16 August 2016

Why American passenger trains are so bad

2 comments:

  1. some train insanity: For decades the commuter rail in Massachusetts didn't have dedicated stations where people could buy tickets, you had to buy tickets in a nearby store or restaurant that was an authorized ticket agent. It was not always clear who or where this ticket agent was, it could have been a business across a an entire park not in clear sight of the station. The former station buildings themselves were rented out to businesses which were not obligated to no interested in being the ticket agent...it was ridiculous. In recent years they've improved the situation somewhat, expanded stations and parking lots (in some areas) but the main stations in Boston themselves seem to be an afterthought.
    The town I spent my teen years in used to have multiple railroad junctions and stops (way before i was a teenager) but by the 70's all nearby stations were out of town (I used to walk 4 miles to the station to go to work on the train).
    The town I now live in in southern NH used to be the end of the line for a minor freight and passenger line that still had multiple trips a day going into a nearby mill city or all the way to Boston, there is now a small museum where the station used to be.
    All across the region old rail lines have been closed, torn up and converted into walking and biking trails. The U.S. just doesn't seem to be into trains.

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  2. Note that the comparison with the line Rennes-Paris will become even worse next year :
    https://www.wikiwand.com/en/LGV_Bretagne-Pays_de_la_Loire

    Details (in french) :
    http://www.letelegramme.fr/bretagne/lgv-bretagne-de-40-a-50-minutes-gagnees-vers-paris-en-2017-08-04-2016-11023894.php

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