I wrote up an intro to a series of articles at the Daily Kos website looking at a variety of transit rail systems, things like light rail, metro, subway, tram bus, tram train, etc. and posted it over in the Transit forum.
Some of it is a bit technical, talking about how the systems work, the different advantages each category has and so on. I thought I’d post a mention of it here because the series also includes lots of pictures, some videos, maps, and links to more information. I’m guessing a lot of it is unknown to most Americans.
If you want to see some really nifty rail solutions for moving people from place to place in parts of the world where they still take rail seriously, I think you’ll find the articles fascinating. If you’ve ever considered modeling something different, well these should certainly give you some ideas.
Very interesting. Now, if Henry Ford had been German and the automobile had been taxed into the “luxury toy for the wealthy” class 80 years ago, the US would probably have the finest tram/light rail/heavy rail/intercity rail passenger transportation system in the world. Maybe in some alternate universe, but, unfortunately, not in this one.
Emotionally, I would love to see modern, efficient systems develop here. Realistically, until the love affair between the American public and personal transportation ends in divorce there is no honest economic incentive to go that route. Any politician who campaigns for election on a rapid transit/passenger rail platform will be looking for honest work as soon as the ballots are counted. As for really innovative solutions, the general public will be slow to accept them - but the people who put up the money will want their expected return NOW - or, preferably, yesterday. (Can you say lose-lose?)
I wish things were different. I also wish that I was young, handsome and filthy rich.
Don’t be too sure that it’s not going to happen in the U.S. The economic assumptions we’ve been running the country on since the 1950s are in the process of taking some major hits. Our transports systems are approaching overload even as fuel prices climb and global warming is moving from theory to accepted threat. Changes are going to occur, and if enough people move in the right direction, we might end up with some of those really neat rail systems the rest of the world enjoys as part of the solution. The advantage we have right now is that we can look at what the rest of the world is doing, and adopt what will work for us. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we just have to look at the wheels that are already turning.
From the model railroader point of view, just think - if more people modeled urban rail systems, we wouldn’t have to spend so much time worrying about how to put realistic natural landscaping on a layout or installing thousands of trees.
The problem is NOT the love affair with the car. The problem is the economics of rail operations. It is EXPENSIVE. Anything that is labor intensive is expensive.
I have read that there are very few public transit systems of any kind in tis country that operate at a profit or even a break even. I have ridden the European rail system and loved it. London to Paris on the Chunnel train one of the best rail systems ever devised. Even rail travel from Paris to Brussels and Amsterdam is preferable to flying or driving. But in Europe, the distances are much shorter than we have to deal with and there are a lot more riders per trip mile. I am not at all sure that any of them break even either.
There is talk of a high speed rail link from Phoenix to Tucson. That is 160 miles, and at what cost? Where would the riders come from? How much would they pay? Would it break even? Probably not. Phoenix is building a 15 mile light rail (read trolley car) system. Will it break even? Probably not. Strangely, the trolley tracks were all dug up by 1950, because there were no riders.
The North Eastern former NHRR New Haven to Boston route was electrified and curves straightened and banked, etc to accomodate the Acela high speed Boston to DC route at humongous expense. Will it ever break even or even begin to recoup the expense. Who knows? But I doubt it.
Will Amtrak ever break even. Probably not.
What it boils down to is who will pay for it? The highways are subsidized, either by gas taxes or tolls. The airways are subsidized by all kinds of landing fees and charges and probably some taxes as well. If the rail passenger system relied on fares alone to cover operating expenses, the cost of rail travel would likely be prohibitive. The mood in our wonderful Congress is that if Amtrak doesn’t soon break even then the subsidies should be ended and Amtrak dissolved. That is a good indicator of how difficult, if not impossiible, that we will ever to see a cohesive rail travel system developed