re: Can someone explain to me why this is unpopular in America?

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Europe developed an extensive passenger train network because it worked for them

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Also, roads in most European cities predate automobiles.

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Amtrak traveling at 450 MPH? Now that's some great gas mileage.

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And Amtrak will stop at every podunk town between Chicago and New Orleans.

Cross-country train can't beat a plane.

It's the like 3-5 hour train rides vs a plane that could have some value. It's way less of a pain in the arse than flying and the time savings of the shorter travel time are negated by getting to the airport, security, leaving airport, getting rental car, ect

Too many at level grade crossings. Imagine a ten car passenger train with 300 souls on board, traveling at 200 mph, hitting a loaded log truck. I've ridden Amtrak several times and it is like riding a US Mail jeep. Rode from El Paso to New Orleans. Made great time from El Paso to Houston. The train sat in Houston at the station for an hour,why? The conductor said the railroad had to move some freight trains out of our way. From Beaumont to Lafayette we travel at 25 mph. Why? Rough track. Rode from New Orleans to Boston. I ride Coach because I'm a skinflint, made good time to Atlanta.Breakfast on the City of New Orleans is delicious. Train stopped in North Carolina for 2 hours. Conductor said the railroad had to move some freight trains so we could pass. Between DC and Boston the train hauls arse because the Pennsylvania Railroad during the 1920s invested a crapton of money building the NE Corridor, a four track electrified hi speed commuter /freight railroad with limited at level grade crossings. Our train ran 120mph. On the way back from Boston just out of DC ,the train ran out of drinks and food. Nothing to drink or eat until we got to Atlanta. Sounds just like the post office.

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it takes a day by Amtrack to get from Chicago to New Orleans.

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LIAR.

I went from St Louis to Chicago by train. Might have been the worst experience of my life. 9 hour tour.

So many stops. So many delays.

I bet the traveling suicide rate in the 1800s had to be like 70%. At one point I deliriously asked my wife would it be quicker just to jump off the train at the next stop and Uber the rest of the way.

My personal hell is seeing the US by train.

Because I don’t want to sit next to you for 4 hours.

WE like our big gas guzzlers!

Hey man, you know, like, you should, like post, like less. Like thank you.

It costs nearly as much to ride coach in a train for an entire day as it does to fly a few hours first class where you're going.

The next time you can get a coach fare on the City of New Orleans leaving from New Orleans for Chicago is at 1:45 PM on Wed. the 19th. It arrives at something like 9 AM the next morning, if on schedule. The ticket is about $220. That's 18 hours on a train with no bed, no private bathroom, no shower. Just a seat.

American Airlines has a flight leaving New Orleans at 11:43 AM on the 19th that arrives in Chicago at 2:24 PM. 3 and a half hours total. For 59 bucks. If you want to fly first class, that's $279.

That's why Americans don't use trains, you dolt.

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Perhaps had they not been so devastated by WWII and had more disposable income in the years after the war, they might have developed roads and seen personal ownership of cars take off, like it did here.

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If only we had something that de-incentivized the use of personal cars.

Any suburban town is absolutely miserable to get around in. Forget about going anywhere on a Saturday without sitting in your vehicle dealing with road ragers for a good portion of the day. Always amuses me when cities/commissions try to fix congestion by widening lanes, not realizing that's like fanning flames.

I don't see why America is so against alternative means of transportation. A city wide bike path system or a region wide public transit system that is actually incentivized and used would work wonders in terms of lowering the rate of overweight citizens in the United States.

I'd love for someone against bike pathways or incentives to use public transportation explain to me the fear.