this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
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A great illustration of how China's high speed rail is making domestic flying obsolete (www.youtube.com)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I have a fear of flying with a plain. I know all those statistics and so on. And I even flew a couple of times in the past. One day I had the thought, that a airplaine can have problems and fall down. That's scary enough for me to even think about it. But how is it with such fast trains? I traveled once with TGV and ICE. It is fast and I felt uneasy. Now I am asking myself, is it the same dangerous if something goes wrong compared to a airplane?

Tbh I will probably never visit south america. I have to get somehow from Europe to North East Russia. Than from there to Alaska and then long way down. Ship only from Russia to Alaska. But because shitty imperialist wars makes this not so easy. Traveling to the north pole is also dangerous. I have to wait till there so direct train connection from some Europe country to Argentina, so I can safely travel with 50km/h. Fast speed is scaaaaaaaary. Using ships is OK, but not if there is to many water like in a ocean

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

High speed rail is very safe.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

This here one seems pretty fast, I guess also safe!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm the same way, I absolutely detest flying. Being able to travel across the country on a train would be pure joy.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Being able to travel across the country on a train would be pure joy.

Right? There was once a direct connection from Paris to Moscow. If I remember correct you could travel from Paris to Berlin, then Warsaw, Minsk and Moscow. From there you could travel to Tomks, Omsk, Wladiwostok or down to China till Beijing. How many cultures you can visit this way. I mean this alone would probably widen my horizon.

Sadly there is no direct connection to Pjongjang and then to Seol. In a better world, in communim, this would be doable!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

At least it looks like China and Russia will have good rail connections going forward, so there's that.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Flying wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that there are so many delays and waiting times. Hours and hours of time wasted. On 90% of the flights i've been on i spent more time waiting in the airport than actually in the air flying. Trains may be slower but at least you spend most of the time actually moving so you feel like you're making steady progress getting closer to your destination. Plus, trains are way quieter.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Worst part for me is airport security. Going through it feels like such a waste of time and energy. Going through Transportation Fondling Administration's checks as a non-yt is demeaning too.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Exactly, also train stations can be built right downtown, while airports necessarily have to be outside the city.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Indeed, and when the station is more accessible that also means less time spent getting there.

My only problem with trains is that train tickets are absurdly expensive here in Europe. Last time i flew i took a train from the airport to get back home and for a one hour train journey i ended up paying nearly 50 euros, and there weren't even any seats available until the train got a bit emptier about half an hour into the journey.

I hope China is keeping their prices under control because the two main factors that really draw in the masses to use public transit are affordability and convenience. It is essential to keep ticket prices low if you want people to use less cars and planes. I know China is on a big EV path right now, but even EVs still contribute to traffic congestion, so ideally you want as many people on public transit as possible.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I agree, in my opinion train infrastructure should just be subsidized by the state and made as affordable as possible. EVs are great, but removing cars from the road is even better. There's simply no comparison between the volume of people that trains and cars can move.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I think that electric vehicles could, or at least should, always have a place.

I think trains and public transport should be heavily subsidized as much as possible, and I understand the arguments and heavily support in favor of making cities more walkable and not requiring a car, but if I'm plowing my girl in the next city over, it might be more economical for me to drive there personally than getting a train ticket.

Edit: Also, I think there is a happy "middle-ground" (I hate that phrase, but regardless) of having cities that allow cars but also are very walkable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah, I think it's a combination of all these things in practice. You want to make cities walkable to reduce local traffic. You want to have good train infrastructure so people can get around the country. And then you have cars for additional convenience. If public infrastructure is good enough then it reduces the need to drive, and cars aren't a problem at that point.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Anecdotally people prefer riding trains over planes (I do too). I know a pilot who said that he doesn't recommend his son become a pilot like him because his earnings have actually fallen due to the increased preference for high speed rail. According to him the trend has already started before COVID but the effects became more apparent after.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

That's really great to hear!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: