much higher capacity.
3. A lot of these social problems are due to many of us are in isolation, an example will be "Do you think there will be more crime on times square then a dark alleyway" Ridership and Crime happen on transit system are closely related, furthermore we could not blame a social problem on transit, this is like saying There are drug dealers at the gas station so I will never go to any gas station
Ther problem with our country is that the highways are heavily subsidized. (which is funny considering the conditions of our roads).
And passenger rail is not heavily subsidized? Take a look at the figures on the US Department Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration regarding Federal grants paid to AMTRAK from it's inception to 2016 (the most current data they have). Has Amtrak ever had a profitable year? No, only a lowest operating deficit in certain years.
You have NO IDEA how much we subsidize cars in this country...
Amtrak should focus on getting their own right of ways and stop relying on the freight rail companies. Build the tracks in the center of existing Interstate Freeways and work with the states on funding that way. Also start running hub type service instead of line service. That way you can have more long distance lines that can really take advantage of high speed and efficiency. For example, on Interstate 10 you can have a high speed line that goes from Los Angeles to Jacksonville. The stops on the main line (hubs) Los Angeles, Phoenix, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, Jacksonville. Any cities between those cities would be linked to the nearest main hub city. And those cities would have micro hubs to towns around them. For example Alamogordo NM would be part of the El Paso hub. Tuscon would be part of the Phoenix hub. Mobile AL would belong to New Orleans. Tallahassee would be part of Jacksonville.
Amtrak cannot do anything Congress (or the states) do not allow them to / ask them to do. That is the problem. STATES (with FED financial backing) should prioritise building publically owned rail ROW on important corridors and then tender our operations / service level. That is how Europe does it.
@@dozyaustin Hell, many states possess miles and miles of disused/abandoned ROW that were surrendered to the states after the CONRAIL days that they could reactivate for passenger rail travel. The corridors still exist. They just need feasibility studies done and some new rail laid down.
What a super idea, put the trains in the center of the highway, great thought.
The major problem with train travel in the US is that even though passenger rail is given priority, that rarely happens. Amtrak doesn't own its own tracks in most of the US. Freight operators should be required to create new tracks for freight-only operations.
I rode on an old Amtrak two or three times. It wasn't fast, but it was pure luxury. Super comfortable chairs, nice people, always something to look at, time to relax. I loved it.
I worked for a major Japanese manufacturer for several years..Visiting engineers always had the same question.,,”How can a rich country with such a huge land mass not have state of the art rail systems???”
@@liannebedard5521 Our huge land mass IS the problem. A shinkansen line from DC to LA would be a 17 hour trip if it made NO stops (unlikely as youd need thousands more trains to connect all the big cities), youd have to eat not 1 but 2 meals on the trip and probably want sleeper cars with showers and bathrooms. No high speed train that I am aware of has overnight service because the country they are in is small enough that all their trains can get where they are going in a workday (China might, I dont know that much about them as its all new). The wiring (and power generation) for it would cost probably the GDP of Japan for 3 years to buy and it would be a security nightmare trying to keep it safe from terrorists, vandals and thieves, requiring tens of thousand of US Marshals or Secret Service or whichever federal cop organization won that boondoggle; my bet is a new agency would be created just for that. Flying is just much easier logistically all you need are airports at the termini and the route takes care of itself. Plus we built the Interstate highway system so that the Army could get from one side to the other relatively quickly, so its gonna be there regardless may as well just drive, that way you can get around your destination once you get there.
The Amtrak is the only passenger rail that comes through my town, but it arrives at 2:30 in the morning. You can imagine why no one around here uses passenger rail.
My young children and I took 2:30 am train from North Carolina to Massachusetts years ago, aided by a friend who got off work at 1 am. One of our best family events...and we still love trains...even in their decrepitude.
@@liannebedard5521 I'm so jealous of people who can ride them frequently. I don't think I could even if I tried. I'm not near any now.
I wouldn't say that I travelled widely but I visited a few countries so far (France, Turkey and Taiwan) and every time I'm coming back home (I'm a Canadian by the way), I realize how underdeveloped our transport infrastructures are in North America. The high speed train is safe, extremely convenient (you can get a seat with a nice table and work on your laptop with the WiFi), environmentally friendly and faster than a car. Also, if you develop the infrastructure enough, it can be cheaper than a car and much cheaper than the plane. I get it, Canada and the United States are huge countries and there is not enough density to cover the costs. But what if we changed our relationship with space and started densifying our population? We could do amazing things, especially in the United States. You are the richest country on Earth and your budget deficit this year is estimated at $1.5 trillion. I do not believe that you cannot cut some wasteful spending such as oil subsidies for giant companies and spend an extra $50 billion for high speed train. Even if the infrastructure remains unprofitable for a while, it will still be a wiser investment.
The problem is that no one might ride it
@@seanthe100 Honestly I wouldn’t be so sure about that. When the service is there, people start thinking differently. We’ll see in California anyway, they seem to be willing to move forward…
Even south east Asia will become better than America in manufacturing trains
❤
@@seanthe100 people will ride when they'll see how cheap and efficient those things are
Bruh why no focus on Stadler? They are literally making the best train models for most American public transportation networks. Especially with the KISS and FLIRT models 😭
Cause these are just 2 examples, and they're the 2 companies in consideration or building the high speed trains.
I ride Amtrak regularly and have done so for the past 20 years. And I love it. Could it be improved upon? Yes. But that equates to growth into the future. I'll be on board for that.
Yes please make MORE!
Something to point out as well is that in Mexico just opened their Maya rail line on the Yucatán peninsula.
That’s a really neat project. I see it often billed as a “tourist train” but it’ll do a lot to provide a new transportation option for locals.
@@eriklakeland3857 I agree! There’s still a lot of controversy because of the environment. Activists say this will further erode the jungle, but at the same time historically that region has never been connected. So yeah it’ll be good for economic growth that will (hopefully!) help the local population.
I love that as soon as I click on this video, the first train soon is the one connecting San Diego to LA. My home region, and an area that desperately needs more commuter train options 🥲
“It doesn’t have to be profitable, it’s transportation, it’s public service” amen brother
I traveled thru trains all my life and I’ll never forget traveling on bullet trains back in Japan I hope we can invest more in public transportation like trains for the economy and to make it easier on spending money on gas
If US cities dont become walkable, bikeable, and transit is not improved between cities then I may move out. Living in a soulless suburb is really taking a toll on my mental health, being far away from everything and a non-existent community is really not good for someones health. No wonder kids stay inside all day, who wants to walk around a boring-ass suburb only to gain your freedom when you get a driving license, being dependent on your parents for 16 years? Thats the reason kids and young adults prefer walkable communities, public transit, and have an anti-car mentality.
Yep
lol no way you believe this crap who wants to live on top of each other and who wants to live next to losers you never met god you people are laughable do you know what the most common form of transportation is in the world it’s not trains it’s cars read a book
If you could choose between a 6 hour trip where you can move around as you please, use the restroom, get work done, watch the scenery, take a nap, or having to sit in one spot, pay attention to the road, pay for gas, find and pay for parking, which seems like the more obvious choice?
The train of course, unless it's a 6 hour plane trip, where the train would not make sense for such a long distance, unless it's a night train, where you really wanna enjoy the scenery for multiple days, like on Amtrak's longest routes.
@@ncard00 I meant a 6 hour car or train trip
Ok, good points. If I’m simply going to one destination and staying there, I’m all for it. Now tell me how you supposed to get around if you want to see more of the area you travel to? In most US cities, you’ll need to rent a car unless you want to plan your vacation around a public transit system that doesn’t run at all hours, won’t get you to where you need to be conveniently or simply isn’t safe. Driving solves all those potential obstacles.
@@milessampson3942then rent a car. Still better than driving the entire way there
That's exactly why I'm taking the train to Philly and NYC next month, and not driving
I don't understand ehy car enthusiasts are so against public transport.
The more people that use public transport means less cars on the road. Meaning less traffic.
look i want high speed rails too, but our first priory should be making cities walkable
East coast cities are walkable for the most part texas further west were designed with cars in mind
I think having more trains everywhere also helps makes cities more walkable. I fully agree on decreasing car dependency through city design as well tho
Seattle is working the hardest to do that and we have new buses and streetcars
@@IndustrialParrot2816 seattle would be one of the hardest to have high speed rail just for the fact the next heavily dense populated area is Portland that to much land they have to buy so they could build over not to mention the number of counties and representatives that have to vote for it
You need both at the same time. Can't have car free cities when you need cars for intercity transportation
Our roads aren’t profitable, therefor our trains don’t have to be profitable
Exactly. They increase efficiency and facilitate economic growth. These profit-motivated rail companies (freight) are the reason why are railroads are falling apart. We have chemical spill after chemical spill because someone wanted to save money.
It is 630 km between Boston and D.C.
Japan's newest generation of maglev-shinkansen bullet trains operate at 600 km/hr.
Imagine a buttery-smooth commute between D.C. and Boston in literally one hour.
Let's make this happen folks.
Sure why not. Lets increase debt to fund more useless projects specially when there are already stablished alternatives
@@visitante-pc5zc i loved stablished alternatives
Why is that even necessary with advances in WFH and remote office?
Upgrading the Existing NEC is probably more viable
@@visitante-pc5zc I hope you never look at how much the military budget is. You'd have a heart attack seeing how much debt they're causing the country.
The new Siemens trains I've travelled on with VIA were very nice, like a better version of the 1980s in Europe.
Trains are cool beings
You are a fake bot
The chart at 0:11 omits India, the #2 country by Passenger-Kilometers of Rail Transport per year
They only count passenger trains with toilet...
@@jmg8246yes, keep up with this ignorance.
😂
In the words of Kanye west:
Even if you are not ready for the day, it cannot always be night.
Keep it up.
There is certainly a place for GOOD QUALITY rail travel in the US. A couple of years ago, my wife and I took the French TGV from Strasbourg to Paris. Fast (nearly 200 mph on some stretches, with a coffee on the table in front of me and barely a ripple) and roomy. I've done the LIRR from Long Island to NYC. A much nicer trip than I was expecting and proof that good rail travel IS possible in the US.
Once rail travel takes off, TSA will get involved and then it will become just as annoying as plane travel.
No TSA in Europe and rail system is huge
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I'm thrilled seeing all the support for trains and transit in this comment section. I really hope this is a sign of a true paradigm shift, and we can start taking back the country to be livable and traversable again.
Yes because I wanna travel overland in my own country without gassing up all the way across.
Highways and roads make 0 dollars and cost insane amounts of money to serve less then trains. at least public transit can sell tickets to get back some cost
Believe it or not electric rail is one of the best ways to fight climate change, not electric cars!
If they say “Passenger Rail is not Worth of investment”. I suggest they need to go to Europe & Asia. They will be amazed!
13:20 You heard it here folks, CNBC almost blatantly says to Nationalize the railroads. Hell yeah down with the Class 1s
I know class 1 railroads often screw over Amtrak, but I don't see the constitutionality in nationalizing private railroads
America needs to look into High-Speed rail like other countries have and match those speeds. Especially for those with disabilities who cannot drive or people cannot drive in general do to other factors. This would give them a sense of freedom to live work and play in other areas and not just rely on the local transit system which a lot of times it's very difficult. When you have High-Speed rail that can go from d.c. to New York or Philly to New York or even other destinations besides major cities you give people the opportunity to move around to visit friends to visit family to seek out work opportunities that they otherwise would not have. So America really needs to get on board because not everybody can drive a vehicle.
if you can't drive you hire a taxi
public transportation is styoopi for a country like usa
train is highly inefficient compared to a plane for long distances
nobody in his right mind takes a lane from ny to la or even seattle to la for that matter
@@larrybuchannan186 I'd work on the typing, and then research where trains make sense. Not one person in their "right mind" has NY to LA on their future agenda as a rail route..
I've been licensed for motorbikes, racetrack, and combat trucks, yet I still take public transit wherever practical.
@@larrybuchannan186 *train is highly inefficient compared to a plane for long distances*
do you even know what you are talking about? Literally the opposite is true.
@@hidum5779 You would have to be a complete idio to travel from ny to la on train
Hel la to sf is inefficient let alone ny to la
plane is far far faster than a styoopi train
get your head out of youras
Not enough people understand the amount of money we spend on maintaining roads and highways without turning a profit… it’s orders of magnitude more than we spend on rail
Remember, the United States built railroads over 100 years ago with steam passenger locomotives that traveled at over 100 miles an hour. The United States had the fastest trains on Earth. These are the same railways we now say cannot handle a train doing 90 miles an hour. We had a nationwide passenger high speed rail system over 100 years ago. What we have now is a result of neglect, not outdated technology. Petition your representatives, and ask them to restore the old system, and rebuild better for the future.
The rail can’t handle that speed because it’s old and we’re too cheap to replace them but not for long! It’s inevitable that this investment in rail will lead to the development of new physical rail and even the replacement of the old rail with modern rail capable of handling speeds up to and maybe even exceeding 169 mph well into the 180-200 mph range.
Remember, was, had, cannot, neglect, outdated...This list goes on and on...
@@L154N4LG4IB the old rail system only topped out in the steam age because that was the fastest the steam engine could pull. The Japanese Bullet Train was faster than any steam engine and pulled those same trains past 120 miles per hour on the same old rails that they used to have. It was only recently that they upgraded the rails to handle even faster. The leap to 200 mph is too expensive for people today because we are trying to build a whole system from scratch. By simply rebuilding the old system and updating it bit by bit over time like the Japanese did would let us have nationwide high speed rail in less than 10 years, and Japan-level high speed rail would be gradually updated over the 50 following years. The most important part of public transport is not top speed anyway. It is running according to a schedule. japan still uses slow trains everywhere for shorter trips.
I hope at some point the USA can become less car reliant and more walkable
Vote to fund amtrak, buy the track from the freight companies, and expand local service
Lol. Then how will freight move throughout the country? The solution is to build new tracks
@@Chopper153ever heard of adding tracks to existing corridors?
I can think of few worse moves than forcing millions of tons of freight each day onto the highways.
@@AllenGraetzwhich nobody wanted. It's about giving priority to passenger trains like any sane country, which will make cargo trains go a bit slower, but not push them off the tracks
@@Chopper153 um, the truck companies don't own the roads and yet they use them. Nationalization doesn't mean the freight trains can't use them. The northeast corridor is owned by Amtrak and when I was there last I saw several Norfolk Southern and CSX
I would LOVE to take a train trip across the US!! That would be awesome!!
Why don't you? It's fixed now
The problem is often people get zealous and demand a cross country highspeed rail or linking hubs that arent practical. It'll come, but it'll take massive investments and will be focused on high usage corridors to replace short hop / commuter flights. The Miami-Orlando Line is smart, the LA-LasVegas Line is smart (of course they are, unlike the others that are basically massive gov money pits they have actual market forces to consider and will build their own tracks)
There are plenty oof other smart choices though. The calHSR in itself is a good one, though the problem is that the US just lack the civil engineering capital, companies and competences, as well as the bureaucratic and legal arsenals for this kind of projects. There are plenty of other good corridors to implement smart HSR lines. Texas triangle, rust belt, cascadian region, north Carolina/Virginia, and going up the Mississipi.
Problem is, once again, that the US have no civil engineering companies able to deal with this kind of projects. No modern rail manufacturers, no boring competencies, no adminstrative frameworks to facilitate the legal side of things etc...
No wonder the californian HSR is such a ruin in these conditions.
Yes, this is a long road and hopefully we're able to pave the path for the future. Build population density and suitable means to travel between them! Growing cities should plan for suitable lightrail/HSR to minimize costs in the future.
This is epic. The USA finally picking up where it left before the car-boom.
Congrats with such a good program. Any developed country is only developed when public transport in, around, and between larger concentrations of people is up to par with requirements.
Less war, more infrastructure, also roads and especially bridges, is needed.
Again, congrats!
Thanks to president Biden
We need it... badly! With all this road and air traffic, roadrage, airport hassles and crazy stuff constantly going on in airplanes - I enthusiastically welcome trains. Hopefully one day we can have something as robust as Asia/Europe.
Amsterdam is a great example of mass transit. Check it out.
This sounds really good. American jobs and better for environment/less cars.
As one that cannot drive due to mental illness, I hope passenger rail way will succeed and flourish.
The one thing right now that rail has going for it is what’s going on in the airline industry in the United States.
In fact, I would observe whether or not airlines are lobbying against high-speed rail to prevent it from becoming a legitimate competitor.
I’ve gone on some Amtrak trains, and while they are not perfect, the comfort, any amount of space available is definitely more significant than that of the typical airplane, and I haven’t flown in several years, I understand it’s less comfortable than it used to be.
More importantly, All of the tiny annoyance is that you have with air travel are basically gone when it comes to train travel. It’s actually so much surprising that our train infrastructure does not have the same security theater that our air infrastructure has. But the truth of the matter is, I can get on interstate train with several bags And not have to check any of them. I can walk from the ticket counter directly to the train with little to no interference. And in fact, if I want to decide to take a train at the last minute, I can do so, by arriving at the station with less than a half an hour between when I get the ticket and when the train leaves.
I imagine if some of these things will change, if train travel becomes more popular in the United States, but if there is any time, we are taking a train that competes with taking a plane will take Root, this is it.
Airlines do lobby against passenger railway expansion. For example, the Texas Central was fought by none other than Southwest Airlines.
I absolutely love this! I'm too old to enjoy train travel now, but it makes me smile to believe it's making a comeback here in America. I wish they wouldn't worry so much about speed though. I'd much rather take it easy and see where I'm going and enjoy the ride. It's also great to hear about creating jobs here so we can have a place to make a little money instead of many places to spend it. Oh I could get into this! : )
Though it's exciting to see the US join more advanced nations in building high-order passenger rail I wouldn't underestimate the drastic culture and behavior change required for it to be a success with the masses in the US. Because of the US's long history of disinvestment in rail and public transit, and massive overinvestment in highways, bridges and parking lots, it has long reinforced a society where the vehicle is entrenched in its culture as the ultimate freedom tool, one that's intrinsically linked to social status and where you are literally socially cocooned from the public (typically driving solo or with your familiar or social network). In Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and other places that place more value on transportation as a public rather than a private good, a successful society is one where wealthy people choose to take the train over driving because the quality of service is high. Because it is a norm there is less social stratification, as opposed to a culture that largely sees the train as a service for poor captive riders i.e. people who have no other choice.
It will be a huge task in the US to break down decades of systemic societal and cultural barriers to taking rail and public transit such as the 1) safety and socio-economic stigmas attached to taking transit in the US i.e. it's unsafe and for poor people and conversely the high social value placed on owning and driving a vehicle everywhere 2) the vehicle infrastructure is so embedded - One major symptom is that vehicle infrastructure is literally planned over the top of most major cities, rather than integrating it as a component of the built environment. In addition to competing directly with the car as a symbol of social status, many of these rail projects are planned along existing highways (which will likely cannibalize ridership / require even more parking to be built to serve the rail infrastructure / better local public transit to serve the high-speed rail when the average US citizen is not accustomed to using PT or making transfers).
3) Health - the US's addiction to passenger vehicle transportation is not something you can simply reverse and is one of the major reasons for the US's sedentary lifestyle, high obesity rates and prevalence of comorbidities 3) Health is directly linked to the built form and the low transit and active transportation mode share in the US came about not only because historically they have not been well funded or safe/viable options, but because there is a heavily entrenched culture of driving everywhere to get from A to B, and the expectation that parking will be available at every origin and destination. A strong culture or transit requires some expectation of wait time, which the US by and large does not have, and a culture of walking as a form of transportation, which is a social norm in very few US cities. The percentage of short trips by car in the US is astronomical whereas in other places walking and rolling trips account for a much higher percentage of short trips.
I'm going to choose to be cautiously optimistic and believe that passenger rail will get better and better in the US in the coming decades, like how it used to be before the post-WW2 years. We should also invest heavily in redesigning cities and suburbs to be much less car-dependent, like how they used to be, again, before the post-WW2 years. That will make rail travel, both intercity and intracity, much more practical for people and also just wildly improve the financial, environmental, and community health of cities as well as the physical and mental health of their people.
Free money handouts damages economy. Also govt. should stop EV subsidies. Why pay 7500 some rich person to buy 50grand cars? Instead, public transport shall be highly subsidized by government. Encourage brightline, Amtrak guys.
Brightline and Amtrak are rail operators not builders.
It's perfect for travel between highly urbanized Cities that are close to each other like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Franscisco, Phoenix, etc. Flying from Phoenix to LA may take almost 4-5 hours of your time (Check-in + Flying time + Taxing + Luggage) between airport versus a high speed train.
Good for US manufacturing but Amtrak and local transit are slow, dirty, and unsafe with rude employees which needs to be improved for people to want more train service.
The issue with our transit right now is that it takes me 28 minutes to drive from my house to my job. If I take public transit (which impressively drops me 1 block from work), takes 1h 6m. It's not worth doubling my commute, and battling the homeless on the walk.
All land use problems that are too boring for the Average American to understand.
@@randgrithr7387 Perhaps we'd care if they were more interesting. I can drive to my office in 20 minutes or I can take two buses in 90 minutes. My car takes me where I want when I want with who and what I want. I don't have to share space with strangers. Rail really only works for connecting major cities. Outside of that, the US's population density is too low and our land area is too big. You can't put a station for every little farm and hunting cabin.
How much does car parking cost versus the train fare? Where I live it's 35min to drive to work if traffic is good and 55min door to door on the train. However with tolls, fuel and parking costs driving is over three times as expensive as the train fare.