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Showing Original Post only (View all)Here’s the depressing reality of train travel in America [View all]
from Grist:
Heres the depressing reality of train travel in America
By Sarah Laskow
Remember that beautiful map that imagined what the countrys high-speed rail network could look like? Well, in case you felt happy or optimistic after looking at it, heres a map, via Atlantic Cities, that shows the depressing reality of American rail:
Those bubbles represent the ridership for various Amtrak stops around the country. Its no secret that the Northeast Corridor line is the systems most popular, but you can get a sense of how much more used it is than any other bit of the system. And long distance, cross-country lines? They barely register.
To a certain extent, the more popular stops just denote more populous areas. But thats not the whole story, as Atlantic Cities explains:
Texas, for example, has three of Americas ten largest cities: Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. But the inexplicable lack of a direct rail connection between Houston and Dallas makes the state look, on Hicks map, emptier than Missouri. In fact, the nations second-largest state had only 465,000 riders in 2012. Missouri, meanwhile, had 739,000.
Other states suffer from a similar routing problem. Ohio, though crossed by regional routes on its northern and southern borders, has no train at all connecting the states major cities. It has one-fifth the passenger train traffic of neighboring Michigan.
In other words, American rail is failing because its ass-backwards. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/list/heres-the-depressing-reality-of-train-travel-in-america/
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I love that I can take the train from Flint, MI to Chicago, and then all points west
Siwsan
Feb 2013
#2
I'm confused. Are you saying that rail travel can't work because there is no rail travel? n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Feb 2013
#6
Let me add that all the blue circles in PA are EXTREMELY misleading. NO train service, e.g.,
WinkyDink
Feb 2013
#9
I traveled on Amtrak last week thru the Los Angeles station where I had a three hour wait for a bus.
vanlassie
Feb 2013
#13
Long distance train travel is not preferred at this time because it costs as much as a plane
alcibiades_mystery
Feb 2013
#18
JC looks like he has a bit of "aura envy" happening there, too--check out that sideways glance! nt
MADem
Feb 2013
#48
I absolutely agree that there needs to be more and better train service across this country.
SheilaT
Feb 2013
#43
We need ultra high speed evacuated tube transport and rigid frame airships. n/t
Ian David
Feb 2013
#53