TVRM610
Conductor
So about 90% of the time that I suggest to someone that we need more passenger trains in the USA I hear "Well you know Europe has a nice rail system but they have a much larger population density so it works for them." I honestly don't understand this argument. I have never been to Europe but when I look at their rail map I see what is needed in the USA. High Speed Corridors between major cities in dense population centers, connected with slower "conventional rail."
Is the population density really that different?
Another common myth that I hear is that "over in Europe all of their trains run 200 MPH." Well not really, the map below has alot more grey (speeds under 125 mph) than anything else. The yellow lines have top speeds of 125-142mph. Only the few red lines have speeds approaching 200 mph. I'm not saying Europe is not ahead of us, they are. But many of their lines have Amtrak like speeds.
The good news IMHO is that Amtrak is going in this direction, increasing the speeds of corridors, and using the LD trains to "link" the high(er) speed corridors. It's certainly a step in the right direction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:High_Speed_Rail_Map_Europe.gif
Is the population density really that different?
Another common myth that I hear is that "over in Europe all of their trains run 200 MPH." Well not really, the map below has alot more grey (speeds under 125 mph) than anything else. The yellow lines have top speeds of 125-142mph. Only the few red lines have speeds approaching 200 mph. I'm not saying Europe is not ahead of us, they are. But many of their lines have Amtrak like speeds.
The good news IMHO is that Amtrak is going in this direction, increasing the speeds of corridors, and using the LD trains to "link" the high(er) speed corridors. It's certainly a step in the right direction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:High_Speed_Rail_Map_Europe.gif
Last edited by a moderator: