3 ms·

I think the area between Chicago and New York has a considerably higher population density than most of Europe. But yes, Amtrak does go very slow, at least the

• claudius 13y ago
  Not really, no, at least if you concentrate on Central/Western Europe, where most of the high-speed railways are located: US: http://jaymans.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/71789-050-459169a6.gif http://jaymans.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/71789-050-459169a... EU: http://education.randmcnally.com/images/edpub/Europe_Population.png http://education.randmcnally.com/images/edpub/Europe_Populat... (note the very different colour schemes). Bad tracks and diesel locomotives are more likely to be the culprit here.
  • syntheticnature 13y ago
    My impression is that EU passenger railways are less likely to have at-grade crossings, which also would contribute (in terms of safety at a given speed).
    • gsnedders 13y ago
      High speed rail (typically considered 200km/h+, i.e., ~124mph) is almost always built with no at-grade crossings; on existing track upgraded for 200km/h line-speed it's normal to have lower speed limits around at-grade crossings.
  • gsnedders 13y ago
    It's perfectly feasible to have far quicker diesel trains than is common in the US (see the British High Speed Train, from the 1970s, with a top speed in service of 125mph, or the ICE-TD from a decade ago, again 125mph). Of course, you then need to have signalling for that line-speed and have pathings that allow it.