Why U.S. Freight Trains Are So Much Better Than Passenger Rail

Comments · 2.6K

• SC

  @Schlabbeflicker · 4 years ago

  Honestly, the low employment figures of rail relative to its' gross and net revenues is strongly indicative of just how efficient and profitable the industry is.

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• CH

  @chrismorrissey6345 · 4 years ago

  When one of these giant freight trains drive through parts of Illinois and Indiana the track is often on street level in the middle of busy areas of small towns. They can routinely take between 3 to 6 minutes to fully pass by.  It's one of the longest Loading Screens you experience in real life

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• KE

  @kentslocum · 4 years ago

  I have always desired to see more passenger rail in the US, but I think we need more mass transit in general, especially in urban areas--trolleys, streetcars, and lightrail.

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• YO

  @yoface938 · 4 years ago

  Simple answer, inanimate objects don’t complain about how they’re moved.

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• WI

  @WideWorldofTrains · 4 years ago

  Railroads also "Borrow" each others power (Locomotives) on an as-needed basis. They reconcile the accounting for this at the end of the year. This is why you may see a BNSF engine 1000 miles off their territory on the east coast. Also I have noticed combined trains in the last several years due to PSR. Also no coal trains anymore here in NY, I used to see them almost daily.

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• TH

  @thesethtucker · 4 years ago

  Anybody else bothered that the title of the video is inaccurate? The video told virtually nothing about freight trains vs passenger trains, but was basically all about the freight rail industry vs the freight truck industry. It was definitely an interesting video, but terribly named.

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• A_

  @A_Shihtzu · 4 years ago

  TLDR Trains carry a lot of stuff long distances for a solid cost/Ton moved, private companies own the rails passenger trains uses, so freight are higher priority on their own rails.

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• NI

  @ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958 · 4 years ago

  It used to take two guys to run the train. &nbsp;<br>Now the train will be able to drive itself, <br>but it needs ten guards to keep people from stealing the cargo.

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• JR

  @jrb9272 · 4 years ago

  One factor that will impede the trucking industry is the increasing congestion on the interstate highway system - by trucks. &nbsp;Sometimes all you see are 18-wheelers jostling with each other on the road, and the occasional car stuck in the mayhem. &nbsp;Our interstates cannot handle a large increase in truck traffic, and we will have to rely more on the rail networks.

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• SI

  @SirMangoMantango · 4 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q79BHfxfaSI&amp;t=600">10:00</a> Why do you never mention that they recently laid off &nbsp;a lot of the track security personel that usually were able prevent it?

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• SC

  @ScrubFlyFisher · 4 years ago

  If only the government saw trains as an option. It would be perfect for medium distance travel. Traveling from Chicago to Detroit, Nashville, Cincinnati and city in between. Same for LA, SF,, and Vegas. Would totally drive commerce up in many smaller cities which have struggled.

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• HE

  @heathwirt8919 · 4 years ago

  The upper level management types use the term &quot;efficiency&quot; loosely, they are mostly referring to return on investment and not shipping costs to end users of the freight systems.

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