4 ms·
Hot take: trains do not appeal to the American culture in the same way it does to other cultures.
by brodouevencode 2y ago
Hot take: trains do not appeal to the American culture in the same way it does to other cultures.
- r14c 2y agoSpeak for yourself pal. Trains being politically difficult doesn't make them unappealing, train lovers just don't have the industrial weight of aviation and big car behind them.
- philwelch 2y agoThe US had a massive, federally subsidized passenger rail industry since the 19th century. The first transcontinental railroad was one of the defining achievements of the country. The reason Americans abandoned passenger rail for airlines and cars wasn’t because of lack of support for railroads, it’s because airlines and cars rendered passenger rail obsolete. Freight rail still makes sense though, and the US uses more freight rail than any other country.
- jerlam 2y agoHot take: Americans don't love flying either. Airplanes are just the most cost-effective, reliable, and fastest method to get around for long-distance travel in the US. Train service is often so bad that people would rather drive their cars and sit in traffic for long periods of time, because train travel is still worse. Make train travel cheaper, reliable, comfortable, and to places that people actually want to go, and people will take them. Of course some of these problems are much harder to fix than others.
- brodouevencode 2y agoYes, but as you say they're faster and about the same cost. > Make train travel cheaper, reliable, comfortable, and to places that people actually want to go, and people will take them. Of course some of these problems are much harder to fix than others. How?