I see an added challenge in the fact that the US is so damn BIG that you simply can't get anywhere fast without flying. I live in the Midwest (in a city that, like hundreds of other cities in the Midwest, is stuck between big and small, neither a rural town nor a thriving metropolis) and thus the nearest Amtrak station is a whopping 3.5 hours away by car. I haven't had the luxury of travel by train for this reason, but it is definitely on my bucket list!
Thanks for reading! Yes, the size makes it tough to compare to Europe one-to-one, but China has shown that size isn't insurmountable when it comes to train travel! I lived in Ohio most my life, so I completely understand how hard it is to get around by train in that state (I'm hoping the $66 billion from the infrastructure law will go to increasing service there and in the Midwest, as well as connecting Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, but we will see...). Check out my post from last year, where I dive further into the challenges of passenger rail in the U.S. https://planetdays.substack.com/p/takeaways-from-a-cross-country-amtrak-train
The price of public transport in England has definitely seemed to rise recently, but even more is people opinion's on cars. I feel i meet so many more people now who will drive such short distances because it's 'easier' (lazier). Brandon's point about the mindset change really is a massive part of the puzzle.
Thank you for reading! The car-first mindset is one of the toughest puzzles to crack because it's so engrained in our culture. I'm guilty of not even considering train travel until I moved from the Midwest, which has little to no regional train service, to Washington, D.C., where it's much easier to get around via train — though too many people here still default to driving or Ubering (which is another story).
I see an added challenge in the fact that the US is so damn BIG that you simply can't get anywhere fast without flying. I live in the Midwest (in a city that, like hundreds of other cities in the Midwest, is stuck between big and small, neither a rural town nor a thriving metropolis) and thus the nearest Amtrak station is a whopping 3.5 hours away by car. I haven't had the luxury of travel by train for this reason, but it is definitely on my bucket list!
Thanks for reading! Yes, the size makes it tough to compare to Europe one-to-one, but China has shown that size isn't insurmountable when it comes to train travel! I lived in Ohio most my life, so I completely understand how hard it is to get around by train in that state (I'm hoping the $66 billion from the infrastructure law will go to increasing service there and in the Midwest, as well as connecting Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, but we will see...). Check out my post from last year, where I dive further into the challenges of passenger rail in the U.S. https://planetdays.substack.com/p/takeaways-from-a-cross-country-amtrak-train
The price of public transport in England has definitely seemed to rise recently, but even more is people opinion's on cars. I feel i meet so many more people now who will drive such short distances because it's 'easier' (lazier). Brandon's point about the mindset change really is a massive part of the puzzle.
Thank you for reading! The car-first mindset is one of the toughest puzzles to crack because it's so engrained in our culture. I'm guilty of not even considering train travel until I moved from the Midwest, which has little to no regional train service, to Washington, D.C., where it's much easier to get around via train — though too many people here still default to driving or Ubering (which is another story).