As I was driving between LA and San Jose yesterday, the only thoughts I had while negotiating I5 was that I could have made 1.5 roundtrips on high speed rail in the same time frame. And on a day when a #climatechange heat dome was oppressing the southwest, I wouldn’t have been contributing significantly to the problem.
I wish we had the political will to just fund this project and GET IT DONE. Fuck it shouldn’t take 30 years to build a railroad!!!
@chad@jfmezei
After all these decades, perhaps time for a dedicated national electric rail passenger service that we could catch up to Europe, Japan, and Asia, and while doing this, create the inter-provincial electric transmission lines we need to smooth disparate Provincial grids? BC to Newfoundland. Start with the Golden Horseshoe and expand from there.
For those who are new here (or for those who've decided to activate the accounts they made months ago, just in case) let me offer, if I may, a re-#introduction. I'm Senator Paula Simons. I represent Alberta in the Senate of Canada, where I have served since 2018 as an independent senator and a member of the ISG, or Independent Senators Group. My home is in #Edmonton, on Treaty Six Territory. So I care about #Canadian politics, #Alberta politics, #cdnpoli#SenateofCanada, #yeg, #abpoli and such.
My regular commute (Aberdeen and Edinburgh) is considered a slow+peripheral route in the UK. Folks whinge that it badly needs upgrading to match the east coast main line (which is itself a bit pokey by EU/China/Japan standards).
I just clocked that my commuter route averages a higher speed than the fastest train in the US, the Acela, btwn New York City and Boston.
I struggle to articulate how behind the curve the US has gotten in basic infrastructure. This captures it. #transit#highspeedrail
We want to connect all European capitals through high-speed railway lines. We are calling for the European Commission to make a proposal for a legally binding act to establish a European high-speed train network as quickly as possible. This means linking up the existing high-speed railway networks and building high-speed lines where these do not yet exist.
If you're a European Union citizen, you should know that there's an initiative going around, to connect all EU capitals with a high-speed railway network.
The social, economical and ecological benefits of this project are absolutely massive.
Imagine hurtling through the sky trapped in a metal tube with at least 100 people who can't get their shit together long enough to build a #highSpeedRail network.
#EU citizen?
Hate #airports and airport expansion?
Sign this petition to connect Europe's #capitals with high-speed #rail.
European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on high-speed rail (#HSR)
"Under European law, the European Commission is obliged to commit to our goal to connect #Europe’s capitals through #HighSpeedRail if we collect at least 1,000,000 signatures of EU-citizens."
Alright, Tooters, new and old -- Mastodon is fun, but it's more fun for new people when there's stuff happening. So: what was your favorite #train journey? Was it on #HighSpeedRail, or a slower #rail experience.