RE: The economics and politics of supertrains
First of all, as an American who lives in Europe I can tell you "most"
of the continent is NOT mountainous. That comment was made by
someone who obviously didnt bother to even look at a map before
making it. Also, the areas of Europe that ARE mountainous are the
areas where trains have the hardest time getting around and where
they cost the most to build and maintain.
The reason that Europe has such a well built and extensive rail
network is that Europe was already densely populated centuries before
the American continent was discovered by explorers. That means,
europeans had to have ways to move people and goods all over the
place long before anyone had cars, trucks or the highways to drive
them on. Trains were the logical choice, for lack of any other options.
Now, with a well built and maintained network, and relatively dense
population, they can profit from the investments of years past.
Something Americans dont believe in.
Additionally, Europeans understand that resources are limited and tax
them as such. this forces individuals, communities, cities, regions,
states and the EU as a whole to band together to provide a public
transportation system that includes, buses, trams and streetcars,
subways, commuter trains, regional trains, high-speed intercity trains.
I take the bus or bike to work everyday. I dont own a car here. I take
the train every weekend from north Germany to Holland to visit
friends. I take weekend train trips to Paris to go shopping.
I will admit starting with nothing will be expensive for the US. But we
are not really starting with nothing. we have a network in the east and
a limited network across the country. we could just start in urban
areas and then work out from there. Where it makes economic sense,
we build. Where it doesnt, we wait until we have more of a revenue
base before subsidizing.
And for those Americans who dont want to give up "freedom", or have
to bike or (gasp) walk to the train station, judging from the waistlines I
witnessed the last time I was there, most of you could stand a little
physical activity.
