Peter GleickMap of US train system in 1890 and today.
Hiker Geek 🌲💻🌲I found this map of active rail lines as of 2023. Is it wrong?
I was reading a little more about passenger rail in the US and it seems buses have a slightly lower carbon footprint per mile than trains. I was surprised.
They are both a lot less than cars. Forget about planes' footprint.
smxi@HikerGeek @petergleick you can look up carbon and energy use per passenger mile. Cars are obviously worst by far, and bicycles best, but air travel is surpringly competitive on some routes. High speed rail however is not great by that metric. But has advantage that can be fully electrified thus offering diverse energy sources, not just carbon fuels.
Many come down to occupancy, particularly relevant in buses trains. Airlines can't make profit if planes aren't near full so optimized.