this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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The US is really only bigger than Europe if you count Alaska. I doubt there would be high-speed rail to Alaska anytime soon.
The majority of Europe can fit into just the central area of the US. Aircraft scale better with distance and is the core reason aircraft have succeeded so well in the US despite the push for more trains for decades. It's also why you do see some trains being built in CA, FL, and the NE, as the cities there are closer together, making the idea viable.
Area of USA: 9,833,520 km^2
Area of Europe: 10,180,000 km^2
You do know that the Nordic countries are part of Europe, right? They stretch way up north past the edge of the image. They also happen to have some of the most advanced rail systems in the world.
As a Scandinavian: LOL
Sure, it may not be perfect, but it tells you a lot about the state of rail in the rest of the world. It's really only places like Japan and maybe China that leads the way.
Most of Europe and large parts of Asia has good railways compared to USA. It's not that the developed world has good railway systems, it's just that USA has a completely broken public transport system. But planes and trucks go brrr
France and Switzerland. First has trains as fast as airplanes, seconds has good network.
I don't think Europeans understand what space is. They are all crammed in together like tuna.
Nice rant. I was born and raised in a "third world country" with better transportation than the US despite much lower density. In fact it would rank just under Oregon, so 39 stated are more dense than my country.
California does not have good public transportation, neither does a lot of the East Coast, for that matter. I have lived on both coasts and the Midwest, and visited over 35 states. Public transportation is mostly crap with a few exceptions in the core of a few Metro areas, and the NE.
Public transportation advocates want more than to add buses and trains, you are misrepresenting what we ask for.