3 ms·

That was my thinking as well, especially with a family of four and intending to make a loop of the country by train. I understand a lot of the criticism of the

That was my thinking as well, especially with a family of four and intending to make a loop of the country by train. I understand a lot of the criticism of the transit system in this thread, but when I compare the options and flexibility there compared to Washington / Oregon (where I live, and comparable in geographic size to Germany) it becomes readily apparent how superior any European nation's transit options are to our own.

ajmurmann 3y ago
Living in Oregon, I've taken the train to Seattle a few times. It's nice, but of course could be better. As much public transit-envy I have for Europe or Japan and China, I just am increasingly coming to be convinced that inter-city transit at the west coast just isn't suited for public transit. The density just isn't there. When I take an ICE from Bonn to Hamburg I pass by so many major cities all of which are served by the ICE. There isn't much to speak of between Portland and Seattle and even less if I wanted to take a train to SF. The math just doesn't work as well.
- laurencerowe 3y ago
  The area surrounding the Rhine Valley is the most densely populated part of Europe. I recently drove up the west coast from SF and at least from I5 it seemed like Eugene-Vancouver Canada was pretty built up most of the way. It’s a bit more sparse on the 100 mile stretch between Vancouver WA and Olympia but it’s not really that far, two thirds of Hamburg-Berlin which is less densely populated than western parts of Germany. But just look at France or Spain to see high speed rail working well in more sparsely populated countries. I think the bigger problem is how much you need a car within American cities which tend to be much more spread out than their European equivalents, though Seattle, Portland and Vancouver Canada aren’t terrible in that respect. It probably makes sense to prioritise regional rail before HSR, but then if you have to build new railways to get separation from freight traffic, electrify and remove crossings so you can run 100 mph European regional rail speeds and frequencies I guess you may as well build HSR.

ajmurmann 3y ago

Living in Oregon, I've taken the train to Seattle a few times. It's nice, but of course could be better. As much public transit-envy I have for Europe or Japan and China, I just am increasingly coming to be convinced that inter-city transit at the west coast just isn't suited for public transit. The density just isn't there. When I take an ICE from Bonn to Hamburg I pass by so many major cities all of which are served by the ICE. There isn't much to speak of between Portland and Seattle and even less if I wanted to take a train to SF. The math just doesn't work as well.

laurencerowe 3y ago
The area surrounding the Rhine Valley is the most densely populated part of Europe. I recently drove up the west coast from SF and at least from I5 it seemed like Eugene-Vancouver Canada was pretty built up most of the way. It’s a bit more sparse on the 100 mile stretch between Vancouver WA and Olympia but it’s not really that far, two thirds of Hamburg-Berlin which is less densely populated than western parts of Germany. But just look at France or Spain to see high speed rail working well in more sparsely populated countries. I think the bigger problem is how much you need a car within American cities which tend to be much more spread out than their European equivalents, though Seattle, Portland and Vancouver Canada aren’t terrible in that respect. It probably makes sense to prioritise regional rail before HSR, but then if you have to build new railways to get separation from freight traffic, electrify and remove crossings so you can run 100 mph European regional rail speeds and frequencies I guess you may as well build HSR.