Originally Posted by
Podracer
I'm sorry again. I'm a big casual rail nerd. I gotta speak up here too.
It's expensive but we have to start somewhere. HSR and rail in general is critical for our future.
1. The roads and cities can only fit so many cars. The geometry just isn't there. You can make a highway 20 lanes wide, but it will still be clogged by the weakest bottleneck. The highway may be wide but the destinations are not. The only cure for traffic is to get cars off the roads.
2. Climate disaster isn't slowing down. We are selling off our future. Even if you "don't believe" in climate change eventually oil will run out. We need the infrastructure in place sooner than later.
3. Long term expense. Private automobiles is by far the most energy inefficient and expensive way to transport people. This is a burden not just on individuals but the their economy. The cost is not just the energy but also the destruction of material and human life, and ultimately pointless industries like auto insurance and litigation. They are leeches on our economy. Rail has a up front cost but pays off over time.
Anyways, thanks for listening. Rail is the future. It was a mistake to over build for cars. It was a mistake to rip up 90% of our old rail lines. Thanks for listening to my nerdy rant. Peace
Agree with your post and add that on my car podcast this week Motor Trend and the rest of the nerds are taking a helicopter to the track day because it is too damn hard to get there in a car.
Anecdotally, some nerd “scratched my back and I took my foot off the brake pedal” to smash into the rear of my car this week and it is getting almost impossible to get to the Atlanta Airport from the North side of town regardless of how much time you allocated to the task. Our freeways are impassible for two thirds of the diurnal cycle.