The author, Ed Perkins, asks and answers his own question; why is Europe developing so much high-speed rail while we in the US aren't. He points out, repeatedly, that the distances in Europe are shorter, thus being able to compete with short-haul flights. That's right, Ed. And, that's all the difference in the world. Europe is, as we have said before, one huge city. High speed rail there is, to all intents and purposes, intra-city and regional. The statistics are clear; European population density is a whole order of magnitude greater than California. In short, their HSR works, and here it won't. In transportation, context is everything.

Oh, and one more thing. Let me make this point with a gross hyperbole: Europeans are
"socialists." I mean, they pay much more taxes than we do. They find it acceptable to pay for and receive extensive government services of various kinds, from child care to Cultural activities, far more than we in the US. Also, owning a car is, relatively speaking, far more expensive in Europe than here in the States and therefore public mass transit is far more acceptable. As I said, context is everything.

Martin

High-speed rail: Boom in Europe, bust in U.S. Ed Perkins on Travel
by Ed Perkins - December 6, 2007

If you visit Europe next year, you can expect to travel on several new high-speed rail facilities. And you'll see still more in the next few years, as European railroads continue to build their high-speed rail systems. Meanwhile, here in the United States, we're not only failing to build and improve our systems-we're not even keeping up with what we have.

Last week, I reported on my trip from London to Paris on the inaugural departure of the final high-speed link in England. I was also supposed to take the new TGV-Est from Paris to Nancy, but that plan was undone by the nationwide rail strike. Nevertheless, the line is open, cutting time from Paris to Metz, Nancy, Reims, and Strasbourg by nearly half, with continuing or connecting service to Germany and Switzerland.

Three other new and improved lines have opened recently or will open by the end of this year:

*An important addition to the high-speed
link between Barcelona and Madrid, with full completion slated for 2008.

*The new Lotschberg low-level tunnel in
Switzerland, substantially shortening travel times on trains that link South Germany, Bern, and Basel with Italy.

*The new Zuid high-speed route linking
Amsterdam with Brussels-although the line won't reach full speeds until the completion of improved signaling systems next year.

Longer-range plans include extensions of the French TGV system farther into Normandy and Brittany and South toward the Spanish border. Eventually, high-speed rail will link France and Spain. Belgium will open new high-speed track on the link between Brussels and the German border. And the Swiss will open the world's longest rail tunnel, a high-speed, low-level line below the St. Gotthard Pass.

This year's openings are on top of an extensive high-speed network-more than 3,000 miles total, with more than 1,700 additional miles planned by 2010. France has more than 1,000 miles of dedicated high-speed track; Spain, Germany, and Italy also have extensive links. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland have or are building high-speed lines. Even the Poles are involved, with a route linking Warsaw with Krakow and Katowice.

Europe is concentrating on relatively short links, where fast trains can compete effectively with air travel in total city-to-city travel times. They've bowed to the inevitable on longer distances: Sadly, history fanatics can no longer find through-car Orient Express kind of service between Paris and Istanbul (except, of course, on a chartered luxury trip).

Why is Europe so far ahead of the United States-and gaining ground? Simply put, the European governments have made a social determination that high-speed rail contributes toward the ultimate public well-being. For example:

*High-speed rail off-loads demands for
short haul air services from overcrowded airports and air space, freeing up the capacity to provide for growth on long-haul travel. It also reduces highway congestion.

*High-speed rail has a much smaller

carbon footprint than either air travel or driving, and Europeans are taking green lifestyles far more seriously than Americans are.

For these reasons, the Europeans are willing to subsidize the construction of improved rail facilities with taxes. They don't expect to recover those investments; the payback is in improved overall conditions. The United States, on the other hand, has pretty much taken the attitude that "we won't build it unless we can see a payback on our tax dollars." Since that isn't likely to happen, we don't build. And so we continue to clog our airports and airways with short-haul flights and to jam our highways for trips that would make more sense with high-speed rail-if we had it.

As I noted last week, my Eurostar inaugural press trips were arranged through Rail Europe, for many years the leading U.S. agency for European rail tickets and passes. You can also arrange European rail tickets through other agencies, including BritRail, Eurail, EurailTickets.com,
RailConnection.com, RailPass.com, and your travel agent.
© 1998-2007 Smarter Travel Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Martin Engel
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