• RushLana@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    Most common route is atlanta to orlando

    Why isn’t there high speed rail ??? The distance is only 700km ( 440 miles ) a french TGV can easily go over 300 km/h ( 185 mph ) so a direct line would at most be 2h30, given a plane boarding time it’s very competitive, conveninent and at a fraction of the operating cost.

    • doingthestuff@lemy.lol
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      4 hours ago

      High speed rail has a massive stigma in the US as hundreds of billions have been spent on failed rail projects (embezzled or just abandoned mostly) and 99% of us have never even seen it in existence. It’s like a myth scam sold to us by snake oil salesmen.

      Sure, if we fund it again it will really happen this time.

      • skisnow@lemmy.ca
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        1 hour ago

        Also based on an experience I had at work with a visiting American who point blank refused to get the tram, there seems to be a vicious cycle where public transport is seen as unsafe because only poor people get it, and only poor people get it because it’s seen as unsafe.

    • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      “The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia and is the largest “blackwater” swamp in North America.” -Wikipedia

      Add to this Indian Reservation land, National Park/Preserve/ Wildlife Refuge land, the Everglades, other swamp/marshland, etc and you start to see that there’s several environmental challenges to a rail system from Georgia to Orlando Florida.

      • RushLana@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 day ago

        According to gmaps there is a 4 lane highway between atlanta and orlando, I’m pretty sure you can squeeze train tracks there.

        • 3abas@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Yup. And there are several other 2 lane roads connecting Florida and Georgia to the west of the swamp. A direct line from Jacksonville to Atlanta would be challenging, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

          Orlando to Atlanta is already a direct land route, and you see Georgia plates in Florida and Florida plates in Georgia regularly.

        • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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          14 hours ago

          Just curious about what your thought is here? How straight are the roads? How often do they have to be resurface or maintenance? Just because there’s a road or highway, the area must be able to support high speed rail? It even regular speed rail? Should they continue to clear swamp land in order to erect high speed rail? Is the plan here to usurp the highway for high speed rail? If so, what happens to those people who still need a vehicle in order to get where they’re going? What happens if they need that highway?

          • ZMoney@lemmy.world
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            39 minutes ago

            Environmental concerns have never stopped any developed economy from doing what they want. Just look at this area on a map. These objections are not serious. The passenger rail service is trash in the US because of the automobile and hydrocarbon industries.

      • RangerAndTheCat@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 day ago

        If the government or the billionaires really wanted to they’d just do it and fuck the Indians on repeat like every other time, it’s just a talking point and it’s not going to be”ez money” like the keystone pipeline. I wish our government gave two shits about treaties with not only the natives but anybody.

        • atrielienz@lemmy.world
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          15 hours ago

          So what you’re saying is you advocate for the government to clear swampland (fuck the environment I guess), and continue to disenfranchise Native American peoples because you want high speed rail so badly?

          Yeah. Yeah. I know you didn’t say that. But that’s what can be extrapolated from your assertion that the government and billionaires could if they wanted to. Don’t normalize this shit. It’s wrong for the government to seize things that don’t belong to it regardless of the purpose they plan to use if for.

    • criticon@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      How many are a final destination? Orlando is a big hub for planes coming from South America and Atlanta is the biggest US hub, so probably a lot of people flying that route are connecting and wouldn’t make a lot of sense to get a plane ticket and then a train and then another flight

      • RushLana@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        It would absolutly make sense ? Especially if there are night trains that go slower and can help you get rest without paying an hotel.

        • criticon@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          It makes sense if you are going to Atlanta or Orlando, not if you are just connecting somewhere else

          Don’t get me wrong, I love trains and I’d love to see a big network of high speed trains

      • sunzu2@thebrainbin.org
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        2 days ago

        ATL is the second largest hub in the US after Chicago?

        If you can fly pretty much anywhere from ATL in the world.