3 ms·
Amtrak is the big interstate rail company. There are many small railroad that art more densely packed around a metro area or within one small state. For instanc
by 1-more 3y ago
Amtrak is the big interstate rail company. There are many small railroad that art more densely packed around a metro area or within one small state. For instance, you can get from Newark, DE to Springfield, MA entirely on regional trains: SEPTA from Newark, DE through Philadelphia, PA to Trenton, NJ; NJ Transit from Trenton to Penn Station in New York City; NYC subway from Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal (if you have a heavy luggage, otherwise just walk), Metro North from GCT to New Haven, CT; Hartford Line CT Rail from New Haven, CT to Springfield, MA.
Each leg of that trip on a commuter train probably had 5 to 25 stops in between stations I mentioned, and each of those rail systems branches out in various directions to serve the commuters of that area getting into the cities I mention. Amtrak also runs about the same route with way fewer stops.
The US used to be more rail dense. It still has the longest total railroad of any country in the world at 220k KM, but that's down from a peak of 408k KM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_transport_network_size https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_tran... (a fair bit over one light-second, kinda cool).
- jcranmer 3y ago> Amtrak is the big interstate rail company. This is true only if you consider passenger rail. In terms of freight rail, the US has 6: Canadian Pacific (which recently acquired the 7th), Canadian National, Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, and Norfolk Southern. Note that the smallest of these has more track than all but ~13 other countries, and the largest would be #4.
- rspoerri 3y agoWikipedia might need an update. It‘s giving largely different numbers in different languages: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_L%C3%A4nder_nach_Eisenbahnnetz https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_L%C3%A4nder_nach_E... EU seems to have a longer railnet, bit US net is also longer in german wiki. Density ist nearly twice in EU.
- bombcar 3y agoUS railroads are so large and old that they literally don’t know how many miles of track they have. And some tracks are usable but unused until a customer asks for a train. And some records show tracks where no rail has been for forty years. Fun fact - some of those rail2trail trails are still considered railroads because the track can be readded at any time.