electric trains are an over one hundred year old technology.
lol. lmao, even.
Is the US finally getting ‘all aboard’ with electric trains?
Submitted 3 months ago by Beaver@lemmy.ca to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/12/24218547/caltrain-electric-train-us-lags-behind-india-china-eu
Comments
SSJMarx@lemm.ee 3 months ago
RangerJosie@sffa.community 3 months ago
No. We’re not even on board with trains as a concept outside of the context of heavy freight shipping. The people are. But big oil spends a lot of bribe money to make sure you can’t easily ride a train across the country.
reddig33@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I wouldn’t doubt big Airline spends as well.
Rentlar@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Big freight train spends a lot on bribing too, to avoid needing to spend even more from being required to improve their services.
Coldgoron@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I fucking wish. We’re 50 damn years from common sense.
cmbabul@lemmy.world 3 months ago
You optimist!
GiddyGap@lemm.ee 3 months ago
I wish. The US is endlessly far behind on public transportation.
Talking to my own family members around the US, they only have eyes for their enormous gas guzzler pickup trucks that they use to run to the grocery store down the street.
spyd3r@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
We don’t need public transportation, we have something better, personal transportation…
GiddyGap@lemm.ee 3 months ago
You can have both. Europe has a great mix. So awesome to have the option to take the train or bus. They also have awesome road infrastructure in most places. Try comparing an American freeway to a German freeway. You feel like you’re in a third world country when you come back to the roads in the States.
Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Personal transportation is extremely inefficient. You need to pay a bunch of money for something, in order to get around, and it is always space inefficient, bad for the environment and encouraged parking lot creation over housing.
technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
People driving around in personal tanks is not “something better”.
It’s dumb, privileged, unsustainable, unhealthy, violent, and literally destroying the planet.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 months ago
And even better! All this got rid of those pesky winters
ProxyZeus@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I can’t wait for the US to finally have decent public transport, I hate having to drive for everything
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 3 months ago
catloaf@lemm.ee 3 months ago
I live in a big city with public transport. It’s great.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
What are you going to do?
ProxyZeus@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Well if we get good transport, I’m going to ride it duh
coffee_with_cream@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Now that the US doesn’t rely on auto manufacturing as it’s main industry, people are coming around on trains.
But, what’s that rule about headlines ending in a question mark? 🤔
dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 3 months ago
No. The answer is always No.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Today on Nightline, is Janice from makeup going to respond favorably to my persistent battery of raunchy pickup lines?
AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 3 months ago
We actually have more light rail systems than any other country in the world. Those are all electric, but yeah heavy rail is all diesel still.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
This was not hard to find:
Stovetop@lemmy.world 3 months ago
If an article title is posed as a question, the answer is always no.
crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I don’t understand this article. It talks as if these trains in California are the US’ first electric trains.
Our light rail here in Portland OR is electric.
Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
And it’s better implemented than LA’s. Our system has stations in the middle of barren areas in many places. NIMBYism is a cancer in California.
Liz@midwest.social 3 months ago
There’s only one solution for the US. The world’s fastest bullet train network. Anything less will not do.
Beaver@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
TheBest@midwest.social 3 months ago
"India is on the cusp of electrifying 100 percent of its rail lines, while China is nearing three-quarters of its network. Over 57 percent of the rail system in the European Union is electric. The US, which has historically prioritized personal cars over high-volume passenger trains, now can boast that it has two electric trains — and more on the way. "
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jordanlund@lemmy.world 3 months ago
They must not be counting light rail which is electric.
…wikipedia.org/…/Light_rail_in_the_United_States
“The United States, with its 27 systems (as counted by the Light Rail Transit Association), has a much larger number of “true” light rail systems (not including streetcar systems), by far, compared to any other country in the world (the next largest are Germany with 10 and Japan with 9).[1]
According to the American Public Transportation Association, of the roughly 30 cities with light rail systems in the United States, the light rail systems in six of them (Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, and San Francisco) achieve more than 30 million unlinked passenger transits per year.[2]”
The problem with light rail here is excessive heat makes the overhead wire expand and when that happens, it sags causing the trains to have to slow down. :(
In the winter, the problem is snow and ice blocking the lines and the switches.
altima_neo@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
I’m Portland, the biggest problem light rail has are assholes parking on the tracks.
reddig33@lemmy.world 3 months ago
You’d think with current battery tech we wouldn’t need the overhead wire anymore.
Beaver@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Canada isn’t even on the podium :P
LordPassionFruit@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Maybe we should reanimate John MacDonald. Not to be a politician or give him any legitimate power (for obvious reasons), just give him a bat and make him a CN lobbyist.
Surely we’d get our rail soon.