The US economy is the largest in the world by current dollar estimates, we have 7.4 million people without jobs and the car industry isn’t very appealing for some and a lot of people don’t want to live in big urban areas so why not do what china did? It’s faster and practically a cheaper plane ticket (maybe idk) and then we can join the rest of the world with our own public transit that crosses state lines
Comments
USA could build it, but lobbyists from oil, car industry, airlines dont want it. Too much money in keeping people driving and flying
The US does have that, except its for freight trains transporting materials. The reason it doesn’t invest in long distance passenger trains is because planes are better, especially because trains are only good when a lot of people use it, and there aren’t many big cities that are close enough to justify rail over air
China is roughly the same size as the US, but nearly their entire population lives in the eastern 25% of China. So they have a billion people crammed into an area 1/4 the size of the US. Trains are much more effective when you have that sort of population density.
The US population is much more spread out.
The US can and does have a train system that covers the whole country. The airline and oil industries just lobby against it be aiming more relevant.
A little over 60% of land in the U.S. is privately owned, compared to… essentially none in China (all owned by the state). The Chinese government can do whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want. No purchasing land at market values, no eminent domain issues, no obnoxious lawyers, no real political opposition. Also, loads of cheap labor and minimal environment and worker protection regulations. Some of the same reasons so many of our consumer goods are made there…
Imagine trying to do that here. Between property purchasing and eminent domain litigation we would spend billions on just acquiring land. We also actually care about our environment and worker safety (some of us, anyway), so the design would be more complicated to minimize those impacts. Our wages are also higher.
So COULD we do it? Yes. WILL we do it? Probably never.
Not everyone in China uses public transit. They have an absolutely huge domestic car market and have been on a highway building spree in the past 30 years.
The US has a train system, its just primarily dedicated to freight rather than passenger.
The US also has planes for long distances.
Europe doesn’t have direct train service for Madrid to Moscow either, which is a similar distance from NYC to LA. Most Europeans would just use a flight for long distances.
What country are you living in?
As an American, there is like zero demand for this and that is probably the main barrier. If you don’t use the internet, you can to literally go your entire life without ever meeting anyone who mentions this as something they want.
The US can. They don’t want to.
The short answer is public transportation is a non-starter for most Americans.
People will ignorantly scream ” population density!!”
That is an excuse that sounds plausible. The US does largely have lower population density. China has a much higher density. These are facts. However no one is suggesting we build a high speed rail to my rural town, or a subway system to cover the full extent of Houston urban sprawl.
The United States is a car centric culture, Americans by and large don’t want to pay for public transportation, or take it either.
Red tape between municipalities is the primary problem. Everyone wants it, but NIMBY. We do have imminent domain in the US, but it’s far easier for the communist, authoritarian Chinese government to seize personal property and displace massive numbers of citizens to facilitate infrastructure construction. The court battles would take centuries to resolve in the US.
You’ll hear all kinds of answers on here but the main reason is by far bureaucracy and rest is environmentalist, and will to do it as a population even if it means land would be taken and hurt businesses that rely on more cars… In china they don’t have all the elections we do at local state federal levels. Their country has 5,10,15,20 year plans and sticks do it with milestones. Even if there was a federal push to do it it would get bogged down in the court system as well as lobbyists pushing against it.
It’s unfortunate one of our down falls which eventually we’ll have to break through is the Bureaucracy. Good example is take California and look when they started their high speed ‘rail” system they wanted to start and where it is today. China would have had it done in fraction of the time and fully complete.. Take that and think about the entire country billions would be spent and nothing would be done. That money ends up being re-directed. Another good example is look at where the money went for the Fire Aid concert.
Being Asian decent myself if you look at Vietnam, China, South Korea, others they have went from basically nothing to metropolises and in only about 30 years…
The automotive industry has lobbied for decades against public transportation, including trains, so that they can lie to the American public about how much better cars are, how much “freedom” it is.
Then when you have underfunded public transportation, people hate it and buy cars instead. But when you subsidize cars it’s perfectly fine
Special interest lobbyists.
Some great answers in here regarding design, America being more spread out, etc, but I honestly think it’s just the lack of political will in the US. We already have more miles of rail than almost anywhere on earth, including in rural areas and small towns (many of which even still have old depot buildings from the era when passenger rail was a major mode of transportation). But it’s primarily used for freight nowadays. Upgrading the existing rail infrastructure to modern standards for passenger rail probably wouldn’t be that difficult if there was a concerted national movement to do so. But there is zero political will for it. People have very little desire to ride trains when they can just drive short/medium distances and fly long distances.
The only way rail will ever become more popular in America is if we stop subsidizing the oil industry. Cars are already well on their way to being unaffordable for the average American, but they’ll just just keep making the finance terms longer and longer. As long as gas is cheap and car payments are manageable, Americans will continue driving personal vehicles for everything that isn’t made more convenient by airplane.
Lobbying, privatization, and lack of investment of infrastructure and mass transit
We used to have a vast web of passenger railroad and urban trolley systems but they were steadily bought and shuttered by automobile companies or went bankrupt due to lack of demand
On top of what others have said, China’s modernization has been incredibly recent when compared to the US. It’s a lot easier to run a higher speed rail system throughout the country when you can start in the year 2000 as opposed to converting and upgrading rail systems that have been in existence in the US since the 1800’s. Not to mention the fact that the Chinese government has much more authority to grab land/existing property for “state use” than the US government.
The ruling class doesn’t care if commoners can travel with ease. If you can’t afford it, you don’t deserve it.
China has investment controls that maximize employment, not returns. That lets you get projects done.
China has a command economy. Whatever the CCP decides to build gets built. There’s no dissension, no paperwork or regulations to address. Xi literally waves a wand and voilà. Not to mention that billions of dollars of our money (along with the rest of the world) flows into their economy because decades ago manufacturers here decided American workers were too costly. So they moved manufacturing to China, where the labor, regulations were almost non-existent. And no unions. (One company did have to build a net on a high rise because too many beleaguered employees were jumping off balconies to their deaths.)
Besides all the bureaucracy in the USA, imagine how much bitching would go on if a high-speed rail line stretched from NYC to Los Angeles, through the middle of the country. All “ignored” states would see this as favoritism. Most of what is now in the works are public/private deals.
Because NIMBY and labor costs and insurance all the things that make everything here insane
For one thing China owns most of the land, that makes things alot’ easier.
America is actually larger than China, but even ignoring that fact.
We do have rail, just not for high speed rail (HSR) and it’s therefore mostly used for freight.
The reason its so hard to build here is complex.
The biggest factors though are that we have different imminent domain laws and unlike China and Europe our country didn’t get ravaged and demolished during WW1, WW2 and numerous other conflicts in both Asia and Europe, from the 1800s through the 1950s.
Its a lot easier to build when you are doing it on land that is empty, or needs to be rebuilt anyway after the last war.
All the most profitable corridors to build HSR in the US are already taken and bought up by private companies and since we haven’t had a war to destroy anything major, all that land has to be bought or taken to build new rail lines.
While this is true about passenger train lines, the US has the best industrial train lines in the world. We rely on cars, busses and planes to move people, but our heavy rail capacity is what let’s us move raw material around to manufacturers all over the country.
Top comment has the genuine infrastructure problems with installing rail now that America is already developed.
Only thing missing is that the auto industry globally also relly heavily on America where cars are more profitable and despite having less than half the population of countries behind it on the list, still purchases the second most cars in the world.
The industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying to stop rail development, the most blatant being Musk public block high speed rail in CA, openly saying it was because he thought it would hurt Tesla sales.
Beyond this there is a cultural distaste for public transit in the US. I used to work in auto-insurance claims and 100% of people who couldn’t get a rental complained about busses, trains, and not about their lack of availability, but it being beneath them.
The simplest way to put it is that countries with kore/better infrastructure such as trains.
America was founded with the car. Most everyone else has been here since before the horse.
Given the time of establishment and ability to travel, gave a much more different outlook for travel.
We needed trains to bring us stuff, not take us to it.
They wanted them to get to stuff.
The vast majority of China’s passenger rail network is in the very densely populated east of the country. You can draw a line over the middle of China where 80% of the population lives to the east. The US population is not distributed in the same way, so your land area comparison doesn’t actually make any sense.
if you look at a population density map of the US and then a train map of the US you’ll see that the majority of the US is actually reasonably well served by trains.
theoretically you could pass within an easy commute distance of 1 in 10 americans on a single unbroken chain of commuter rail (New Haven CT-NYC-Trenton-Philly. btw i’ve done that route, it’s long and annoying but it works). slightly more than 1 in 3 americans live within a reasonable commuting distance of a commuter rail station
btw the reason rail travel isn’t more widespread is what i said, it’s long and annoying. for instance right now if i wanted to commute from my apartment in northeast Philadelphia to a job in center city my best option is drive 10 minutes to the nearest train station, wait for the train that comes once every half hour, and take the half hour train ride into center city. so with perfect timing i’m looking at a minimum of 40 minutes and a maximum of an hour and 10. (plus i gotta pay for parking and the train ticket).
if i drive i can make it in about half an hour door to door and that’s with traffic and the main highway having a big-ass construction zone
even when i lived walking distance from a major rail station that served multiple lines and was going to a place that was 2 blocks from a train station on the other end, unless i timed it right within 5 minutes, on a typical morning it would have technically been faster to drive (however only slightly and parking was a nightmare and so i walked to the train even though i had a car available because i also would have just rather commuted by train and didn’t mind the time loss)
what kills public transit is the fact that cars are actually not THAT expensive (especially compared to the rising costs of public transit) and SO MUCH more convenient
As a foreigner living in U.S. I will tell from my observation.
America has great interstate system. For typical American person is better and waaaaay more comfortable to pack his family and luggage to his pickup truck and get on the way. Americans also used to drive longer distances.
I think not a bad idea would be to build fast trains along the coastline like Boston – New York, or San Francisco- LA – Seattle. It’s just my guess. There is also a lot of airports here and people fly.
Actually, if you look at the late 1800s map of America, we had an extensive rail network that covered most of continental US. Then the Car lobbyists attacked.
Because we built interstate highways and connecting roads. We are mostly still rugged individuals who like to get to destinations on our own.
How would that benefit the car business? Won’t anyone think of the Ford family?
In China all land is owned by the government. Makes it a lot easier to bulldoze farms to put in trains.
Well, if you did not have to sit next to someone who decided bathing was a waste of time and water, it would be appealing. Last time I rode the metro system in DC, I was surrounded by unbathed masses. Sorry, but I don’t want to share space with someone with fulminating crotchitis. As for passenger rail over long distances, my last trip from DC to New York on Amtrak was 4X the airfare and stopped along every claptrap burg along the way. Same thing traveling Amtrak south. Amtrak is a -ucking joke. Overpriced and piss poor condition. You get off at a train station overrun by panhandlers and other societal problems.
FUD-GETA-BOUT-IT!
The US has better airport infrastructure
Americans can afford their own cars and prefer to travel on their own schedules and avoid strangers. Why should we relent to being forced to use public transportation? The question should be, “What can be done so that everyone can afford their own private transportation?”
Study what happened in California. It’s a sad tale of regret and greed.
Big car companies always lobbied against public transport. They even bought and bankrupted many companies to force people to own cars.
The demand isn’t there. The interstate highway system that was started in the 1950’s made it quick and easier to get places in cars rather than by rail. America built multi-lane interstate highways that could double as runways in case there was a war. Plus, generally people like having the freedom to drive where they want when they want.
Extremely high cost and lack of demand.
I lived in Chicago for many years and would periodically visit family in Indianapolis. There was a train that could have been pretty fast, but what’s the point when it would drop me downtown, nearly a 40 minute drive from where my parents lived?
Cuz it cost a billion for 100 meters of track and 50 red tape every 2 blocks
Everyone will say America has a “car culture” without truly understanding what this means. We enjoy owning cars, enjoy the freedom this entails, being able to go anywhere at anytime with family, friends pets, our belongings. Then when you get to your destination you’re able to go where ever you want with your vehicle. Climate control how you want, listen to your own music, eat food, stop for food where you want during a road trip, etc.
I can wear shorts in the winter, hop in my car, go to the gym, and go back home all in comfort. We can grocery shop in bulk without hauling everything on a bus or train. Go anywhere anytime in comfort
And a lot of people also appreciate not being stuck on a train with people nodding out high Af, or some homeless guy who smells like piss and mumbling to themselves. A single mother with kids doesn’t want to hangout in a sketchy neighborhood waiting for a train or bus to take their kids to school or soccer practice, that’s why so many people leave the areas with good transit and head for the suburbs where they need a car to survive.
On top of all this, cars are also just fun and cool and a way to display your individuality .
The US has the largest railway network of any country in the world. Do you mean high speed train system?
Is it really a good idea to ask why China, a country that doesn’t give the slightest morsel of care about human rights can build elaborate infrastructure projects.
Whatever the CCP says goes.
Secondly the US built the interstate highway system primarily to enable military travel in response to potential threats.
It just so happens that as society expanded, a lot of smaller towns and locations got access to those highways instead of being based on rail.
We have trains for transporting goods, and redoing public infrastructure to accommodate passenger travel would probably take decades plus require significant state and local investment.
edit: Seriously read up on Eisenhower and the Interstate highway system.
https://www.army.mil/article/198095/dwight_d_eisenhower_and_the_birth_of_the_interstate_highway_system
The auto industry lobbies against public transportation and high speed rail. Same with big oil. And the automobile in the US is a cultural identity to most Americans. Its represents “freedom” 🙄.
Also the romantization of the open road and long road trips…another childish aspect of Americana. There was a time when the country did invest in railways and they were quite luxurious and convenient…only the northeast corridor is great for train travel.
nvestment halted when certain demographics started moving into big cities.
Raytheon doesn’t build trains.
Emanate domain in China since they’re a dictatorship. NIMBYs slow all of our progress in America. Contractors as well.
The united state has a very thorough and flushed out rail system. Much more so than China.
The difference is most Americans would rather (and have the financial ability to) drive or fly so passenger trains stopped being a popular method of travel.
Also have to look at the differences in our economies. China economy is based around a handful of high population density zones. Ours is nationwide. Thousands of little cities with industy in them. Like muskogee ok, brownswood TX colony wy, cedar city ut, etc. Our infrastructure was built around with this existing widespread industrialization. China didn’t have that pre existing wide spread industrialized nation to influence their infrastructure programs.
Truckers union
We have the largest rail system in the world what are you talking about?
Partly auto industry lobbyists
Car and tire manufacturers actively killed passenger rail in the US, and are continuing to interfere with any proposed plans to build more.
No.. the answer is simple. America is a UNITED state. Each state essentially operates as its own state entity. Yes federal law trumps state law but if a state doesn’t want to opt into such infrastructure, they don’t have to. Also, who will fund this? Not the federal govt. who will train fare funds go to?? The states who even want to do this will have to come together is figure this out.
America is not 1 country (in the general definition) like mainland china. It’s a combination of 50+ states with their own jurisdiction. Y’all need to read the Constitution
Bc of big oil and capitalism
Because we’re the best country on earth. Duh.
American politicians don’t see it as their job to provide public services to make our country better, safer, more efficient, well designed and beautiful. We sell it to the highest corporate bidder so they can harvest wealth from the working class and keep us all enslaved to our monthly bills
When infustructure can be influenced by corporations bribing politicians (lobbying), and those corporations are driven to increase quarterly profits at all costs, this is what happens. Oil, gas, automotive, and airline companies have spent billions to keep the government from “undermining” them by providing a cheap, fast, and reliable form of long-distance transport.
There’s a reason China has gone from being an agricultural feudalistic hellscape to a fully-industrialized and modern world superpower in just 80 years. Central planning with years in mind, instead of quarterly profits, is VERY effective.
Because we prefer jet travel over investing trillions in track mileage.
The correct question should be, “Who is willing to pay for it?”
The market does not exist.
People are already complaining about Brightline fares in Florida.
Their government decided to do it and did it. Ours could but doesn’t, preferring to spend trillions on the military industrial complex that Ike warned us about.
Trains and most mass transit in this country are seen as socialist and conservatives still live in peak red scare. The enemy changes, but the fear and fanaticism for captialism remain.
because we have an interstate highway road system that is more comprehensive and reaches more locations than any train system could ever hope to. Trains are efficient at moving large groups to a few locations, but roads are more effective at moving smaller groups to many locations.
Population density – World in maps
For a start, there’s the political issues where individualistic Americans would much rather sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours with thousands of other people doing the same thing as a way to celebrate our personal independence.
But leaving that aside, take a look at the population density map linked above. The US may be smaller than China, but a huge chunk of central China is barely inhabited, leaving the population density along the eastern part of the country dramatically higher than almost all of the United States. The places where the US even approaches coastal China for density (basically, the Northeast corridor) can be served by passenger rail fairly effectively. Elsewhere? Not so much.
And it’s legacy, not high speed rail in the US – predominantly because the US doesn’t have a government with the will or the means to simply blast new railway routes through existing cities. We did that with the original low-speed railways, and with urban renewal and freeway building in the 50’s 60’s and into the 70’s, and mostly used up the political will and political capital it takes to ignore environmental impacts and the property rights of folks in the way of progress.