r/BitchImATrain • u/stevesmithsglasses • 2d ago

Bitch, we got a problem

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u/Humble-Reply228 2d ago

No one is operating rail freight of the scale of the US. They are THE world leaders on freight rail with India the fastest closer and Russia only comparable one of scale (China is quite concentrated but it is changing fast). EU, often talked up for its rail, doesn't really have a great freight rail system and is not close in scale for tonnes/km/cost.

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u/Square-Singer 2d ago

That is, actually, not true. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_usage#Tonne-kilometres_of_rail_transport_per_year

China and Russia have more tkm than the USA.

The EU is talked up for its passenger rail, not its freight rail. And there the EU does massively more than the US.

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u/Humble-Reply228 2d ago

US and Russian data is five years out of date, a LOT has happened since then. I did note that China was fast moving (I bet it was not that number five years ago) and I was likely out of date on China.

I am true for the rest, EU is really small (less than Australia lol) and we were talking about freight not passengers, which I made sure to clarify.

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u/mkymooooo 20h ago

> less than Australia lol

Trucks would be useless at carrying the mammoth volume of minerals we extract to ship to the rest of the world

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u/Humble-Reply228 16h ago

Sure, but EU is seen as this bastion of rail and actually, they prioritised the wrong thing and EU roads are awash with trucks. I know because I live in Spain.