Imagine how this would disempower landlords if you could commute to either of those cities from anywhere between them.

Car dependency is about power, it's about keeping workers vulnerable and reliant on constant employment to participate in society. The one thing the US and Canada has over other imperial powers is the obscene amount of space each state has at its disposal within the metropole with which to construct what really is an exceptional form of oppression. It's important to recognize that when you're talking about ending car dependency, this is an existential threat to either power, and they will treat it in kind.

There is convenience in the ineptitude of neoliberal politics in state-planning and infrastructure, which most people attribute as the cause of this development, but it's crucial to remember that suburban sprawl and car dependency were state projects by the US and Canada in very much they same way neoliberal privatization is.

Well… you must remember, they are Ameicans, trains are COMMUNISM!

Other than the NIMBY-ism, lawyers all looking to make a shitload of money off the taxpayer by looking for reasons to delay the project, and the anti-mass transit attitude the US has…just look at the California high speed rail project mired in legal grifting for instance.

There’s generic American “we fuck up nice things becuase fuck the rules” attitudes. You can have nice high-speed rail in places like Europe or Japan, or high speed driving on segments of the Autobahn, because society has enough sense to not fuck it up. They’re not parking tractor trailers or cars on rail intersections causing crashes on rail like we have all the time in the US. People generally obey rules like keeping right unless passing, or not blocking the passing lane in Europe. In several shopping areas and airports they have people movers without steps that are ramps betwen floors. In the US it would be a very short period between the installation and some fool riding a skateboard or bike down the ramp and hurting themselves or other people - then come the lawsuits. Someone would probably punch an idiot trying to do that in Europe.

So yeah. Even if we could muster the political balls to build such a needed rail, and get the money for it (because it would have to be profitable of course), some jackass would light the track on fire, park a car on it, or who knows what other dumbassery, because fuck nice things.

Wow. Now that's something I would very much want my tax money go to, any day at any country

Meanwhile, Musk is at it again, pitching a hyperloop tunnel to link Austin and San Antonio. Nevermind that it’s a ton of limestone and aquifers along that route.

Imagine the new residential and commercial opportunities (and taxes) along that rail as well. Oh well, will never happen as long as republicans are alive and voting.

Fuck Maglev.

Regular ass trains on steel tracks can go >200mph if built to spec. Suuuure, maglev can go even faster. But regular ass trains on steel tracks can actually be build on a realistic budget. Like in theory atleast. But before the US does something this sane they're gonna nuke themselves. idk

There's no profit in building sensible infrastructure.

Only profit in endless wars against brown people

Fascism is fully invested in genocide.

Since this is directed at the American people asking why they don't have or want this, they do. They have for decades. Just as an example look at the history of high speed rail in Florida. It was put to a public vote on the ballot at least once, overwhelming voted for, and the politicians said (laughingly)... "Oh no. No, we can't afford to do the will of the people. Sorry." Then spent the same amount elsewhere probably. So, that's why.

It would make less money doing the same amount of work, and in America we only want to generate value for the share holder.

These trains would run at capacity all the time, being full of New Yorkers going to Chicago to get good pizza and immediately returning.

This is doable, we just have to convince our leaders is bad for the environment, will hurt brown people, will get them filthy rich and also paint them fake gold and put Drumpfs name on each train

So yea, no,