The issue started back when highways were being built across the US. Subsequently the US deregulated the Rail industry so that it could compete with long-haul t

The issue started back when highways were being built across the US. Subsequently the US deregulated the Rail industry so that it could compete with long-haul trucking. Its been a steady spiral since then. John Oliver did an amazing and informative piece on trains. Since then, workers get no days off, they reduced the amount of workers on a train to 2 and are trying to get it down to 1 as we speak. They increased the length of trans by literal miles, and these trains have killed multiple people by blocking roadways / ambulances and have run over children who have had to crawl underneath the trains to get to school. This happens multiple times a week where the road is blocked for almost a day. These conductors have to walk the length of 4 miles to "inspect" the train, and deregulation has pushed the inspection time down to mere minutes instead of an entire checklist. They have taken all the power from the single regulation body and allow trains to run with brakes built in the early 1900s. We have many multiple "accidents" a year with chemical spills, all for profit seeking behavior. These workers are consistently over-worked and cannot take any sick days unless they are scheduled 2-3 months in advance. Train accidents are inevitable at this point, the next one may be more disastrous than Palestine Ohio. This is the direct result to profit seeking by corporations (who pull in billions a year) and deregulation. It sucks because trains are f*cking awesome and could help society in a million ways.