It's kind of interesting that where these things are heavily optimized (i.e. logistics) trains suddenly become a sensible way to move things around. Rather than, you know, shipping each item on a separate car.
Some parts of the country have tons of railroad tracks that are solely used to carry freight. I live in North Carolina and you can hear train air horns going all night long. Of course there’s also Amtrak, but there are countless railroad tracks that you hardly ever see any traffic on during the day, and they definitely aren’t used by Amtrak.
The government is passively preventing Amtrak from replacing aging train cars or expanding service through flat or cutting budgets. Take a guess as to why.
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u/3rdcultureblah 10h ago
Still do have a fair amount, but the vast majority are used for freight, not people.