Why U.S. rail travel is so expensive

[beijingwalker]

Why U.S. rail travel is so expensive​

PUBLISHED WED, NOV 16 20228:00 AM EST

Amtrak’s Acela is the fastest passenger train in the Western Hemisphere, but tickets can be pricey.

Amtrak fares can vary dramatically in the Northeast, home of the most heavily used stretch of track in the railroad’s nationwide network, which also includes stops in Canada.

But tickets are often more expensive than plane tickets, despite flight times being much shorter than the typical train ride. Transportation researchers say Amtrak’s fares in the Northeast are higher than those for comparable systems.

Meanwhile, the federally owned and funded Amtrak has not made money in its five-decade history.

Ridership numbers and finances were strengthening before the coronavirus pandemic. A former executive said that in early 2020 the company was on its way to its first profitable year in its history. The pandemic tanked ridership and dashed those hopes.

But now Amtrak has reasons to be bullish about its future. In November 2021 the federal government allotted Amtrak $66 billion to upgrade equipment and repair and expand its network. Amtrak wants to increase ridership by 20 million annually, and expand into areas around the country with fast-growing populations but little passenger rail service. States such as Texas, Florida and Arizona are all prime candidates.

Why U.S. rail travel is so expensive

Train fares in the U.S. often cost more than flying and more than trains in other developed countries. That's because Amtrak has never made money.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

This is not unusual for the US.

Even in Europe trains are usually more expensive than planes.

Here is what Germans say about their rail system:

Everybody who thinks rail is some miracle should listen closely to what she says. She even says people are taking long range buses instead of trains because they are much cheaper.

Why is Flying Cheaper than Taking a Train in Europe?

Why is flying cheaper than taking a train in Europe, usually? Let's find out why trains are often the more expensive option compared to flights.

djaunter.com

Why is Flying Cheaper Than Taking a Train in Europe?​

"It took awhile for me to wrap my head around the fact that plane travel within Europe is often the cheaper option for getting from Point A to Point B, train travel being the more expensive option."

---

This perpetual talk by Chinese members over and over and over how trains are the best method is just a myth.

Yes, if almost all of your population is crammed into one side of your country due to a desert then it works out well. However when the busiest travel distance is 4,000 km (like it is in the US) a train is not going to work out well.

Both the US and Europe having had commercial airline makers for decades serving the public need. People simply see trains as old technology especially when jet airlines started appearing in the late 1950's.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

This didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out...

A Whopping $900B Debt - China's Once-Profitable High-Speed Railways Now Heading Towards A Trillion Dollar Disaster

China’s long-distance high-speed rail (HSR) is hailed as the fundamental tenet of its initiatives to recover the country’s coronavirus-affected economy. The government’s goal is to expand further what is already the world’s most extensive high-speed rail network. Recapturing Alaska! Russia...

eurasiantimes.com

A Whopping $900B Debt – China’s Once-Profitable High-Speed Railways Now Heading Towards A Trillion Dollar Disaster

 

[epebble]

Reality is the news is not so much Why U.S. Rail Travel is expensive, but the marvel of Why U.S. Air travel is inexpensive. When I was younger, Air travel was a luxury that one did not take unless it was essential. Now, my son, as a young boy, has travelled all around the world. Air travel for him and his generation is just like train travel was for me. It is just a bus with wings. A majority of Americans will be traveling by Air this week, and nobody will think it is unusual. Only a small number of people will use trains.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Reality is the news is not so much Why U.S. Rail Travel is expensive, but the marvel of Why U.S. Air travel is inexpensive. When I was younger, Air travel was a luxury that one did not take unless it was essential. Now, my son, as a young boy, has travelled all around the world. Air travel for him and his generation is just like train travel was for me. It is just a bus with wings. A majority of Americans will be traveling by Air this week, and nobody will think it is unusual. Only a small number of people will use trains.

Not many are lamenting that they wished they could take a HSR system to visit relatives...BTW note how they are visiting relatives...not going "back home".

Plane service has been around for a long time. Most people who were born after 1965 have probably never been on a train (other than local commuter rail and subways).

 

[beijingwalker]

This didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out...

A Whopping $900B Debt - China's Once-Profitable High-Speed Railways Now Heading Towards A Trillion Dollar Disaster

China’s long-distance high-speed rail (HSR) is hailed as the fundamental tenet of its initiatives to recover the country’s coronavirus-affected economy. The government’s goal is to expand further what is already the world’s most extensive high-speed rail network. Recapturing Alaska! Russia...

eurasiantimes.com

A Whopping $900B Debt – China’s Once-Profitable High-Speed Railways Now Heading Towards A Trillion Dollar Disaster

Peopel's money spent on the people, what's wrong with it? way better than US spending trillions on wars overseas and let their subways overrun by rats.

 

[VCheng]

Peopel's money spent on the people, what's wrong with it?

So it is okay to let all people pay for the travel of a few that actually use the rails. Got it.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Peopel's money spent on the people, what's wrong with it?

Why do you think it is better? You guys complain about the US needing to spend all this money maintaining infrastructure meanwhile China has created close to a $Trillion liability just on their trains...and they haven't even gotten old yet where you really feel the cost of infrastructure upkeep.

Not many people in the US are crying for trains.

 

[beijingwalker]

So it is okay to let all people pay for the travel of a few that actually use the rails. Got it.

What do you mean " a few"? railway is the most popular choice of travel, China gets tons of money, and the government spends money on the public transport, public heallth, public education... that's the money well spent.

Why do you think it is better? You guys complain about the US needing to spend all this money maintaining infrastructure meanwhile China has created close to a $Trillion liability just on their trains...and they haven't even gotten old yet where you really feel the cost of infrastructure upkeep.

Government is for the people, it's not a company only cares about making profit, this difference is very clear between China and US. when it comes to serve the public interest and the wellbeing of the nation long term, China never tries to hold investments back.

 

[VCheng]

What do you mean " a few"? railway is the most popular choice of travel, China gets tons of money, and the government spends money on the public transport, public heallth, public education... that's the money well spent.


Government is for the people, it's not a company only cares about making profit, this difference is very clear between China and US. when it comes to serve the public interest and the wellbeing of the nation long term, China never tries to hold investments back.

So why not let people travel for free on the railways? After all, public health and education are free.

 

[beijingwalker]

List of countries by government budget​

�

Rank	Country	Revenues	Expenditures	Surplus (or deficit)	Surplus percentage of GDP	Year
1	United States	5,923,829	9,818,534	−3,894,705	−18.73%	2020 est.

China

459,546

593,856

−134,310

−10.06%

2020 est.

So why not let people travel for free on the railways? After all, public health and education are free.

Subsidy within the government financial capability, only fools will follow your weird suggestion.

 

[VCheng]

Subsidy within the government financial capability, only fools will share your weird suggestion.

So only a trillion dollar hole and no more? Got it.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

What do you mean " a few"? railway is the most popular choice of travel,

The US is not China..stop thinking it is.
The US is not China..stop thinking it is.
The US is not China..stop thinking it is.
The US is not China..stop thinking it is.
The US is not China..stop thinking it is.
The US is not China..stop thinking it is.

While you guys were slogging it out in a commune behind an oxen team under Mao saying your lives were certainly far better than those who live in the "decadent West" we were decadently doing this:

1940's train era in the US. Yes, we have already had really nice trains. They weren't exactly cattle cars.

We already had trains going everywhere...and it was very very popular up until 70 years ago...now it isn't because we have moved on...just like we have moved on from high-rise living.

Now decades after us in the 21st Century you suddenly have trains available for everybody to use..and of course (like your commune days) you think it's the greatest thing ever...and wonder why the US doesn't have any trains like yours as your lives are certainly far better than those seen in the West.

Well what is NEW for you in China is OLD for us.

The Evolution of the Commercial Flying Experience

Learn more about the evolution of the commercial flying experience in the United States using objects from the Museum's collection.

airandspace.si.edu

In 1955, for the first time, more people in the United States traveled by air than by train

Jet passenger service started in the late 1950's and the interstate highways were also put in at that time.

So for short distances people used their cars and for long distances they took a jet.

 

[beijingwalker]

So only a trillion dollar hole and no more? Got it.

LoL, Check this hole..

List of countries by government budget​

�

Rank	Country	Revenues	Expenditures	Surplus (or deficit)	Surplus percentage of GDP	Year
1	United States	5,923,829	9,818,534	−3,894,705	−18.73%	2020 est.

China

459,546

593,856

−134,310

−10.06%

2020 est.

 

[VCheng]

LoL, Check this hole..

List of countries by government budget​

�

Rank	Country	Revenues	Expenditures	Surplus (or deficit)	Surplus percentage of GDP	Year
1	United States	5,923,829	9,818,534	−3,894,705	−18.73%	2020 est.

China

459,546

593,856

−134,310

−10.06%

2020 est.

So clearly China can afford to make rail travel free. So my suggestion was a good one.