High-speed rail systems are rapidly coming to fruition in the United States, but not everybody seems to be on board.
Public transit and electric vehicle enthusiast molesrcool (@molesrcool) responded to a user who felt that the vast, uninhabited regions of the country would discourage or hamper the construction of such projects.
@molesrcool Replying to @jpetro49_ "a lot of the US is empty" is not a good argument against trains #highspeedtrain #traffic #cars #tesla ♬ Twin Peaks Main Theme (From "Twin Peaks") - Geek Music
"You do realize much of the land is unoccupied, right?" the skeptic wrote.
Molesrcool rebuffed the insinuation, first showing a picture of Arizona that is barren outside a few lanes of a highway. "They had no problem building interstates through that unoccupied land that you're talking about, and we would have no problem building train tracks through this same area," he said.
He added that the nation's "massive, comprehensive freight train network" already travels to every major city, dispelling the notion that high-speed rail would struggle to achieve something similar.
"The idea that the United States is somehow too big or too empty for trains is absolutely ridiculous. Trains are perfectly suited for going long distances in big, empty, straight lines," molesrcool continued.
"If we're capable of building both an interstate system and a freight train system that connects the empty parts of the United States, we're also capable of building a high-speed rail system that connects the empty parts of the United States."
Even if having infrastructure that covers the entire nation is not feasible, he argued that having rails along either coast or joining metropolitan areas within a state, such as Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio in Texas, would serve as an improvement.
Molesrcool concluded his video by listing some of the benefits of high-speed rail, including faster travel time, improved safety, fewer environmental consequences, reduced noise pollution, and more efficient use of space.
Local and state governments are pushing for high-speed rail, as officials have proposed routes in the Lone Star State and Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, projects connecting Raleigh and Wake Forest in North Carolina and Los Angeles and the Bay Area in California are progressing and will soon join Florida's Brightline train.
Molesrcool's dream of a nationwide high-speed rail system isn't that far-fetched either, as the U.S. High Speed Rail Association just published its blueprint for a coast-to-coast network. Once these lines are operational, it will become another form of public transportation that can help reduce your reliance on dirty energy while saving you money.
"The large empty portions make high speed rail MORE desirable and efficient, not less," one user wrote in the comment section of the video.
"What's funny is if you built the high-speed rail right alongside of the highway you'd have ample access to the route the entire way for easy maintenance etc.," another pointed out.
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