Why did America give up on trains?

City congestion and lack of metros. With the expansion of the national highway network after the Second World War, urban areas in the US were increasingly built to support road rather than rail travel. City centres were places to get in and out of, rather than move in and around.



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Unfortunately, federal infrastructure policy and programs have not modernized to meet the five major challenges facing the U.S. transportation system: major injuries and fatalities, climate change, congestion, unequal economic opportunity, and crumbling facilities.

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Public transport in Hong Kong routinely ranks high among the best in the world, and for good reason. The network is extensive, to say the least, and the city is proud of the fact that 75 percent of the population lives within one kilometre of a metro station – that's less than 15 minutes' walk.

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Inadequate public transportation can also increase social isolation, particularly for older populations and people with disabilities or others who do not drive. This can increase the risk for early mortality, depression, and dementia.

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In large cities, public transport networks are well-developed and cost-effective. However, in smaller towns and cities, the service can be temperamental at best. Public transport in the UK takes on many forms. For longer journeys, the UK offers trains, long-distance coaches, and airplanes.

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Data Reveals Which UK Cities Have the Best Public Transport Links
  • London – Cheapest City to Travel In & The Most Train Stations.
  • Stoke-on-Trent – Most Bus Stops Per 100,000 People.
  • Nottingham – Most Bus Routes Per 100,000 People.
  • Leeds – Most Student Residences Per 100,000 People.


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London is famously known for its dot-to-dot underground train line service – more commonly referred to as The Tube or The Underground, which you can use to visit approximately 375 stations, putting itself in first place for the city with the highest number of train stations, followed by Glasgow with 186 stations and ...

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Low density: US population density is 1/10th of India's and quite low compared to many places in Western Europe or Japan. Public transportation requires a lot of volume to work. Urban sprawl: US cities are needlessly unwieldy. San Francisco Bay Area runs for 100km+ end to end, for instance.

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Europe's public-transit systems are so good that many urban Europeans go through life never learning to drive. Their wheels are trains, subways, trams, buses, and the occasional taxi. If you embrace these forms of transportation when visiting cities, you'll travel smarter.

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CLIMATEWIRE | The first U.S.-made high-speed bullet trains will start running as early as 2024 between Boston, New York and Washington, with the promise of cutting transportation emissions by attracting new rail passengers who now drive or fly.

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The short answer is that railroad electrification costs much more then dieselization, and in most cases it would not allow significant improvement of operations.

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It probably comes as no surprise that in a global 2019 survey of railroad efficiency, the top two places went to Japan and Hong Kong, with scores of 6.8 and 6.5 (out of seven) respectively.

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General secretary of the RMT Mick Lynch told the New Statesman: “Unlike trains in the rest of Europe, which tend to be publicly owned and have cheaper fares, most UK trains are privatised, which means that a profit has to be paid out, reducing the scope for fare cuts.”

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Switzerland is often cited as the best European country in terms of public transport.

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In the majority of London, you will usually find that there is an underground stop within easy walking distance, and a train arriving within 10 minutes or less. Because the underground doesn't have to worry about traffic and streets, it is one of the most efficient ways to get around, and usually the best choice.

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Some 21% of urban residents use public transit on a regular basis, compared with 6% of suburban residents and just 3% of rural residents.

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