Job Discussion Forums

[flyingscotsman]

When you ask most people what they like about China it's usually a short list - cheap beer and even cheaper available romantic interludes.

It's often really hard to say positive things about China, not a secret there.

Yesterday I had to make a trip from Suzhou to Wuxi.

I boarded a newer fast train recently opened as well as newer accompanying modified stations.

The train was doing over 180 mph / 300 + kmh.

I was impressed !

As easy as it is to say negative things about China, railways are way head of more developed nations.

The fastest train in the US does like 70mph and that's only for short stretches.

Kudos to the new Shanghai - Nanjing G fast train !

[thessy]

I'm quite contented with the train system in China, and really do wish the US had something similar, but largely due to lack of interest (and population density) we likely never will. Not to take anything away from the Chinese, but they're dominating the US in area the US has no interest in pursuing.

The first internal combustion engine passenger train build in the US in 1934 averaged well over 70mph. I'm not going to dig too deep but I'm pretty confident that our "fastest" train today is not slower than the original one built 76 years ago.

[xi.gua]

I like the train systems too. Nothings greater than getting on the train in Changsha and being in Guangzhou 2 hours later.

[Old Surrender]

Amtrak isn't bad, it just needs more routes. A Winnipeg-Grand Forks-Fargo-Brookings-Souix Falls-Souix City-Omaha-St. Joseph-Kansas City-Joplin-Oklahoma City-Austin-McAllen line would make me really happy when I return to the states.

I used to ride Amtrak from Fargo to Chicago, it's as fast as driving and cheaper than flying.

I took KC to LA, once that wasn't too bad either.

During National week, I took 13-hour hard seat from Zhengzhou to Shanghai. That was a bit rough. I had to sit next to a bunch of gongren who were constantly playing with their cell phones. Could not sleep. Got the 7-hour ride back, standing room only. Pretty pleasant.

I believe that as long as airlines in the U.S. continue to consolidate (which will raise prices), rail travel will become more palatable to the average American. It will take careful planning and avoiding "express" lines that don't make any money. The more stops, the more riders, the more money. Amtrak's only money-making line outside of the Northeast is the Empire Builder (Chicago-Seattle/Portland) because it makes a billion stops.

[flyingscotsman]

Amtrak is definitely not cheaper or faster than flying.

I was considering going to Washing DC to get a new Chinese visa as I had some time and checked the tickets to DC for Amtrak vs flying.

Amtrak was more than double the cost and it took something like like 18 hours to get there vs 2 on a plane.

The issues with Amtrak are not so much the trains top speed, but the track speed limits and few dedicated tacks - most are shared with freight.

[Old Surrender]

Train tix from Fargo to Chicago were a fraction of the cost flying when I lived there, hence my regular use of it.

Also, my KC-LA jaunt was cheaper after I factored in my bag fees, which Amtrak charges way less for.

Also, I never said that Amtrak is faster than flying, I said it was as fast as driving.

[flyingscotsman]

I've always been a train buff and collected toy trains since i was young.

The US is considering building a high speed line from Tampa to Orlando for xx billion dollars. Its laughable.

[HiddenTreasure]

Luckily, China simply imported German-made high speed train technology, then POOF, 18 months later China developed a "new technology."

[arnoldk8]

The high speed train from Tianjin to Beijing is also a hoot, they have a speedometer in every car so you know when the train hits 450km/hr

[auchtermuchty]

[flyingscotsman]

[RiverMystic]

Yes, China has pretty good infrastructure nowadays. For a country that still receives $2 500 000 000 a year in foreign aid, and has 150-200 million living below the world bank poverty line, it ain't doin' too bad. If you just stayed in the big shiny city centres and traveled first class you'd think China was first world. That's probably the whole idea. The Chinese love image.

I went to Europe over the summer, visited 6 countries. I must say I was really impressed with the infrastructure also. And the best thing was that as the fast trains traversed the countryside, I saw clean rivers, green fields and blue skies.

[flyingscotsman]

[Zero]

Japan is pretty freaking nice, actually.

[NorthofAmerica]

Dude, how many times have you wished you never left Japan for China... ?