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Anon likes trains

⁨999⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Early_To_Risa@sh.itjust.works⁩ to ⁨greentext@sh.itjust.works⁩

https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/a9d04fb7-f156-41c6-8452-037139e64a2a.png

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Comments

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  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The cost of dedicated passenger rail lines is staggering, and the US has a LOT of ground to cover.

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    • Fleur_@aussie.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yeah no country has ever built a high speed passenger rail network interconnecting cities spread throughout an area comparable to the usa. And it’s absurd to think that it could be done in under 20 years and receive massive popular support and have universally recognised benefits. Guys the cost is too high for the biggest economy on earth and the distance is so far that they could never build a railway across it especially not more than 100 years ago.

      (Well to be fair the Chinese did also build the railways across the US so maybe they do have something America doesn’t)

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      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Slave labor.

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      • Soleos@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        This comment really needs a /sarcasm tag

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      • elucubra@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The ideal is a mix, planes for the long haul, trains for short haul.

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    • Allero@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      As someone from Russia, we have even larger territory, and going by rail is almost twice as cheap as by plane.

      High speed rail from Saint Petersburg to Moscow will cost you ~$45, going by plane will set you back ~$75 on the cheapest flight with hand luggage only.

      Same story with long distance trips - I plan on going for a 1000km trip in July, and train ticket costed me the same $45, while cheapest plane tickets go around $100. It’s also a night train with beds and all, so I have one night accommodation for free while on my way. Depart - have a nice sleep - be on your destination.

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    • doylio@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Something like 30% of the US lives in the strip between Washington DC and Boston. It’s absolutely achievable for the richest country on Earth to provide high speed rail in that section.

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      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        There’s already a lot of passenger rail options in that part of the country. I’ve used it, and it works great.

        This post is specifically about using it in place of airlines, which is used for longer-distance travel.

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  • JasSmith@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Dane here. While I love trains, they are a) more expensive than flying in almost every long distance scenarios, and b) take much longer. We are trialling sleeping trains but reception is mixed and capacity limited. People don’t like to waste an extra 2-4 days of their vacation on travel. Especially if they’re paying more for that privilege. I should note that this isn’t an issue of imbalanced subsidies. They EU subsidises air travel (in many ways) to the tune of around €30–40 billion annually depending on what you include and what you consider to be a “subsidy.” Using similar criteria, rail is subsidised to the tune of €40–75 billion per year. So rail gets a lot more investment despite it serving 16% fewer travel miles per year in the EU than air travel.

    The thing is, if even we can’t make it cheaper and faster despite our relatively high population densities and high rail subsidies, I fear the case is much harder still in the U.S. My personal position is that trains are excellent commuter alternatives, and should be liberally built and subsidised in all dense cities. For longer travel, there is no substitute for airoplanes.

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  • hzl@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Trains not planes is a much more reasonable and practical way to get people behind building more railways than planes not cars. We can talk planes not cars once some of the initial infrastructure is in place, but I think focusing on replacing something people hate (flying) rather than replacing something they like (driving) is probably a good place to start.

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    • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yeah, I’d much rather take a train than plane. However, where I live, I seriously need my car and I enjoy the freedom of driving. I am not in a huge city with rush hour traffic though.

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  • daellat@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I recently went on a holiday using high speed rail in Europe (1100km). Flying was cheaper and faster. Sadly I have feeling of empathy and principles so I went with the train anyway. Wasn’t too bad though just did a lot of reading.

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  • OmegaLemmy@discuss.online ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Rail is hard if it’s from one country to another (I think Europe is the exception)

    In my case, I have to take rail from Ankara to Edirne, Edirne to Bucharest, Bucharest to Vienna, and after Vienna I can access anywhere in Europe

    The problem is, going from Edirne to Bucharest requires two visas

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    • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Even in the EU there are still some difficulties. Like Finland and Estonia are on broad gauge not standard gauge. So their network isn’t connected to the rest of the EU. Spain and French haven’t connected their high speed rail network because of some dispute. So you have to get off at the border take a slow train across the border than walk to another platform to get on the other train.

      Also rules says the crew needs to speak the local language of the country the train drives trough and traffic rules vary by country so if the driver doesn’t speak the language or doesn’t know the rules they need to change drivers when a train crosses a border which adds more delays.

      Problem is many rail networks in Europe are privately owned.

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    • brewbart@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      If you want to dive deeper into how rail cooperation was always hard I recommend looking into the history of the orient express

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  • MeThisGuy@feddit.nl ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I kind of like the thought of me pissing in the train and it travelling 300+ kph sideways and 9.8 m/s² downwards

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  • ShittDickk@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Crackheads will steal the copper from the rail and cause a 30 car derailment.

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    • PuddleOfKittens@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      In case this is real: you realize that trains already exist, right? Crackheads don’t “steal the copper from the rail”, in part because the rails don’t have copper (they’re made of steel, the copper is in the overhead line), and in part because the rails are giant continuously-welded steel rails nailed to concrete sleepers; you can’t just pick em up and walk off with em.

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      • ShittDickk@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Nearly the entire northern half of california lost internet a few years back because crackheads decided to try and steal fiberoptic cable, which is made of glass, so dont question the dedication to debauchery of the american crackhead.

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    • lessthanluigi@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      There will be no crackheads once the rail is built. It will help disband the cia

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  • ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    And for one more added bonus we wouldn’t have to fix the problems with air traffic control

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  • frezik@midwest.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Every time I take an airplane, I feel tired and worn out. I don’t want to do anything for the rest of the day except take a nap.

    Trains are no problem.

    The main reasons might be relatively low oxygen at altitude (cabins are usually pressurized somewhere between 1/3rd to 1/2 atmosphere) and uncomfortable seats. But I think the whole dreary process of getting on and off the airplane is part of it, too. Train stations are so much more low key, even in large metropolitan areas.

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    • Nikelui@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You also don’t have to show up 2 hours in advance to a train station and plan your entire day(or two) around a trip.

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  • mindbleach@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    No turbulence while taking a piss or shit

    Train bathrooms seem specifically designed to discourage using the bathroom while riding a train.

    Also I had a laptop die from the constant vibrations destroying the hard disk drive.

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    • remon@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Also I had a laptop die from the constant vibrations destroying the hard disk drive.

      Well, that’s pretty much an issue of the past now.

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      • mindbleach@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        It was last year.

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  • Geobloke@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yeah, but i can get shit faced at the airport and on the plane, but i do that in a train and people start throwing coins at me

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    • Wanderer@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      More evidence Britain’s the best country in the world.

      Drinking on the train to go somewhere sporting, night out. Is a time honoured tradition. Wouldn’t change that for all the Trumps in the world.

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  • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The US public transportation, especially the passenger rail network is fucking pathetic.

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  • KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I mean, some of this is just silly and entirely based on the locations involved. For instance, a flight from Chicago to Florida is going to be cheaper and faster than Rail, and you’re not going to just hop off wherever the hell you want.

    I do also question the “safety” aspect. I’m pretty sure both trains and planes have extremely high safety rates, and are pretty much on par with each other.

    Also… why is “on the ground” a bullet point? You’re on the ground 99.9% of your life, you telling me it’s not cool as shit to be flying through the air?

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    • outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      would suck tho

      As it’s run now, yes.

      Because rail is the abused bastard and air travel has the government pay for most of it’s everything.

      Cars too. The government buys your roads, your gas, your parking, and part of your car for you. Only trains need to more than vaguely gesture at paying their own way in this country.

      Yes, the theoretical maximum speed for a plane is faster, but we dont fly supersonic anymore, and supersonic trains still exist.

      hop on hop off

      As run right now, sure. If we invested half as much in trains as cars and planes? Oh, easily. And even right now, amtrak’s ‘trip insurance’ is basically license to do exactly that. I have used it this way before.

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      • jumping_redditor@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        hop on hop off does exist for the Alaska Railroad, it just makes it less valuable as a transportation system between cities because it is intended for the people that live on the route to use almost anywhere.

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  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    based.

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  • altphoto@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Can Boeing make a train? Just wondering if I should look out for occasional flying safety exist door while watching trains go by.

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    • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Maybe they do make trains, but like so badly they just accidentally take off (for an uncontrolled amount of time).

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  • lka1988@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    A train can’t take me up remote roads 15 miles up a canyon that only a capable 4x4 can reach (this is the point of those roads), then take me out the other end into a small town with a delicious diner and ice cream shop. All while checking out abandoned mines (no I don’t go in) and other history from before my time.

    And yes, I do this often.

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    • drosophila@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Wow, cool, ride an airplane directly into an abandoned mineshaft?

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      • lka1988@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Of course; do you not?

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      • ThermonuclearCactus@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Yeah, he’s an Ace Combat protagonist.

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    • MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Ok, cool. But I don’t think your experience would still be very good if you were joined by an additional trainload of people riding 4x4s right alongside you. It’d be time to pave over that canyon so that the people visiting it can park.

      And trains aren’t mutually exclusive with cars. I might take the train to visit my parents a few cities over, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a highway for the moving truck to drive along when I had to get my stuff over to where live now.

      No-one is saying no-one should drive a car. Rather, that the right tool for the right job should be used. In the US, cars are used for a lot more than what they’re best at. That you are using them effectively for personal use, is not a reason to also have them used where they aren’t as effective (in this case in comparison to trains, large volume transit of people who are mainly transporting themselves between hubs of human activity).

      In Tokyo, Shinjuku train station routes 3.8 million people to where they are going, EVERY, DAY.

      Interstate 5 in the US, the busiest in the country, does a pathetic 0.75 million a day. And the cost-effectiveness of trains beats out cars waaay before you hit capacity on such a higway.

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      • lka1988@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Ok, cool. But I don’t think your experience would still be very good if you were joined by an additional trainload of people riding 4x4s right alongside you. It’d be time to pave over that canyon so that the people visiting it can park.

        Completely missed the point.

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  • PixelatedSaturn@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Railway is expensive to build.

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    • Bashnagdul@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      And airports on the other hand are free.

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      • ghosthacked@lemmy.wtf ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        They pay you to make airports

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  • menas@lemmy.wtf ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I heard that their is two issue for massive train transportation : -1. Public fund : to make every city more attractive for tourists, kerosene is take free for company. Which lower the price of the ticket -2. Freight : in order to not use massively truck, train freight need to have some span. 

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