"why doesn't america just make trains bro" maybe because in order to traverse a quarter of the width of this country it will take eight hours at full highway speed, and high speed rail (>100mph) is expensive as shit to get right. Amtrak is trying but people would rather just have a car because YOU NEED ONE ANYWAY IF YOU ARE NOT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY. America is fucking huge. A single state can be the size of a full European country.
the only valid use case for rail here has been avoiding traffic in dense metro areas or specific inter city projects which I fully support because who the fuck wants to drive in NYC or Chicago and deal with parking, and there is a good story for hopping between hubs to travel, plus air travel being shaky here makes a stronger case, but I'd still rather just hop in my car and road trip it because it's more fun.
the only valid use case for rail here has been avoiding traffic in dense metro areas or specific inter city projects which I fully support because who the fuck wants to drive in NYC or Chicago and deal with parking, and there is a good story for hopping between hubs to travel, plus air travel being shaky here makes a stronger case, but I'd still rather just hop in my car and road trip it because it's more fun.
