notesA related meme showing passenger train tracks, US versus EU.
Steve Moore 
@notes
I wonder how much influence the US auto industry has on that dramatic difference between US & EU passenger rail service
@ArrowbearMoore I don't have sources to cite, but its common knowledge here that the automobile industry lobbied for more car-centric planning and design. I remember hearing of them lobbying to tear out existing public transit.
Benoît 🚂@notes @ArrowbearMoore I read a lot about trains in both continents.
The History is the same on both sides of the Atlantic: pro-cars policies started in the 1920s and are still very strong everywhere. The only change is petrol-crisis related: Europe is not built over an oil field, hence investments in public transports since the 1970s.
For long runs, geography is responsible for the lack of long distance trains in NA: planes took over trains, even for short distances.
The History is the same on both sides of the Atlantic: pro-cars policies started in the 1920s and are still very strong everywhere. The only change is petrol-crisis related: Europe is not built over an oil field, hence investments in public transports since the 1970s.
For long runs, geography is responsible for the lack of long distance trains in NA: planes took over trains, even for short distances.
@notes @ArrowbearMoore Why geography? Because any major city is far from any other, on average, whine they are almost packed on dense old Europe. In less than 6 hours, you can link Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. From LA, you'd have almost not scratched Las Vegas' suburbs.
Also, state-owned train tracks in Europe are a game changer.
Also, state-owned train tracks in Europe are a game changer.