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Say what you will about BR privatization, but this[0] goes from London to Manchester in 2 hours (takes about 3 by road if you really push it on the M6 toll and
by arprocter 10y ago
Say what you will about BR privatization, but this[0] goes from London to Manchester in 2 hours (takes about 3 by road if you really push it on the M6 toll and M40). They also serve (overpriced) beer.
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_390 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_390
- monodeldiablo 10y agoThe British government still owns the rails and prioritizes passenger service, though, unlike the US. NR bought it back after Railtrack folded, if memory serves. If Amtrak owned the rails and leased to freight, instead of the other way round, I imagine it'd have a similar level of service. As things stand, there's zero incentive for the track owners (freight companies) to update the lines for speeds higher than they can cheaply ship at. FWIW, I live in Croatia and even we have tilting trains these days. It's downright embarrassing that the US is so far behind.
- gozur88 10y agoThe basic problem with the US rail network is it's optimized for freight, especially outside the Eastern corridor. Who owns and maintains the network is probably less important than where it goes and the fact so many lines are single-track. If we wanted to put in a decent passenger rail network we're almost starting from scratch even using conventional trains.