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The US government should model its train service after Europe, since Europe clearly knows what it’s doing and the US clearly doesn’t. Also, would you then be c

The US government should model its train service after Europe, since Europe clearly knows what it’s doing and the US clearly doesn’t. Also, would you then be consistent and argue that the government shouldn’t be spending so much on highways for cars, since it’ll just waste that money too?

rayiner 8y ago
Or Japan. Privatize Amtrak completely.
- hestefisk 8y ago
  The UK is case in point evidence that private railroad operations will not make it cheaper. Rail travel in the UK is insanely expensive and delayed.
- Kadin 8y ago
  There's no reason to think that what makes train service in Japan better than in America is related to it being privatized. I have total faith that we could privatize Amtrak and have it be just as execrable in comparison. And then it would be sold off for parts, some assholes would get tremendously wealthy, and we wouldn't have any passenger rail network at all.
- irq11 8y ago
  Japan’s rail lines were almost entirely developed by the government, and transferred to private companies later. Private enterprise is great when taxpayers pay for the expensive part.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    And, while Japanese rail service in general is pretty much as good as anyplace in the world, the Shinkansen is not inexpensive. It's nonetheless popular because HSR is a good match for the distances between a number of populous cities.
johannes1234321 8y ago
A key reason for American trains being bad is that demand is different. (Which to some degree is caused by offer) The USA has large areas of sparsley populted land where flying for long distance, and car for the the closer area are hard to beat. This is way different from more densly populated Europe and even more densly populated Japan (especially when excluding Japan's motain regions) If there were drive more more trains this would first require massive investment in infrastructure, to build both: the medium distance lines through populated area (for example along the east and west coast) as well as a network of connecting services fading out in the suburbs of the hub. Hardly anybody wants to go from hub to hub. If they need an car for "the last mile" anyways it's likely they won't take the detour to the train station and then having no way to continue on the other end ... If instead they can drive the complete distance. Successful railways need a network connecting complete regions providing enough potential for a frequent service. Building that requires huge support by politics/society.

rayiner 8y ago

Or Japan. Privatize Amtrak completely.

hestefisk 8y ago
The UK is case in point evidence that private railroad operations will not make it cheaper. Rail travel in the UK is insanely expensive and delayed.
Kadin 8y ago
There's no reason to think that what makes train service in Japan better than in America is related to it being privatized. I have total faith that we could privatize Amtrak and have it be just as execrable in comparison. And then it would be sold off for parts, some assholes would get tremendously wealthy, and we wouldn't have any passenger rail network at all.
irq11 8y ago
Japan’s rail lines were almost entirely developed by the government, and transferred to private companies later. Private enterprise is great when taxpayers pay for the expensive part.
- ghaff 8y ago
  And, while Japanese rail service in general is pretty much as good as anyplace in the world, the Shinkansen is not inexpensive. It's nonetheless popular because HSR is a good match for the distances between a number of populous cities.

johannes1234321 8y ago

A key reason for American trains being bad is that demand is different. (Which to some degree is caused by offer) The USA has large areas of sparsley populted land where flying for long distance, and car for the the closer area are hard to beat. This is way different from more densly populated Europe and even more densly populated Japan (especially when excluding Japan's motain regions) If there were drive more more trains this would first require massive investment in infrastructure, to build both: the medium distance lines through populated area (for example along the east and west coast) as well as a network of connecting services fading out in the suburbs of the hub. Hardly anybody wants to go from hub to hub. If they need an car for "the last mile" anyways it's likely they won't take the detour to the train station and then having no way to continue on the other end ... If instead they can drive the complete distance. Successful railways need a network connecting complete regions providing enough potential for a frequent service. Building that requires huge support by politics/society.