[ianks]

There is nothing more saddening than the state of America’s train situation. It’s like we’re fundamentally incapable of understanding the value of shared infrastructure.

In the rare case that a state escapes the matrix and actually realizes the benefit, we can’t get the damn thing built.

I want a packed bullet train, not a fucking slow private train car.

[sailfast]

It’s never been shared, FWIW. The rails are mostly privately owned and were built that way too.

That said - bullet trains are great but I fully support the ability of individuals to pay to access freight or passenger rail to subsidize the infra.

[jazzyjackson]

Land was granted to the railroads with the agreement that they would run passenger rail services. When passenger rail became so unprofitable that it was bankrupting rail companies, they lobbied to make it the governments responsibility to move people around and leave them to make money shuffling freight.

[rbanffy]

> bullet trains are great but I fully support the ability of individuals to pay to access freight or passenger rail to subsidize the infra.

It’d be even nicer if you could hook your private car to a bullet train.

[bluGill]

American trains are the best in the world - at freight. even overall I'd call us rail best in the world - the state of freight rail is that bad in most of the world.

of course people see passanger trains and don't think of freight. However that is missing the true picture.

[vivzkestrel]

naa, in india we got double stacked container trains fully electrified across 95% of 40000 mile route. you guys are still running on diesel

[guappa]

I'd really like to know where you're taking this claim from.

[timeon]

> best in the world

Except for the electricity.

[4ggr0]

> I'd call us rail best in the world

ever heard of Japan or Switzerland or China or ...?

[barnas2]

Strangely enough, Florida, of all places seems to be having really good success with their Brightline rail network. The initial system runs from Miami to Orlando, with a few stops in between. They're planning on expanding up north and east into the panhandle. Financially things are a bit dicey, but it got built, and it's reliable. Ridership is increasing, which takes cars of the road, and property values in the areas it stops are going up. Meanwhile California doesn't even have their tiny "initial operating segment" built, and is projecting to be up to 3-4x their original budget of 33 billion dollars.

[austinpow]

This is an important example; Brightline feels qualitatively different from Amtrak and they get points for actually delivering new passenger rail service. They have a newer, cleaner, faster product. I rode once from Orlando to Boca and sat next to some British rail fans who went out of their way to try "the new train" on their way to a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale.

Unfortunately despite significant capital investment to run double track on the FEC corridor from West Palm to Miami (their initial route before expanding north), they and the FEC have been unable/unwilling to do much about the fundamental flaw of rail in densely populated South Florida: at-grade crossings, many in no-horn zones because nearby residents have lobbied for that. This has been a problem for decades even when the line was freight-only.

All too predictably, a recent investigation [1] found Brightline is the deadliest passenger railroad in the US. Good data visualization and sobering reporting in that article. The railroad wants to socialize the costs of upgrading the crossings but of course privatize the profits. That said, I feel communities that want the density/development benefits of "transit" should be prepared for the costs of achieving that safely.

[1]: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article308679915.html

[stockresearcher]

> Financially things are a bit dicey

Brightline missed ("deferred") a bond payment last month:

> Brightline, the private rail line linking Orlando to Miami, refinanced $985M of junior debt at a record-high 14.89% yield, reflecting deep investor concern after delaying a July interest payment on $1.2B in munis. The company, already downgraded deeper into junk by S&P and Fitch, faces falling ridership (53% below projections) and revenue (67% below estimates), plus a potential cash shortfall this quarter without an equity infusion.

https://florida.municipalbonds.com/news/2025/08/15/brightlin...

[bilbo0s]

The only halfway competent rail in the US is that northeast corridor in New England. Everything else is crap. And even that northeast corridor is only halfway competent. That people are raving about any of the rail in the US only betrays a lack of use of many foreign rail services. Particularly those in Asia.

It’s sad, because I believe we have the ability to outdo everyone, but we can’t get it done.

[hervature]

> It’s like we’re fundamentally incapable of understanding the value of shared infrastructure.

I think most people understand the value of parks, roads, and airports.

[rbanffy]

> There is nothing more saddening than the state of America’s train situation

I can come up with a dozen things much more depressing than that and only in federal level politics.

This seems to be the most depressing time in US history.

[supportengineer]

It is because there’s NO REASON for us to be suffering, besides the fact that morons have political power

[0xbadcafebee]

Well there was that whole genocide of Native Americans thing. And that Civil War thing where half the country was killing the other half. Black people were slaves, women couldn't vote (or own property, or a bank account, etc), being gay was illegal, the Irish were the immigrant whipping boys. Then there was the Jim Crow era, WWI, the Depression, Prohibition, WW2, McCarthyism, the Korean War, Vietnam (when the last Jim Crow laws were repealed).

But, sure, right now is the most depressing time in US history.

[FridayoLeary]

The interstate system was originally built so that the army could move quickly from one place to another in the event of a war. I love how things happen in America.

[bombcar]

Convince Americans that public transit will be needed to mobilize for World War III and we’ll have the best public transit system of ten years flat.