Railroads in America: In today’s world, everyone moves fast. People fly to get to their destination in an hour. People travel miles without spending days and nights on a bus making overnight train rides seem obsolete. Still, the railroad industry is trying to survive by introducing two ideas – bullet trains and passenger trains tours.

Bullet Trains

Bullet trains can go as fast as 267 miles per hour. In the US though, bullet trains are still in conception. To date, the fastest US train is Amtrak’s Acela that can get you to Boston from New York in 75 minutes. This is a 190-mile ride.

Despite the potential advantage of bullet trains, an environmentalist is looking at the potentially harmful effect of running it. A study in the US, led by Noel Perry of Transport Futures explains that one reason why the US is in the dilemma of building bullet trains is because of gas emission. Using highly powered locomotive like bullet trains can produce extensive gas emission.
In addition, the study says that US cities are not too dense. Having bullet trains that can run hundreds of miles is not a practical idea unlike in European countries.

Passenger Train Travels and Tours

Another future of railroads in the US that is of possibility is the continuation of train operations that offers tours. These are trains that run on scenic railroads and of shorter distance – like 4-8 hours on a round trip.

With the increasing congestion in the air, people are now opting to use the train instead of flying. When there is a shorter route such as Miami to Palm Beach, people seem to prefer using the train than booking a flight. The increase in the number of people using a train for their shorter rides have inspired other training companies to start running in new routes.

Virgin Trains announced that it might start running trains from California to Las Vegas while Amtrak is planning to start running passengers from Washington DC to Boston. Although the train industry is still suffering from a deficit from the previous years, the recent number of passengers using their services is enough to encourage those in the railroad industry to continue improving their service.

What Can Help Trains to Survive?

One of the things that can help the train industry to survive is the use of technology in reducing its negative impact on the environment. The industry must start searching for a locomotive technology that will allow trains to run safely and environmentally friendly while maintaining reliability.

If the train industry wants to survive today and, in the future, they must continue to develop important and practical technologies. Riding a train is something that everyone dreams of.

Who wouldn’t want to ride a train right? This fact alone means that the train industry wouldn’t disappear anytime soon. The train industry just needs to take advantage of automation and promote wider use of trains aside from transporting people. It can be used to transport goods and other things as well that needs to be moved!