Public Transit - Rail

One of the great tools we have available in transportation is rail - light rail, commuter trains, and long-distance train travel. Just a few comments about each...

Light rail has been embraced in increasing measure by many cities world-wide. Whether the trains are subways, elevated trains, or at-grade, the lower cost and greater flexibility (compared to other types of rail) have made them a popular choice in public transit. They also add the additional benefit of altering planning patterns - cities are planning higher-density development around light rail stations, which not only is a more effective use of the land, but typically results in higher light rail usage.

Commuter trains - trains that either run from the 'burbs to the city or between closely-located cities - have caught hold well in parts of Asia and Europe, as well as the east coast of the US. Riders can save gas, leave the car at home, and use the train to travel the well-worn path. The west coast of the US is having a more difficult time getting this to catch on. Distance between populated areas is one issue, as is the way the population is so spread out.

Long-distance train travel has some issues. Old-style train travel is extremely slow, and seems to be chosen only as a creative sight-seeing alternative to traveling by plane. It's often just as expensive as flying, as well. One promising change is coming up: new high-speed rail lines. They're excruciatingly expensive to build, but quite fast. They can be a better option than plane travel when it comes to time, use of fossil fuels, flexibility in number of cars, and safety. On the other hand, it's not clear whether the cost will be an improvement over plane travel. At any rate, California has a couple of potential rail projects - a high-speed line running from San Francisco to LA (and possible spur routes to Fresno, San Diego, and Sacramento) and a maglev (magnetic levitation) line from LA to Las Vegas. We'll see how these pan out.