• Duplodicus@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      The continental US is roughly 2/3 the size of Europe. Comparing Denmark to it is nonsensical given the differences in size.

      • lntl@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        IDK if size really matters here. Connecting Chicago to Milwaukee (100mi) with HSR probably makes sense

        there are many others too:

        Chicago-Indianapolis (200mi)

        Chicago-St Louis (300mi)

        Chicago-Pittsburgh (500mi)

        so many good connections

        • Duplodicus@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          We have freight rail connecting that already. Size should matter here because the population densities are not the same.

          • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            I think size should matter more.

            In USA/Canada we end up with population pimples with little in between. This is perfect for HSR, since there are very few required stations between primary cities.

            Ottawa-Montréal, for example, is ~200km apart with no major centers in between, so an HSR can cross that distance with no stops

            Toronto-Montréal is ~550km apart, with one possible stop in Kingston if the train splits for Ottawa. Again an HSR could make great time here. With the TGV’s 270kph station-station time, it would be 2 hours, slightly faster than flying + security (2h10-2h30) and less than half the driving time.

            I’m knot as knowledgable about US geography, but I’m positive there and many city pairs like this on the east and west coasts.

            • jasory
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              This is perfect for travel but not passenger load which is what makes a transport system economical. Rail costs several million dollars per kilometre, so a Toronto to Montreal would cost at least 500 million, closer to a few billion. And if it travels through low density land you won’t be getting many additional passengers except those that actually live in Toronto and Montreal. This is why HSR is in densely populated areas like France or Japan, or China. There is an actual large passenger load that makes the investment worthwhile. An even easier-to-see example is that city driving is much slower than on highways, if point-to-point travel time was really the function of public transit then intercity travel would be prioritised not the much larger and more economical street stops that every public transit system uses.

              • Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                1 year ago

                so a Toronto to Montreal would cost at least 500 million, closer to a few billion

                $3 billion on 1.7km of Gardener Expressway repair. $3.6 billion for Turcot interchange replacement. No one bats an eye at those costs.

                passenger load which is what makes a transport system economical

                Toronto-Montréal is the busiest domestic flight route, followed by Toronto-Ottawa. Add Chicago and New York to capture the two busiest routes between the two countries (both in the top 20 international flights). Plus however many bus, train, and drive.

                Edit: just plugged 15 Nov into Google flights; there are 46 flights from Toronto to Montreal that day (Pearson and Island combined).