Poll of the Day > Controversial opinion, USA needs high speed rail

(+) Yeah! (+)

Probably not trains as fast as Japan's bullet trains, but trains similar to the Eurostar.

And not as a method to replace long cross country flights

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It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric, it's literally the only thing wrong with Biden's infrastructure bill.
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Yes, just don't let Elon Musk head it up

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Lokarin posted...

Yes, just don't let Elon Musk head it up

Actually let Musk do it, it's better that he spends the money on this inevitable failure and not the Federal government.
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Is that really controversial, though?

Hop103 posted...

It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric, it's literally the only thing wrong with Biden's infrastructure bill.

Hey, if Germany and France can do it, right? >_>

Honestly, I can't see it working on a national scale (well, interconnectedly), but there's no reason we can't have some lines


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Hop103 posted...

It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric

That and our lawsuit culture. Every major road and rail project gets tied up in years of lawsuits.

Hop103 posted...

Actually let Musk do it, it's better that he spends the money on this inevitable failure and not the Federal government.

I was mostly making reference to his completely useless HyperLoop

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If trains are faster then I can't use the excuse of "oh sorry can't stay that long, it takes a couple days to get home." Keep them slow.

We absolutely need these and should have had them already. Our infrastructure has been left to rot since I was freaking 20 years old, and it's past time to update it.

That doesn't mean I support Biden's plans mind you, just that we need major upgrades big time.

Traffic in most urban areas has just gotten worse and worse over the years, and there is no reason why we can't have high speed rail trains that travel cross country in less than a day at this point. The tech to create the basic structure has been available for over a decade, almost 2 decades at this point, we could have something up and running that could easily go from SF to NY in 8 hours or less.

Even within smaller areas things have just been put aside, when I was 19 we all wanted to get jobs at Bart in the bay area, and they were supposed to be expanding from fremont (where I lived) to San Jose, so you could avoid the (at the time) 2 hour commute (which I did for awhile btw).

Freaking 30 years later...yes 30....and it still has not been expanded, and now I think biden's plan includes doing so with federal money. That is just crazy.

Seriously, i don't think we need to spend trillions and trillions all over the place, which seems to be happening, but I think cutting back on unemployment benefits, disability etc, and instead requiring work for the money (child care, so you can make it free letting more parents work, construction work, answering phone calls so you don't wait on hold for 3 hours etc), would get a larger percentage of our population actually being productive.

Meanwhile focus on expanding roads as much as possible to cut down on traffic problems, but mainly on creating a solid mass transit system across the US so cars are not as important and you can often get from point A to B easier using public transportation (Which will also reduce the rush hour traffic problem etc).

From a defensive point as well, being less reliant in many areas on a few bridges is a very good idea, as a few planes hitting bridges in certain areas could totally cripple life in that area till something was set up (or bombing em etc).

Way past time for attention to be paid to our infrastructure, but it should be done in a way that doesn't massively boost inflation and devalue the money many of us have saved over our whole lives. Nothing like feeling like you have some type of security only to have the value of the dollar (as in what you can get for it) almost drop in half in 5 years.

When I moved to this area, a 1 bedroom apartment could be had for $600-700 a month. Currently you can't find almost any for less than $1200 (same ones that were $600 are now $1200...literally same apartment complex). Food prices have soared (partially due to covid but they never come back down). Sale prices often are = what the normal prices where just 5 years ago now.

What is it going to be like in 10 years at this rate? We save up money to ensure we have $1200+ a month (hopefully on top of social security) when we get to old to work, only to find out that it's barely gonna pay for rent by the time that happens.

We need better transportation options across the country, some form of rent control so prices don't just keep soaring, we live in a nation that pays farmers not to plant crops, yet our food prices keep going up constantly (freaking APPLES.....were 4$ a pound at the store the other day!! $4!!!)

Seriously it's getting insane, and really depressing.

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If Sim City taught me anything it's that the key to utopia is to get rid of all your roads and replace them with railways

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wolfy42 posted...

Even within smaller areas things have just been put aside, when I was 19 we all wanted to get jobs at Bart in the bay area, and they were supposed to be expanding from fremont (where I lived) to San Jose, so you could avoid the (at the time) 2 hour commute (which I did for awhile btw).

Freaking 30 years later...yes 30....and it still has not been expanded, and now I think biden's plan includes doing so with federal money. That is just crazy.

Not true. They added the Warm Springs station in 2017 and the Berryessa (North San Jose) station last year. As someone who lived in San Jose for most their life and traveled to SF and Oakland a lot, it was cool to see them finally extend it, but the Berryessa station opened less than a month before I moved so I didn't get to use it lol.

There are further extensions planned to bring it deeper into San Jose and those are projected to be done in like 2030. But, the main point you make still stands: BART is notorious for lagging and squandering funds. It was cool to finally get the two additions we did, but I don't expect to see the next phase completed for a looooong time.

The 2008 high speed rail in California is working really well *thumbs up*

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JigsawTDC posted...

Not true. They added the Warm Springs station in 2017 and the Berryessa (North San Jose) station last year. As someone who lived in San Jose for most their life and traveled to SF and Oakland a lot, it was cool to see them finally extend it, but the Berryessa station opened less than a month before I moved so I didn't get to use it lol.

There are further extensions planned to bring it deeper into San Jose and those are projected to be done in like 2030. But, the main point you make still stands: BART is notorious for lagging and squandering funds. It was cool to finally get the two additions we did, but I don't expect to see the next phase completed for a looooong time.

Interesting, last i had heard they had just expanded to Milipetas, not N SJ, that is great they finally got it done (think it was before covid so I just didn't think anything else had happened since then.

Was beggining to think I'd never see it in my lifetime lol.

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China does what America don't!

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It is not Controversial, it is obvious and needed. It is pretty common place in many developed nations.

Hop103 posted...

It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric, it's literally the only thing wrong with Biden's infrastructure bill.

America's the greatest country in the world and there's nothing we can't do!!! ...Unless it's something that helps normal people. Then we can't do that. It's too expensive! But the $721,531,000,000 per year military budget, that's perfectly affordable.

Atlanta could sure use it lol

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Hop103 posted...

It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric, it's literally the only thing wrong with Biden's infrastructure bill.

No it is not too expensive. It could easily be done. Probably not as a one train trip across country but with changing trains like a person would change airplanes.
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I'm not opposed to it but im just not sure what purpose it serves. It might be useful between large cities within states, but I'm not sure it would make sense for interstate travel. A lot of that already exists in more populated areas on the east coast - though admittedly the infrastructure is absolute garbage.

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Smarkil posted...

I'm not opposed to it but im just not sure what purpose it serves. It might be useful between large cities within states, but I'm not sure it would make sense for interstate travel. A lot of that already exists in more populated areas on the east coast - though admittedly the infrastructure is absolute garbage.

Conceivably the only way to do it on a national scale is by replacing the interstate highway system (which oddly enough is uniquely American only because we had an economic boom in the 40's and 50's when the popularity of consumer cars was at it's peak vs. later when it switched back to rail). The issue being that SOOO many people use the interstate highway system now that it is almost impossible. I mean, anytime they have to do maintenance it not only cost money to do it, but it costs businesses money due to the increased traffic times from closing just one lane. The amount of money it would cost not only the government but the private sector as well is impossible to fully calculate.

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What yall need is a singular rail line that has basically no turns in it - I'm sure that if you plot a course from somewhere vaguely near LA and somewhere vaguely near NYC you won't intersect too many towns/mountains.

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Dikitain posted...

Conceivably the only way to do it on a national scale is by replacing the interstate highway system (which oddly enough is uniquely American only because we had an economic boom in the 40's and 50's when the popularity of consumer cars was at it's peak vs. later when it switched back to rail). The issue being that SOOO many people use the interstate highway system now that it is almost impossible. I mean, anytime they have to do maintenance it not only cost money to do it, but it costs businesses money due to the increased traffic times from closing just one lane. The amount of money it would cost not only the government but the private sector as well is impossible to fully calculate.

Tbh, I dont think Id want to lose highways...
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no
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LinkPizza posted...

Tbh, I dont think Id want to lose highways...

We can have both.
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Metalsonic66 posted...

Atlanta could sure use it lol

Yeah, it would really help all of those people get away from Atlanta.

Dikitain posted...

Conceivably the only way to do it on a national scale is by replacing the interstate highway system (which oddly enough is uniquely American only because we had an economic boom in the 40's and 50's when the popularity of consumer cars was at it's peak vs. later when it switched back to rail). The issue being that SOOO many people use the interstate highway system now that it is almost impossible. I mean, anytime they have to do maintenance it not only cost money to do it, but it costs businesses money due to the increased traffic times from closing just one lane. The amount of money it would cost not only the government but the private sector as well is impossible to fully calculate.

That would be a stupid way to go about making a change, considering that the interstate highways are used for shipping goods rather than just people. And I have a hard time believing that no other nation has highways like that, since trying to route everybody through country back roads would be odd especially given the impracticality of trying to replace everything with rails.

Granted, one big problem with a rail system is the fact that US has more terrorism than other developed nations so any system won't work as well here.

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JixHedgehog posted...

The 2008 high speed rail in California is working really well *thumbs up*

this one?
https://youtu.be/eBVw3a2dwmE


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Lokarin posted...

What yall need is a singular rail line that has basically no turns in it - I'm sure that if you plot a course from somewhere vaguely near LA and somewhere vaguely near NYC you won't intersect too many towns/mountains.

How would the trains pass each other? How long would this train be?

Metalsonic66 posted...

Atlanta could sure use it lol

Fuckin tell me about it, I used to have to drive/ride nearly an hour to work from the outer edges to the Perimeter, and 2 hours to visit friends.

The coastal elites need high speed rail

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Zeus posted...

Yeah, it would really help all of those people get away from Atlanta.

I wish. We have the opposite problem.

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Clench281 posted...

The coastal elites need high speed rail

That we do!

And then to get across the nation, too. Instead of having fly-over states, there would be train-through states >_>


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Hop103 posted...

It's unfeasible and too expensive due to country size and the US being car centric

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^

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/3-poll-of-the-day/79418143/953098758
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