I’ve been entertaining an out of town guest for the week and it got me thinking about…trains!
I just read that trains are the most environmentally responsible of the gas burning modes of transportation. As someone who recently moved from a city that relies almost entirely on trains (NYC); to a city that is almost entirely devoid of ANY public transportation (L.A.), I have no trouble believing this. Trains are fast and convenient; they reduce traffic gridlock, carbon emissions, and noise pollution, and, they are cool looking. So why has this country’s train system gone to the dogs!!!??!! Training it almost anywhere in the US is so much more expensive than flying; and most of the trains in use are not of the super fast variety that would encourage train use. My biggest beef of the day however is not about periodic long distance travel, but everyday commuting. Specifically, my problem concerns the still fairly new L.A. metro system. I got on one for the first time this week. Nice, new, quiet, fast and yet—nobody rides them! There just aren’t enough lines and stops for people to use it as anything other than a novelty. But commuter trains save fuel! Tons and tons of fuel! Not to mention the pollution that gets trapped in the valleys of L.A. is down right gross. So here’s my question: how can we get some of those Al Gore Environmental Concert dollars to build a fully viable underground train system, thus dramatically reducing automobile use and fuel emissions among Los Angelians? Ok, I know this isn’t very realistic, but L.A. needs a complete transportation overhaul!
Here’s a link to an interesting and relatively short article about the benefits of trains and why it seems this country has dropped the ball.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/3753/2/ushsgt.pdf
