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Why Trains would NEVER WORK in the USA (slrpnk.net)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/memes@slrpnk.net
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[–] 42 points 3 weeks ago* (11 children)

I guess it's covered by 5., but the real, actual reason we can't have trains is the civil engineering firms can't extract infinite money from a completed railway.

Also, have you considered how any public works project that runs longer than a single term of the elected official who gets it approved, is letting the next guy get all the credit for it? That's much worse than having functional mass transit.

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  • [–] 24 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    I guess it’s covered by 5., but the real, actual reason we can’t have trains is the civil engineering firms can’t extract infinite money from a completed railway.

    Actually, they kinda can. Railroad tracks need upkeep just like roads do. Maybe not to the same degree and maybe the costs work out differently but they do need to be maintained. So there's plenty of opportunity to grift the hell out of a railroad buildout.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 weeks ago*

    I was assuming the repair would be done by a different firm, but that's fair. It probably ends the cost-plus contract that the construction firm had, at a minimum.

    In seriousness the problem seems to be the contract doesn't incentivize the correct behavior, but I would love to hear from someone with actual knowledge on the topic.

    Also, maybe there are too many opportunities to kill projects via zoning ordinances, and its inarguable that oil, auto, and other industries actively combat these projects.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    Have you SEEN what the UK is doing? HS2 is at around 700 million/mile (about 900 million USD) now, you can absolutely extract infinite money from a rail line without even finishing it.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

    It is the entire English speaking world that lost the ability to built passenger rail without it costing multiple times of what it costs in other developed countries.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

    California seems to be good at infinite money extraction for rail that never finishes.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    The conservatives that filed the many, many lawsuits that delayed construction over and over again are the same people complaining about how long it's taking to be completed. They caused the delays and are the most vocal about the delays. It makes no sense.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

    Have you looked at railway maps?

    There's a huge sprawling rainwater railway network across America... It's just only used by freight cause the bastards that own it decided passengers are unprofitable

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    Assuming rail autocorrected to rainwater, agreed. There are interesting parallels between rail in the 1800s and the life cycle of the internet - successful network technology explodes in utility and popularity, then is cannibalized and constricted

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

    It's the story of the USA in general, y'all seem to fall for it every time, gov makes something mildly socialist, corporate muscle their way in, cannibalise and constrict it, and then everyone's told "see, there's no way it could have worked! USA is just too big/different/free/wilddelete as appropriate"

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