What is it about North American freight railroading that makes it unique? It has a look and esthetic that is unlike railroading anywhere else in the world.
Passenger Rail in North America used to be the same way.
Actually, with most of Amtrak, it still is. But with commuter rail not so much any more. And we have probably long given up the possibility that the coming revival of intercity Passenger Rail will look anything more that Global, or worse, European.
The extraordinary hiatus in development of purely American intercity passenger trains has given the rest of the world a leg up. Worse, we will never know what the evolution of the passenger train would have been had we just continued to run them in a quantity and at a speed that kept them in the public eye and mind. For instance, the trend toward bi-levels started with the Santa Fe equipment might have been more incentive for eastern routes with increased clearances. Fifteen years ago, Amtrak still had to devise Superliner-like interiors to fit into single-level cars still having to squeeze through tunnels that couldn't clear Superliners.
With the increase in sizes, would we now have a third or fourth generation of Super-Superliners that make Passenger Rail even more fuel efficient than it already is with broken-down antiques? With a continuity in design and volume of use, would green locomotive builders be targeting passenger use instead of just freight? We will never know.
Had we been building North American passenger cars right along, the cost of including integrated, state-of-the-art amenities (the full range of electronic media, the best of human creature comforts) might not be as great as it is now for single, disgustingly small (by car count) orders that come only once every two decades.
We The People have done ourselves a great disservice in settling for Amtrak.
©2008 - C. A. Turek - mistertrains@gmail.com
2 comments:
1. There is now a bill before congress aimed at encouraging a domestic passenger rail industry, funding equipment purchase and creating an independent trust to oversee equipment purchases (that might be used by entities besides Amtrak). Bravo. Now would be a good time to alert your representatives that you support it.
2. Colorado railcar has some interesting products . . .
While there is a good chance for American rail car designers to come up with feasible new cars, the problem is, as you have so properly pointed out, the infastructure, track alignment, curvature, weight, tunnels, road crossings, all have to be rebuilt as from the ground up for the new passenger trains to have a chance of competing with other modes of transport. It is a formidable undertaking, and one can doubt it will ever be accomplished. Right now, I live in proximity to I-81 which is clogged with truck traffic. Parallel to it is a Norfolk Southern line running the length of the Shenandoah Valley. That line theoretically can handle every truck on I-81; but, the line was put in over a century ago and there is no way it can handle the type of traffic that would be needed. The railroad says it is going to upgrade the line, but it is just talk. Not one cent has been spent. Neither have applications been made for county approvals for more land to be dedicated to the rail use. Not only this, the public has not said a word about the benefits to be gained by a modernized rail system. Blindness and dumbness prevail.
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