this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2025
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Fuck Cars

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Amtrak launches new 160mph Acela trains — but they take just as long as the old ones (www.independent.co.uk)
submitted 1 month ago by fne8w2ah@lemmy.world to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Legally passenger rail has the right of way, but reality can turn that around.

  • freight isn’t always scheduled, but “when full”, so it’s tough to coordinate
  • freight can be slow so owners have no incentive to keep the track in good condition, slowing everyone
  • freight is infrequent so no need to parallel rails: many places have only maintained one track, so how can a faster train pass?
  • freight trains have gotten longer, outgrowing many sidings, so there are fewer places they can pull over to let faster trains pass

Each of these is quite legal, and even normal to some extent, but adds up to huge delays and unpredictable schedules for passenger rail

NOTE: this is also one cause for our unacceptable levels of accidents. As freight trains get slower and longer they block at grade intersections for unacceptable lengths of time. As they’ve gotten longer without updating sidings and rail yards to match, there are too many cases of trains stopped blocking at grade intersections. Too many drivers frustrated by too many delays tempts some to cross the tracks when it’s not safe, with predictable results.