Table of Contents
Why are trains less popular?
The simple answer is, “Because we don’t want them.” The slightly longer answer is, “because the fastest trains are slower than flying; the most frequent trains are less convenient than driving; and trains are almost always more expensive than either flying or driving.”
Why are trains in the US so slow?
Because most tracks are optimized for heavy fright trains which in America are more important, economically, than passenger transportation. Heavy trains displace tracks, sleepers and ballast so that it is impossible to let locomotives and passenger wagons run with higher speeds. And fright trains are slow.
Why are American train platforms so low?
To reduce construction costs, the platforms at stations on many railway systems are of low height, making it necessary for passenger cars to be equipped with external steps or internal stairs allowing passengers access to and from car floor levels.
Is China High Speed rail profitable?
It was profitable every year between 2014 and 2019, according to national railway operator China State Railway Group Co. It is also known as “the most profitable” rail line, with annual growth rate of profits registered at 39.4 percent from 2014 to 2019.
Does North Korea have railways?
North Korea has a railway system consisting of an extensive network of standard-gauge lines and a smaller network of 762 mm (30.0 in) narrow-gauge lines; the latter are to be found around the country, but the most important lines are in the northern part of the country.
Who owns the rail lines?
BNSF, for example, is 46 percent owned by Wall Street investment funds. At CSX, the figure is 35 percent; at Union Pacific, 34 percent; at Kansas City Southern, 33 percent; and at Norfolk Southern, 32 percent, according to Bloomberg News….Who owns the railroads.
| BNSF | |
|---|---|
| AXA | 1.8\% |
| Total | 33.4\% |
| Norfolk Southern | |
| Capital Research Global | 5.0\% |
Does China have bullet trains?
The Shanghai Maglev is the world’s first high-speed commercial magnetic levitation (“maglev”) line, whose trains run on non-conventional track and reach a top speed of 430 km/h (267 mph). In 2020, China started testing a maglev prototype train that runs at 600 km/h and planned a 2025 launch date.
How many people have been moved by high-speed trains?
They have moved more than 9 billion people without a single passenger casualty. France began service of the high-speed TGV train in 1981 and the rest of Europe quickly followed. But the U.S. has no true high-speed trains, aside from sections of Amtrak’s Acela line in the Northeast Corridor.
Is train travel in the US really that bad?
With limited routes and low-speed diesel locomotives, train travel in the US seems far behind the rest of the world. That’s not going to change anytime soon. Compared to other wealthy nations, passenger trains in the US seem to lag far behind.
Is it unfair to mock us trains for being diesel?
A closer look at trains all over the world reveals that it’s indeed unfair to mock US trains for being diesel. No modern train uses a diesel engine to power their wheels directly. They’re used as generators to power electric motors. So the only difference boils down to where the electricity comes from.
Why is Amtrak so bad at on-time?
This is largely why Amtrak’s on-time rate is so abysmal, compared to other countries. Amtrak pays to use these tracks, but if there’s any sort of delay and an Amtrak train misses its “window,” it will have to wait on a siding while the owner of the track (a freight company) gives priority to its own trains.