zlacker

>>amathe+(OP)
> The fact that it takes six hours to get from Baltimore to Boston, when a faster train can cover the longer distance between Paris and Marseille in four, does not move us to protest the obvious failure of ambition.

Paris > Marseille by train is 3:08, not 4:00.

Nice writup, thanks for sharing.

>>aziazi+K2
3 hours to go 400 miles in France vs 6 hours in the US?

The United States sat out the HSR revolution. China built 26,000 miles in the past 20 years. The US has essentially nothing.

Personally, I think the creation of China’s subway system is even more impressive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems#:~:text=....

>>mellin+vh
It's not just the lack of HSR (trains, power, etc), it's the lack of passenger trains in general. The tracks that exist are simply not suitable for greater than 50mph (80kph), and those that might be are dominated by stupidly long cargo trains.

>>falcol+qu
Lots of US rail infrastructure has been quietly being upgraded, and there are portions outside the north east corridor that can hit the technical minimum for high-speed rail now (125 mph).

Pacific Surfliner is one, and it boards millions per year.