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When I lived in China, the railway in my city cost about $2.5/trip, was 99.9% on-time, and the interiors were clean and air-conditioned. And they were making $2
by pcr0 10y ago
When I lived in China, the railway in my city cost about $2.5/trip, was 99.9% on-time, and the interiors were clean and air-conditioned. And they were making $2bn/year in profits. What a world of difference.
- fma 10y agoThere are more people in China. Whether 10 people ride, or 10,000 people ride - once your infrastructure for rail is in place, your costs do not increase much. In Atlanta we have urban sprawls, where people live far from the city and drive in. The city empties out at night. We need rail that take people from the suburbs to the city to reduce the cars on the highway.
- seanmcdirmid 10y agoMany railways in China aren't profitable, heck only the Beijing Shanghai line is (out of the HSRs), and it costs just as much as flying (often more!). Commuter transit in China (50 Kuai and below) is almost always heavily subsidized.