14 votes

Topic deleted by author

6 comments

  1. JamesTeaKirk
    Link
    To be fair, these countries are geographically minuscule compared to the U.S. and Canada. You could argue that China is a counter-example, but they're obviously in a completely different situation...

    France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

    To be fair, these countries are geographically minuscule compared to the U.S. and Canada. You could argue that China is a counter-example, but they're obviously in a completely different situation economically, and the federal government has unilateral control over these decisions there. So I don't think it's as simple as pointing to other countries and saying "Why don't you do the same?"

    4 votes
  2. [3]
    Octofox
    Link
    What advantages does high speed rail have over air travel for these longer trips?

    What advantages does high speed rail have over air travel for these longer trips?

    1 vote
    1. [2]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Similar prices, similar travel time, less CO2... not to mention the extra comfort.

      Similar prices, similar travel time, less CO2... not to mention the extra comfort.

      11 votes
      1. Octofox
        Link Parent
        Thats quite an informative link. Thanks. Makes me wish we had good inter city trains in Australia.

        Thats quite an informative link. Thanks. Makes me wish we had good inter city trains in Australia.

        1 vote
  3. [2]
    SourceContribute
    Link
    The U.S.?? Hah, Ontario and Canada have issues with building better transportation too. I don't get why 2 large countries consistently refuse to provide better public transportation; there's cash...

    The U.S.?? Hah, Ontario and Canada have issues with building better transportation too. I don't get why 2 large countries consistently refuse to provide better public transportation; there's cash for high speed rail, for more light rail, etc.

    1 vote
    1. Cirrus
      Link Parent
      It's about population density. Canada has 37 million people. Beijing alone has 22 million people. The customer base difference is huge. Another thing to note is that it is entirely possible to...

      It's about population density. Canada has 37 million people. Beijing alone has 22 million people. The customer base difference is huge. Another thing to note is that it is entirely possible to live your life in China with only public transport and electric bikes, while in NA a car is a basic necessity of life, so more people are going to take trains in China as opposed to driving. Even with so much people, China's high speed trains often lose money if they don't have full passengers. The whole system is propped up by the government for the economic benefits brought by ease of transportation. So I suppose to maintain a high speed railway in NA would be very expensive. I've also heard that in Europe many train tickets are more expensive than airplane tickets, which I guess is their way of compensating for the cost of running the train.

      3 votes