European Rail vs American Rail.

Pete:

 

I'm assuming your favorable comparison of European to U.S. railroads is from the perspective of passenger trains and, in that context, I will certainly agree that Europe is superior to the U.S.

 

If you cross the line into freight railroading however, what Europe has can in no way even come close to the freight rail network here in North America.  I would hazard a guess that North American railroads move more tonnage in a week or a month than European carriers handle in an entire year.

 

Curt

Very true.  In the US, we long ago decided that the car would be king, and its use has shaped our entire culture and geography to the point they depend on the car and vice versa.  In Europe they made other plans.  

 

Here, RRs evolved to be some of the most efficient freight haulers in the world, and little else.  The modern big guys, UP, BNSF, etc., are really incredibly impressive operations.  

My wife and I spent some time in Europe last summer.  While visiting Strasbourg Fr. we stayed fairly close to the train station.  On a rainy afternoon we took a ride to experience it.  We found the comfort and cost very attractive.  They had tickets that seemed pricey if you only went one way, but if you wanted to travel to several cities you and your family could ride for, I believe I recall, a 24 hour period.

The seats were super and we felt safe.  It was a quiet and respectful atmosphere.

I prefer driving because of carrying luggage and freedom it provides.  I can see the advantages of traveling in Europe by train.  As far as freight, I didn't notice the volume of freight moving period.  France seemed less populated and slower moving than here in the northeast.  I felt like we went back in time there.  

They conserve energy, drive smaller cars, scooters and motorcycles and use public transportation.  We saw a lot of tractor trailers, but not like here. 

We drove 2200 miles in three weeks and saw only one pickup truck on the road.  A Dodge Ram in Switzerland.  

 

We take the train into NYC occasionally and I can't say the same about those accommodations.  It's not the Acela.

I do like the Autotrain to Florida but it's gotten pricey since the economy has picked up.

Thanks for reading.

Just my personal experience.

John 

Some interesting facts and a bit of conjecture to mull over

 

passengers journeys carried per year (2013) UK 1,610 million  USA 476 million

 

Modal ratio of railway transport compared to other modes UK 5.9%  USA 0.3%

 

Freight by million-ton UK 104 million  USA 1,820

 

The figures make interesting reading, especially when you consider that the size of the UK is 1/36 the size of the USA and has a 1/6th population.

 

If you multiplied the above UK figures to equal the size of the USA for size and also by population then then figures at the top become even more significant.

 

The new stats are only for fun and do not constitute any reality due to lots of factors which are probably too in depth to scope in for this topic.

Having lived in Germany for 15yrs I have a different perspective. As for passenger trains Europe is it is by far the best. for cost, convenience, and service with DB as the best. Freight has also been improving over the years. Most freight trains run at night, so you don't see them as much. With the wall coming down and the open borders policy with in the EU freight traffic has increased dramatically. This also includes barge and trucks( Anybody who has traveled A6,A3, and A8 can tell you just how bad the truck traffic has become.) The vast majority of container traffic is moved by rail just as in the US. Due to the increased volume of truck traffic The EU, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and to a lesser fact France started pushing for increase use of pigy back service through the Alps due to limited Autobahn routes that all traveled through tunnels. This was due to several factors 3 major accidents involving trucks in the tunnels with major loss of life and the huge increase of truck traffic moving through Germany. 90 percent of all freight traffic in the EU must travel thru Germany. The Italian, Swiss, Austrian Governments financed several new tunnel projects thru the Alps that will be dedicated to Rail in an effort to decrease the truck traffic and barge traffic from southern and southeastern Europe. There also has been a dramatic increase in Rail freight traffic coming from eastern Europe and Russia which also must pass thru Germany.  Before the Chunnel construction was completed, The only rail conection to the UK was by ferry via Antwerp, Hamburg, and Calais  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_ferry#In_use_4  Now most rail traffic(freight) runs thru the Chunnel to the UK. So there has been some big changes in freight traffic in regards to rail in the last 10 yrs. So It is now possible to load container in China, Ship it by rail thru Russia to the UK And everything runs thru Germany.

 

Doug  

I thought it was interesting that in today's local paper (St.Paul Pioneer Press) a noted anti-rail columnist wrote a column about how nice it was to travel for several weeks in Europe without needing a car, due to their integrated light rail / railway / subway systems. It doesn't sound like he's changed his mind, but maybe it's a start....

I've seen interest for passenger trains of some type (as measured in engineering projects and advance study work we are contracted to do) increase about three fold in the last five years.  Much of this is intra-metro area electric rail/subways, but more and more were are doing RR electrification studies for "long-distance" inter-city passenger service.  I think there is a future in passenger RRs although I'm not going to invest in it, only because I imagine it will not provide a return until long after I need it.  

In a way, you are comparing apples to oranges between the two systems. THe US is much larger than the European countries nd the topography is different. The European RRs were pretty much rebuilt after WW II thanks to our bombers while the US RRs were worn out and used up. Some S diesel engines have been exported to Europe but their complete engines haven't faired too well here although their diesel engines are good. I think there are valuable ideas on both sides. From what I have read the US has adapted some of their rail technology.  I enjoy seeing photos of the European trains and equipment. When I rode a passenger train in Europe there was a steam engine in front of it sending cinders in through the open windows on to my white shirt. Rode a Brit train from London to Edinbrough too , this was in the late 50s. 

You might also throw in the excess height that is common of rolling stock, at least outside of the northeast.  Gunderson Automax carriers and 53' container double stacks approach 20ft in height from the top of the rail. 

 

You could never run double-stacks anywhere in Europe, am I right?

Plus, in the North east, at least, we are still using bridges, viaducts and tunnels that are 100 yrs or more old.  The US Army Air Corps pretty much  destroyed that stuff in Europe in 1944-45 and they got a whole bunch of our engines. RailPictures has photos of the European trains and I love to see them. Some of the engineering of bridges, tunnels etc is awesome but there engineering in Germany and other countries has been pretty good.

Martin

 

Double stacks are generally not run in Europe do to several factors. Overhead wires and tunnel heights. I have attaché a PDF file on a study from 2010. You will find it an interesting read on European Intermodal operations.

 

Doug

 

   

Having ridden trains in GB, Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Germany, I am impressed with rail passenger service there (except for narrow gauge and other tourist trains,

I have never ridden a passenger train here).  Their convenience and availability is

great!  I would rather drive, but have combined driving and train trips to make for an

interesting trip. One thing I wonder, and may have asked this question before, is

why is electicity so often the mode of power in Europe and so infrequently here?

That's interesting. I had family from Germany in town a few days over the summer and one thing they wanted to do was ride in my pickup truck. A new experience for them I guess. 

 

Let us not forget the heavy Federal and State funding of airports and highways after WWII, and the absence of any comparable funding of rail projects.  Also, in comparative terms, gasoline is heavily taxed in Europe compared to taxes in U.S. which tends to support European rail.

In the UK rail travel is expensive unless you plan a journey well in advance to get a good discount deal.

 

To travel on your own instead of a car can still have marginally nothing in it on a long journey, say London to Crewe. For two of us to travel to London and back (35 miles each way) by train in off-peak time on a Saturday would cost £32 ($50), to take the car the gas cost would be about $24 plus parking which could about the same, so the train still comes out on top,but if there are three or more going then the train becomes prohibitive.

 

Currently our gas prices are down to about the equivalent of $7.25 a US gallon, it was about $8.30 a few weeks ago.

One reason Europeans use electrical power for trains is that they have a lot of hydro electrical power especially in countries such as Switzerland.  France uses nuclear power.  I am not sure about Germany.  Electrical power is well suited for mountain railroading with many tunnels and in high density corridors between closely space cities.  Europe has both in abundant supply.  Electrical power also prevents pollution in cities.  This is one reason New York banned steam power in the early 1900s.  Another factor is that government can afford the massive capital expenditures needed to build an overhead power grid for the trains.  

 

There are probably a lot of other reasons.   Joe 

I think both rail systems (US and Europe) are fascinating. 

 

US rail systems do a great job of moving massive amounts of freight. It would be interesting (and probably painful...) though, to see how transportation and transportation infrastructure in the US would change if gas and diesel prices spiked to a level comparative with Europe.

 

Jeff C

Power generation, Germany

 

In 2013 the gross electric  power generation in Germany totalled 631 billion  kWh. A major proportion of the electricity supply is based on lignite (25.5 %), hard coal (19.4 %)  and nuclear energy (15.4 %). Natural gas  has a share of 10.6 %. Renewables (wind,  water, biomass, photovoltaic) account for 24.1 %.

 

Doug

 

I believe Germany is closing down its nuclear power stations in favour of more power stations using lignite. They are compulsory moving people from homes to open cast mine it.

 

This means that Germany will beproducing 60% of its electricity from lignite and coal. 

 

And there was me thinking that Europe was trying to be a clean place for producing friendly electricity as a shining example to the rest of the world, or am I being too cynical about this?

Both rail system do have there pro's and con's. I suspect that as far as freight is concerned, we do a better job of moving it from one coast to another. As far as people are concerned, the Europeans do a fantastic job of people moving by rail. First class trains that are second to none as far as moving people around Europe.

 

I still believe that many prefer American locomotives though because they are so interesting to look at and obviously posses great power.

 

PS once again, thanks for all the replies and keep them coming.

 

Pete

Yes they have been planning on phasing out Nuclear Power plants. As the plants reach the end of their useful lives they will be shut down. That was before the love affair with the Russians and cheap natural gas soured. I am real sure Germany and other countries are rethinking their energy policy's.  When I left in 2009 they had planned on converting all the coal plants to natural gas. The green party which to me lived in a fantasy world, thought by going wind and solar they could eliminate over half of the fossil fuel plants. 

 

As for the comment on Pick ups. There are actually a lot of pick ups in Germany mostly they are Toyotas and Nissan. The Germans do by US Pickup, mostly Dodge Ram 2500s. Its a culture thing. They use American SUVs and pickups differently then here in the US. When they bought them, they were used to tow trailers either for work or play. But generally work related. Since I lived and worked Germany and was not a tourist. I have seen a lot of things that the US tourist do not see. Rhine river cruises or 19 day bus tours doesn't qualify one to comment on life in Germany. 

 

Doug   

If you have an interest in foreign railways, you should check out this site:

 

www.railcam.org.uk

 

The site features webcams located around the UK network so you can watch trains in multiple locations in real time. It's easy to join, basic membership is free and includes most of the cameras and local signalling diagrams which show trains as they move from block to block so you can watch them as they approach the various cameras. The site is run by volunteers so they depend upon donations to keep the site running. A donation in the amount of 10 GBP made by PayPal will give you "Supporter" status providing you with additional cameras along with area diagrams which are much more expansive. I've been a member since July and it's some of the best money I've ever spent on the hobby. Below I've included screenshots from some of the cameras to give you an idea of what the site offers.

 

Bob 

 

That is a cool site.  I suppose railroads here have camera s at places - I know UP's scada system has them.  But I suppose no one puts them on the 'net like that.  Privacy or security concerns?  I don't know.

The cameras are all privately owned and operated. None of them are located on railway property; rather, they're hosted by individuals with property adjacent to the right of way. The data feeds for the signalling diagrams and the Realtime Trains timetable pages are provided by Network Rail which owns, operates and maintains the infrastructure.

 

Here are a few more screenshots taken recently. The site can be very addicting. 

 

Yes you may brag about the Taurus electric loco, however for diesels it appears the class 66 had taken Europe by storm- definitely England.

I love those Taurus locomotives alright.

Pictured below are Taurus locomotives in a wide variety of liveries.

 

Bob

 

Awesome pictures. I know most of them. I actually have the G scale version  of the one I pictured from above. It is, in a word, perfect.............

 

Pete