In transportationt, China is the future. The US is a third world nation

[beijingwalker]

That's true,but there are still a lot of train lovers like the author in US.

 

[Bobby]

Its hard to start this massive infrastructure project in democracy USA. A lot of negotiation and unnecessary protest. India sets a good example on this (No offensive on India).

you are right......USA and India is democracy ...it easy to kill people's respect and will in dictatorship....

 

[Sashan]

Some damn writer has given his personal opinion and here you go - all the naysayers here are predicting doomsday for US just because US lacks a HSR. China's HSR is commendable - but do not draw a comparison with US. US has a highly developed Commercial flight system and that caters to the needs of the people mostly which along with the thin population density defeats the need for a HSR. Except for the highly populated Northeast, where the Acela express plies mostly, there is no need and so no well developed railway system except for the metros in different cities. For Amtrak to have a HSR, they have to beg borrow from the government and they have done it now.

Amtrak to replace high-speed Acela trains - Dec. 13, 2012

 

[jhungary]

That's true,but there are still a lot of train lovers like the author in US.

yeah, there are a lot of train-nuts where they can tell you the make and model when they hear the sound of the train.

Most train nuts in America usually got drawn to this

The Acela Express , the flagship of the only Intercity Railway.

But normal people like me, i could care less about trains.......They alwayssssssssssss delay in bad weather

 

[Hasbara Buster]

In this country we have neither the will nor the money to ever build such a railroad.

You could close some military bases 10,000 kilometers away from American soil and build them with that money.

 

[eddieInUK]

While you don't need a fast train to do it, as this is not economical.

For intercity travel or inter-state travel, we use commercial airline. There are more regional communter airline than railway company in America....
Why do we need a well placed railway system when we have 10,000 planes in our skies everyday??

HSR is more economical than aero plane. US already got good infrastructure, hard for you to understand the problem faced by CHina and India, come to these two countries for a visit. You will understand more.

you are right......USA and India is democracy ...it easy to kill people's respect and will in dictatorship....

The Govt in China has done this a lot. Now they start to respect human rights a bit, but I think its a bit early, especially for the uneducated people in the village, they negotiate without any logic, better to use force to deal with them.

 

[Sashan]

HSR is more economical than aero plane. US already got good infrastructure, hard for you to understand the problem faced by CHina and India, come to these two countries for a visit. You will understand more.

HSR is economical for densely populated countries like China and India but not for US. Even in the highly populated area like Northeast, a one-way ticket in Amtrak from Boston to DC would cost around $200 while a Jetblue ticket would cost 1/2 the price.

 

[eddieInUK]

HSR is economical for densely populated countries like China and India but not for US. Even in the highly populated area like Northeast, a one-way ticket in Amtrak from Boston to DC would cost around $200 while a Jetblue ticket would cost 1/2 the price.

several states in US do need it. Around sea border of California, many cities are there. China and India definitely needs to construct huge amount of infrastructure.

 

[Juice]

Having lived in Europe and the US, the train systems used there won't work in much of the US. In Germany all the towns are close together...here in the south-west US...widely spaced. That's why we rely on aircraft...which is far as I know IS the most advanced form of transit.

 

[jhungary]

HSR is more economical than aero plane. US already got good infrastructure, hard for you to understand the problem faced by CHina and India, come to these two countries for a visit. You will understand more.

The Govt in China has done this a lot. Now they start to respect human rights a bit, but I think its a bit early, especially for the uneducated people in the village, they negotiate without any logic, better to use force to deal with them.

amtrak ticket usually are 2 or 3 times as much as an airline economic seat. I am a frequent flyer of US Air myself.

We do have track infrastructure but our track are mainly for freight operation, ie cargo, logistic and stuff like that.

HSR will only work if you have a dense population between sparse cities. We have close cities and quiet evenly distributed population. HSR will not work in US or Australia where people are faar and less in between. A 1 way countrylink ticket from Sydney Terminal, NSW to Roma Street, Queensland cost around A$200 while a 1 way virgin blue ticket form Sydney to Brisbane is about A$110-150 tax incl.