Information Is BeautifulDaily train service in Canada. For clarity, the operative word here is DAILY. The lines exist but there is no longer a daily service.
(via Threads user: @uptheroader)
https://www.threads.com/@uptheroader/post/DLqj7iNygSZ
Sjaak K. 🇳🇱🇪🇺🍋@infobeautiful
Same in the Netherlands: a lot of track has disappeared over the years. This is all that’s left (with an every ten minute schedule on the main lines)
Same in the Netherlands: a lot of track has disappeared over the years. This is all that’s left (with an every ten minute schedule on the main lines)
Sir Osis of Liver 🇨🇦 🇲🇽@sjaakkeuvelaar @infobeautiful
The Netherlands (42k km^2) is almost half the area of New Brunswick (73k km^2).
disorderlyf@Sir_Osis_of_Liver @sjaakkeuvelaar @infobeautiful I think this argument would have more weight if the whole continent didn't have rail lines so well developed that I'm confident without even checking that I could travel from Lisbon to Warsaw only ever doing so via train.
And that's before the argument that we made it work half a century ago. Why is rail so hard in 2026 compared to a decade after the first humans set foot on the moon?
@disorderlyf @sjaakkeuvelaar @infobeautiful
For that tiny area, the Netherlands has a population of 18M, Canada as a whole only has 40M.
There are very few centres that would have sufficient demand to support an extensive rail network. As it is, most places struggle to fund road transit.
@Sir_Osis_of_Liver @sjaakkeuvelaar @infobeautiful In 1979 it would've been closer to 20 million, and yet we had all those daily routes for half the population spread over the same distances.
@disorderlyf @sjaakkeuvelaar @infobeautiful
And VIA rail was losing money hand over fist. Even now, with the greatly reduced service, it's bleeding badly.
Once the airlines were deregulated and fares dropped, it was game over for long haul passenger service.
Taking 1-5 days to go between cities is fine for a sight seeing, but not great when you really need to get somewhere.