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I recently took the TGV from Avignon to Paris. It was fast, clean (a notable improvement from the past), efficient and on time. I was left with my usual feeling

I recently took the TGV from Avignon to Paris. It was fast, clean (a notable improvement from the past), efficient and on time. I was left with my usual feeling: why can't we have this in the US? It will never happen. A confluence of NIMBY, onerous regulation, a judicial system that ensures private contractors have the upper hand in legal disputes, just to name a few reasons will always mean this kind of infrastructure will remain out of reach for most Americans especially those living outside the northeast corridor.

pkulak 4y ago
Well, California is working on it, but taking a constant stream of abuse for going over budget. Not sure who else is ever going to sign on for this process. I can't remember the last time and entire nation cared this much about an over-budget freeway program; and there have been plenty.
vondur 4y ago
Not easy here. You see the results of the California high speed rail project. Billions spent with basically nothing to show for it. Buying the land up near the cities they would service is super expensive. I was hoping they could at least connect the Central Valley cities. It may allow people to live where it’s cheaper and commute to the LA area.
rr888 4y ago
Two big differences. The distance between US cities is much further than Europe (aside from the NE USA which does have high speed rail). Also European cities have nice downtowns and good public transport so people do want to go from one city center to another. As opposed to the USA where no one wants to go from say downtown Houston to downtown Denver.
- antongribok 4y ago
  North-East USA does not have high speed rail. Amtrak Acela is not high speed rail.
- yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
  How long does it normally take to travel between Houston and Denver? If you're flying, I'm guessing it takes more than four hours between the center of each city because of, e.g., airport security theater, check-in, etc. At TGV speed, I believe that train connection would be about four hours.
  - labcomputer 4y ago
    The real problem is that, practically speaking, you still need a car once you arrive in either Denver or Houston (because of the way American cities are built). That implies renting a car at your destination if you ride the train, which eats the time and cost savings (and then some) of taking the train. So why not just use your own car and save the hassle? Also, non-stop flights on that route have a scheduled time of less than 2.5 hours. Most flight schedules are padded these days to avoid fines for late arrivals, so it's hard to see that the train will be faster, even accounting for TSA. You'd have to make assumptions that don't really hold for the US--like getting to the train stations is faster than getting to the airport. For Houston in particular, the two airports on opposite sides of the city center make this particularly unlikely for a large fraction of the population. Edit to add: I also think that 4 hours is fairly optimistic for a train between Houston and Denver. That implies a non-stop train running at a constant 350 km/h or 220 mph on the great circle between those two cities. According to wikipedia, the fastest scheduled average speed of a TGV is only 280 km/h (with stops). So that's really closer to a 5.5 hour journey, which I think reinforces the point that it isn't competitive with air travel.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - julienchastang 4y ago
    High speed rail between Houston and Denver probably would not make sense, but a high speed rail network within Texas would, connecting Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, etc. Like I said, though, it will never happen especially in Texas where private interests are sacrosanct and anti-government sentiment runs high.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  These are all symptoms of intentional ongoing choices not causes.
hassancf 4y ago
Just to add that a poor country such as Morocco (North Africa) has a freaking High Speed Bullet train (french TGV) between Casablanca and Tangiers. It beats me why the US can’t have one Just saying
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobile_manufacturers_of_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobile_manufactu...

pkulak 4y ago

Well, California is working on it, but taking a constant stream of abuse for going over budget. Not sure who else is ever going to sign on for this process. I can't remember the last time and entire nation cared this much about an over-budget freeway program; and there have been plenty.

vondur 4y ago

Not easy here. You see the results of the California high speed rail project. Billions spent with basically nothing to show for it. Buying the land up near the cities they would service is super expensive. I was hoping they could at least connect the Central Valley cities. It may allow people to live where it’s cheaper and commute to the LA area.

rr888 4y ago

Two big differences. The distance between US cities is much further than Europe (aside from the NE USA which does have high speed rail). Also European cities have nice downtowns and good public transport so people do want to go from one city center to another. As opposed to the USA where no one wants to go from say downtown Houston to downtown Denver.

antongribok 4y ago
North-East USA does not have high speed rail. Amtrak Acela is not high speed rail.
yakshaving_jgt 4y ago
How long does it normally take to travel between Houston and Denver? If you're flying, I'm guessing it takes more than four hours between the center of each city because of, e.g., airport security theater, check-in, etc. At TGV speed, I believe that train connection would be about four hours.
- labcomputer 4y ago
  The real problem is that, practically speaking, you still need a car once you arrive in either Denver or Houston (because of the way American cities are built). That implies renting a car at your destination if you ride the train, which eats the time and cost savings (and then some) of taking the train. So why not just use your own car and save the hassle? Also, non-stop flights on that route have a scheduled time of less than 2.5 hours. Most flight schedules are padded these days to avoid fines for late arrivals, so it's hard to see that the train will be faster, even accounting for TSA. You'd have to make assumptions that don't really hold for the US--like getting to the train stations is faster than getting to the airport. For Houston in particular, the two airports on opposite sides of the city center make this particularly unlikely for a large fraction of the population. Edit to add: I also think that 4 hours is fairly optimistic for a train between Houston and Denver. That implies a non-stop train running at a constant 350 km/h or 220 mph on the great circle between those two cities. According to wikipedia, the fastest scheduled average speed of a TGV is only 280 km/h (with stops). So that's really closer to a 5.5 hour journey, which I think reinforces the point that it isn't competitive with air travel.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- julienchastang 4y ago
  High speed rail between Houston and Denver probably would not make sense, but a high speed rail network within Texas would, connecting Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, etc. Like I said, though, it will never happen especially in Texas where private interests are sacrosanct and anti-government sentiment runs high.
Schroedingersat 4y ago
These are all symptoms of intentional ongoing choices not causes.

hassancf 4y ago

Just to add that a poor country such as Morocco (North Africa) has a freaking High Speed Bullet train (french TGV) between Casablanca and Tangiers. It beats me why the US can’t have one Just saying

Schroedingersat 4y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobile_manufacturers_of_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automobile_manufactu...