Yes, we should invest in trains, but this is not a short or even medium term solution. It’s also horrifyingly expensive in many parts of the US, and broad public support simply isn’t there. So in the mean time we need to adapt using the infrastructure that already exists.
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RainfallSonata@lemmy.world 8 months ago
How about trains? Americans are too used to their cars for those long-range trips. Make them unnecessary. Have your car for local trips switch to trains for anything else.
unconfirmedsourcesDOTgov@lemmy.sdf.org 8 months ago
Chriswild@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Ideally I’d like trains for local trips and high speed rail for longer distances. I’d prefer to not own or use a car at all but most cities would have to be torn down and rebuilt to achieve this.
JamesFire@lemmy.world 8 months ago
but most cities would have to be torn down and rebuilt to achieve this.
We did it once, we can do it again!
Chriswild@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I don’t disagree but I also don’t think it will be something that can be done very quickly. While switching propulsion systems in cars can be fine till the time that they are not needed.
RainfallSonata@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Same, but tearing down and rebuilding cities is a feature, not a bug. Well, except for the carbon emissions involved in doing that.
blackn1ght@feddit.uk 8 months ago
Surely buses make way more sense for local trips.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 8 months ago
Years ago, I, a brit, was in Austin Texas for 7 weeks for work. During that time I thought it would good to go see New Orleans. I was like “I’ll just jump on a train and read and sleep until I’m there.” This what I had done in Europe. I had my error explained. So I drove. I mean, it was kind of interesting to see the different landscapes, but it was also really boring and time consuming. Basically got there, spent a few hours, and had to turn round and drive back.
Why the hell doesn’t the US have a passenger train network??
limelight79@lemm.ee 8 months ago
We do, it’s just very limited. Actually in Austin I think you could have pulled it off. You could have taken the Texas Eagle to San Antonio, then the Sunset Limited to New Orleans. It would have taken 27 hours and the Sunset Limited only runs 3 times a week, so if you departed Monday at 6:30 pm you’d be in NO Tuesday at 9:40 pm. Bon Voyage!
Just kidding. As a rail fan, it bugs me, too. My wife and I spent two weeks in Germany, visiting multiple cities, and we used a private car once (a relative gave us a ride) and a taxi once. Otherwise it was all trains and the occasional city bus, plus one motorcoach that took us to Neuschwanstein. It was pretty nice.
lagomorphlecture@lemmy.world 8 months ago
The Biden administration is working on improving train infrastructure but if you look at the map of what they’re adding, it’s limited to a very small section of the country. I mean, it’s like cross country but it’s such a massive country that it’s still super limited.
verdantbanana@lemmy.world 8 months ago
funny how biden said rail workers are not allowed to protest and ask for higher wages and better worker rights in general then bam comes out with expanding train infrastructure
someone is definitely looking out for his constituents
MasterInu@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Corporations are people too. Please think of the bottom line and its feelings would ya
wikibot@lemmy.world [bot] 8 months ago
Here’s the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:
Corporate personhood or juridical personality is the legal notion that a juridical person such as a corporation, separately from its associated human beings (like owners, managers, or employees), has at least some of the legal rights and responsibilities enjoyed by natural persons. In most countries, a corporation has the same rights as a natural person to hold property, enter into contracts, and to sue or be sued. Granting non-human entities personhood is a Western concept applied to corporations.^article^ ^|^ ^about^