Yes, the US is really big, and we have a bunch of mountains, but there’s still no good reason why reasonable train infrastructure doesn’t exist. We have train lines from Seattle to LA, SF to Chicago (and transfers to NYC and DC), and NYC to Miami, but they’re all super slow and have to share with even slower freight sometimes.
I live in Utah and know a bunch of people who would take a train to Vegas almost every weekend if it existed and was somewhat fast. I’d take one from SLC to LA if it existed, and I’d consider one across the country if it was reasonably priced. But no, the train takes twice as long as a car for most destinations, and is often more expensive than an airplane, so why would I ever take the train outside of the train being the point (i.e. as a novelty)?
Make them fast and convenient and people will rife them. Apparently Amtrak gets decent usage in the NE because they’re fast and convenient. Do that for the west and people will use them.
Yes, the US is really big, and we have a bunch of mountains, but there’s still no good reason why reasonable train infrastructure doesn’t exist. We have train lines from Seattle to LA, SF to Chicago (and transfers to NYC and DC), and NYC to Miami, but they’re all super slow and have to share with even slower freight sometimes.
I live in Utah and know a bunch of people who would take a train to Vegas almost every weekend if it existed and was somewhat fast. I’d take one from SLC to LA if it existed, and I’d consider one across the country if it was reasonably priced. But no, the train takes twice as long as a car for most destinations, and is often more expensive than an airplane, so why would I ever take the train outside of the train being the point (i.e. as a novelty)?
Make them fast and convenient and people will rife them. Apparently Amtrak gets decent usage in the NE because they’re fast and convenient. Do that for the west and people will use them.