CityNerd | The Sad State of US Passenger Rail: A Top 10 List That May Make You Cry (Or Enrage You) @CityNerd | Uploaded November 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Intercity passenger rail service: whether it's high speed or not, nearly every other economically advanced nation on earth (not you, Canada) has it better than the United States. And while we're waiting decades for California High Speed Rail, the Texas Central, Brightline West, and other vapor-rail, we have perfectly good track all over the country that could be used to provide high frequency, reliable service if we only invested economic and political capital.
This video is a review of the ten intercity passenger rail corridors in the US with the most train frequency, and in general it is not a happy story. Rather, it's a bit of an indictment on how far behind the U.S. has fallen, and all of the economic and quality-of-life surplus we've chosen to leave on the table.
Bonus: plenty of footage and a few thoughts on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and how we managed to build a relatively frequent and reliable rail service in what's kind of an unlikely place.
Services discussed herein (Amtrak and other):
- The Empire Service (New York-Albany)
- CalTrain
- The Hartford Line (Hartford-New Haven)
- MetroLink
- Pacific Surfliner
- Keystone Service
- Lincoln Service
- Northeast Corridor, incl NE Regional, Acela, Palmetto, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Carolinian, Cardinal, Crescent
- The Downeaster
- The Hiawatha
- Capitol Corridor (Oakland-Sacramento)
- Altamont Corridor Exptress (San Jose-Stockton)
- San Joaquins (Stockton-Bakersfield)
- Brightline and Tri Rail (Miami)
- Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit
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Patreon - a new way to support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far!
patreon.com/CityNerd
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
----------
Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Expanding Acela to Atlanta: youtu.be/zxiGY8p2rCo
- North America's Busiest Regional Rail Systems: youtu.be/0fVmQR1GONk
- Top Ten Cities for Passenger Ferry Travel: youtu.be/PUaNGCY6JZo
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Alan Fisher's video "The 3 Amtrak Routes that can be Electrified Tomorrow" youtube.com/watch?v=-yHqXMIvQXw
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Resources:
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G7
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_Rail_Runner_Express
- new.mta.info/document/97606
- web.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm
- realtime.septa.org/schedule/timetable/AIR
- cabq.gov/transit
- riometro.org/232/Train-Fares
- sonomamarintrain.org
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Image Credits:
- Dutch train Video by Matthias Groeneveld from Pixabay
- Train station Video by Martyn Day: pexels.com/video/train-station-in-london-13063483
- Caltrain By DF4D-0070 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38005469
- Coaster By GranolaBranBorg - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114509223
- Hiawatha By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20181017 06 Amtrak, Glenvilew, Illinois, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83105440
- Keystone train By Dough4872 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84288948
- Harrisburg Station By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20180504 12 Amtrak, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77608233
- SEC map By Frank12, Monte17 and Pharos04 - Derived from File:SEC-USA-states.PNG (ultimately from File:BlankMap-USA-states.PNG), GFDL, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20457504
- Brightline By Patrickhamiltonbrightline - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67587919
- TriRail By Han Zheng - flickr.com/photos/zhenghan1994/51977108791/, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117339764
- Hartford Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65590912
- Berlin Station By Brady Rider - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80190923
- Meriden Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65563662
- Wallingford Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65561362
- New Haven Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74797478
- SMART train on drawbridge By Nebulous2357 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65754857
- SMart train at Santa Rosa station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73411285
----------
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
Intercity passenger rail service: whether it's high speed or not, nearly every other economically advanced nation on earth (not you, Canada) has it better than the United States. And while we're waiting decades for California High Speed Rail, the Texas Central, Brightline West, and other vapor-rail, we have perfectly good track all over the country that could be used to provide high frequency, reliable service if we only invested economic and political capital.
This video is a review of the ten intercity passenger rail corridors in the US with the most train frequency, and in general it is not a happy story. Rather, it's a bit of an indictment on how far behind the U.S. has fallen, and all of the economic and quality-of-life surplus we've chosen to leave on the table.
Bonus: plenty of footage and a few thoughts on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and how we managed to build a relatively frequent and reliable rail service in what's kind of an unlikely place.
Services discussed herein (Amtrak and other):
- The Empire Service (New York-Albany)
- CalTrain
- The Hartford Line (Hartford-New Haven)
- MetroLink
- Pacific Surfliner
- Keystone Service
- Lincoln Service
- Northeast Corridor, incl NE Regional, Acela, Palmetto, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Carolinian, Cardinal, Crescent
- The Downeaster
- The Hiawatha
- Capitol Corridor (Oakland-Sacramento)
- Altamont Corridor Exptress (San Jose-Stockton)
- San Joaquins (Stockton-Bakersfield)
- Brightline and Tri Rail (Miami)
- Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit
----------
Patreon - a new way to support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far!
patreon.com/CityNerd
----------
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
----------
Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- Expanding Acela to Atlanta: youtu.be/zxiGY8p2rCo
- North America's Busiest Regional Rail Systems: youtu.be/0fVmQR1GONk
- Top Ten Cities for Passenger Ferry Travel: youtu.be/PUaNGCY6JZo
----------
Alan Fisher's video "The 3 Amtrak Routes that can be Electrified Tomorrow" youtube.com/watch?v=-yHqXMIvQXw
----------
Resources:
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G7
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_Rail_Runner_Express
- new.mta.info/document/97606
- web.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm
- realtime.septa.org/schedule/timetable/AIR
- cabq.gov/transit
- riometro.org/232/Train-Fares
- sonomamarintrain.org
----------
Image Credits:
- Dutch train Video by Matthias Groeneveld from Pixabay
- Train station Video by Martyn Day: pexels.com/video/train-station-in-london-13063483
- Caltrain By DF4D-0070 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38005469
- Coaster By GranolaBranBorg - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114509223
- Hiawatha By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20181017 06 Amtrak, Glenvilew, Illinois, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83105440
- Keystone train By Dough4872 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84288948
- Harrisburg Station By David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA - 20180504 12 Amtrak, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77608233
- SEC map By Frank12, Monte17 and Pharos04 - Derived from File:SEC-USA-states.PNG (ultimately from File:BlankMap-USA-states.PNG), GFDL, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20457504
- Brightline By Patrickhamiltonbrightline - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67587919
- TriRail By Han Zheng - flickr.com/photos/zhenghan1994/51977108791/, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=117339764
- Hartford Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65590912
- Berlin Station By Brady Rider - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80190923
- Meriden Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65563662
- Wallingford Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65561362
- New Haven Station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74797478
- SMART train on drawbridge By Nebulous2357 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65754857
- SMart train at Santa Rosa station By Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73411285
----------
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
