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Why Trains would NEVER WORK in the USA (thelemmy.club)
submitted 13 hours ago by to c/memes@slrpnk.net
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[–] 26 points 11 hours ago* (5 children)

I guess it's covered by 5., but the real, actual reason we can't have trains is the civil engineering firms can't extract infinite money from a completed railway.

Also, have you considered how any public works project that runs longer than a single term of the elected official who gets it approved, is letting the next guy get all the credit for it? That's much worse than having functional mass transit.

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  • [–] 17 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    I guess it’s covered by 5., but the real, actual reason we can’t have trains is the civil engineering firms can’t extract infinite money from a completed railway.

    Actually, they kinda can. Railroad tracks need upkeep just like roads do. Maybe not to the same degree and maybe the costs work out differently but they do need to be maintained. So there's plenty of opportunity to grift the hell out of a railroad buildout.

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  • [–] 7 points 11 hours ago*

    I was assuming the repair would be done by a different firm, but that's fair. It probably ends the cost-plus contract that the construction firm had, at a minimum.

    In seriousness the problem seems to be the contract doesn't incentivize the correct behavior, but I would love to hear from someone with actual knowledge on the topic.

    Also, maybe there are too many opportunities to kill projects via zoning ordinances, and its inarguable that oil, auto, and other industries actively combat these projects.

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  • [–] 5 points 10 hours ago (1 child)

    Have you SEEN what the UK is doing? HS2 is at around 700 million/mile (about 900 million USD) now, you can absolutely extract infinite money from a rail line without even finishing it.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

    It is the entire English speaking world that lost the ability to built passenger rail without it costing multiple times of what it costs in other developed countries.

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