The population density of the American Midwest is comparable to that of #Spain.
Spain has 2,240 miles of high-speed rail.
American Midwest: 0.
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High-speed rail in this region would replace short-haul flights, and go a long way to reducing carbon emissions. Should be a no-brainer for Amtrak Joe Bidenβyou'd think, anyway...
(Fantasy map below)
I bring this up b/c @the_transit_guy has made the comparison between overachieving China and sad-sack US. Fair point, but a more proximate comparable might be Spain...
"Back in 2009, SNCF (#France's rail system) proposed a $68.5 billion (94.6 in 2022 dollars) dollar high-speed rail system for the Midwest"
β @RealEric4Real
#Spain offers a high-speed train service between Barcelona and Madrid called Avlo.
It covers the 625 km distance in 2 hours 30 minutes, top speed 330 km/h (185 mph). Fares start at β¬7.
β’ β’ β’
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Iβve been in #Dublin for a few days. Yesterday I posted about how the re-design of their bus system has led to a 20% increase in ridership in 2023. Part of that is the new high-frequency βspinesββ¦ βοΈππ§΅
Though the high-frequency network, designed by @humantransit and his team, is being rolled out in phases. A more immediate factor is the fare systemβ¦
@humantransit β¦with a Leap card, fares cost about β¬2, which gives you 90 minutes of travel on buses, trams, DART commuter rail within the Short Hop zone which covers most of central Dublin.
First time on a new Siemens Venture train, leaving from #Quebec City, destination #Ottawa.
First impressionβ¦ π π§΅
β¦itβs astonishingly spacious inside. But feels a bit more like a plane than a good olβ @VIA_Rail train. (Mostly b/c of the jetliner-style seats).
The #Istanbul Metro has outsourced its fare collection, and the new ticket inspectors are very strict.
#Istanbul tried to use canine inspectors for a while, but they kept on getting distracted. Especially by the view of the Blue Mosque from the city ferries.
Cats stay focused.
Love of cats runs deep among Istanbullus.
There are cat-feeding stations in the metro, and cat hotels all over the city. (For real, photos from my last visit.)
By 1920, the network of interurbans in the US was so dense that a determined commuter could hop interlinked streetcars from Waterville, Maine, to Sheboygan, Wisconsinβa journey of 1,000 milesβexclusively by electric trolley.
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The tracks, and often the wires, extended deep into forest and farmland, making the railroads de facto intercity highways; after nightfall in the countryside, farmers would signal drivers to stop by burning a rag next to the track.
Streetcars and interurbans became the dominant mode of urban transportation in North America, carrying 11 billion passengers a year by the end of the First World War.