Railways in the US
From CroziervisionWiki
| Author: Patrick Crozier |
| Permalink |
I am far from being an absolute (or any sort of) expert on US railways but this is what happened as far as I understand it:
Initially, there were very few regulations and railways criss-crossed the US.
The Interstate Commerce Commission began to regulate fares and routes. Even (as I understand it) to the extent of preventing railroads from abandoning loss-making services. This forced many railroads out of business.
In 1971, the state took over most of the passenger rail business, setting up Amtrak. In the process it abandoned half its routes. Since then, Amtrak has continued to make losses. It runs some very slow services. It has a tiny proportion of travel in the US. Many services start and stop at odd times and call at even odder places (apparently to placate congressmen)
In the late 1970s the state, to some extent, deregulated the freight industry. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, with increased loads and profits.
Q&A
Why are there so few passenger railways in the US? Because the US is more spread out and less densely populated. Passenger railways need density to survive. Permalink
