Long Train Runnin'
Engineer
China has built dedicated ROWs which are totally grade separated, and basically elevated for the entire distance. It was surreal how the tracks were perfectly straight. They had this particular line planned out to an amazing degree. To the right you could see an interstate highway being constructed that became less and less complete as you got further out in the countryside. There were 3 stations on this line that had been built, but since know one lives there right now, they see no service although out in the distance you see a couple dozen high rise buildings being put up simultaneously. There is a link to to several frequent local buses at each intermediate stop. China HSR is not only amazing in its span, but since all of these agencies are working together and they are starting from scratch they had a chance to think over seemingly every detail.I know this may sound insane, but I believe the only way to drastically improve track conditions on most freight railroads is to nationalize all of our railroad tracks, just like China. It is precisely because of this fact that Chinese passenger trains have been able to "speed up" at least six times during the last 20 years.
I feel like even if we nationalized every mile of track in this country the US Government would have to spend billions to do something similar. Don't buy the whole every passenger train in China is amazing pool of thought though. There are several train stations in both Beijing and Shanghai, and I made a point to go to each one. They have constructed these amazingly modern glamorous stations for HSR, but the stations that serve suburban trains, and there diesel long haul services are nothing like waiting for an Amtrak train. While they should be impressive because of there size they are a little bit grimy. Even the station where the Beijing leg of the Trans Siberian RR was departing was far from a glamorous station. Not knocking there HSR at all, but there are still some trains running in China that offer a class of service you would never see here.
EDIT: Guess I should have read the rest of the thread before posting
here is what I found the average non HSR passenger car to look like.
China has some amazing trains and stations, but they also have some pretty rough looking service.
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