Why are Truck Drivers often portrayed as Psychos in the Movies?

[Harry]

Even  in dark territory(OCS) our trains are usually 1.3 miles.  Except for turkey trails with one or two customers. North America wide, we use imperial, not metric.



What is wrong with freight rail infrastructure in Australia? Not built for higher speed, longer heavier trains?  All our mainline here for both class one railways uses 136 lb rail.

There's a huge range of problems.



I don't know much about the technology, but these are some issues:



1. Insufficient lines.  A whole bunch of country lines were closed in the 70s through to the 90s. It's now generally conceded that was a big mistake, but many of the corridors have been sold off and they can't be rebuilt.  The line to my hometown, for example, closed in the mid 70s. http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Cessnock">//http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW:Cessnock.  The Maitland-Cessnock corridor is now experiencing very large population growth, and there's no train, so the roads can't cope.



2. Not straight enough - most routes haven't been straightened since they were built in the 19th century.



3. Lack of national standards - different states use different gauges except for main lines between capital cities.



4. Different states use different electrical standards - some AC, some DC, different voltages.



Both Sydney and Melbourne are about 1,000km (600-ish miles) from Sydney.  The travel times by train are about 14-15 hours (Sydney-Brisbane) and  13-14 hours (Sydney-Melbourne).  It's a complete disgrace. https://www.travelonline.com/trains/nsw-trainlink">//https://www.travelonline.com/trains/nsw-trainlink



There has been talk of building a fast train line Brisbane-Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne for at least the last 40 years.  I doubt it will happen in my lifetime.

[Anonymous]

1. Insufficient lines.  A whole bunch of country lines were closed in the 70s through to the 90s. It's now generally conceded that was a big mistake.  The line to my hometown, for example, closed in the mid 70s http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW%26%2358%3BCessnock%5B%2Furl%5D%0A%0A2.%20Not%20straight%20enough%20-%20most%20routes%20haven%27t%20been%20straightened%20since%20they%20were%20built%20in%20the%2019th%20century.%0A%0A3.%20Lack%20of%20national%20standards%20-%20different%20states%20use%20different%20gauges%20except%20for%20main%20lines%20between%20capital%20cities.%0A%0A4.%20Different%20states%20use%20different%20electrical%20standards%20-%20some%20AC.%20some%20DC,%20different%20voltages.%0A%0ABoth%20Sydney%20and%20Melbourne%20are%20about%201000km%20from%20Sydney.%20%20The%20travel%20times%20by%20train%20are%20about%2014-15%20hours%20%28Sydney-Brisbane%29%20and%20%2013-14%20hours%20%28Sydney-Melbourne%29.%20%20It%27s%20a%20complete%20disgrace.%20%5Burl%5Dhttps://www.travelonline.com/trains/nsw-trainlink">//http://www.nswrail.net/locations/show.php?name=NSW%26%2358%3BCessnock[%2Furl]2.%20Not%20straight%20enough%20-%20most%20routes%20haven't%20been%20straightened%20since%20they%20were%20built%20in%20the%2019th%20century.3.%20Lack%20of%20national%20standards%20-%20different%20states%20use%20different%20gauges%20except%20for%20main%20lines%20between%20capital%20cities.4.%20Different%20states%20use%20different%20electrical%20standards%20-%20some%20AC.%20some%20DC,%20different%20voltages.Both%20Sydney%20and%20Melbourne%20are%20about%201000km%20from%20Sydney.%20%20The%20travel%20times%20by%20train%20are%20about%2014-15%20hours%20(Sydney-Brisbane)%20and%20%2013-14%20hours%20(Sydney-Melbourne).%20%20It's%20a%20complete%20disgrace.%20[url]https://www.travelonline.com/trains/nsw-trainlink



There has been talk of building a fast train line Brisbane-Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne for at least the last 40 years.  I doubt it will happen in my lifetime.

1. CN and CP both closed down or sold many spur lines as  customers dried up. I didn't check the link, but I I think you are talking about commuter rail. In a big country like Canada, people don't usually take long train trips. Flying  is  the way to get there.



2. Freight rail uses the shortest distances between terminals and intermodal yards. This is to save on fuel and reduce overall costs.



3. What? It's 56 and a half inches  across the continent, including Mexico. You must mean commuter lines that cannot handle freight trains.



4. Commuter rail again. Freight rail uses diesel locomotives for a  lot of reasons.

[Harry]

1.  I was talking regional rail.  Air travel tends to be unrealistic for a lot of places outside the major cities - by the time you travel to the airport, check in, wait, fly to the nearest major centre, rent a car for the rest of the trip it turns into a 4 or 5 hour exercise for a typical trip to a regional location.



My rule of thumb is that for anything less than 500km I'll drive, over 500km I'll fly.  



It would be faster and more efficient if we had a decent rail system whereby we could go by rail centre-to-centre, then catch a regional train the rest of the way.  That's a pipe dream.  It's not going to happen down here.



I use Europe as the yardstick of how passenger rail should be done. France, Germany, Switzerland - those guys do it right.



2. I was talking about our inter-city lines, that are shared by freight and passenger services.  The railway lines were built in the 19th century when tunnels, excavation and bridge tech wasn't very developed.  Most of Australia is flat, but the eastern seaboard (where most of the population and industry is) has a continuous mountain range running down it.  So, the railway lines (passenger and freight) are not at all straight and this limits speed and adds a lot of time.  I'd guess it causes capacity constraints as well -you'd have a much better idea than I.



3.  No, I'm talking Australia, not America. 3 different "official" gauges across the country, excluding some private lines that are different again.  Some Sydney-Brisbane passenger services require a change of train at the New South Wales/Queensland border.  It's seriously messed up.



Here's the Wikipedia page.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia



4. Yes, I was talking passenger rail.

[Anonymous]

//1.  I was talking regional rail.  Air travel tends to be unrealistic for a lot of places outside the major cities - by the time you travel to the airport, check in, wait, fly to the nearest major centre, rent a car for the rest of the trip it turns into a 4 or 5 hour exercise for a typical trip to a regional location.



My rule of thumb is that for anything less than 500km I'll drive, over 500km I'll fly.  



It would be faster and more efficient if we had a decent rail system whereby we could go by rail centre-to-centre, then catch a regional train the rest of the way.  That's a pipe dream.  It's not going to happen down here.



I use Europe as the yardstick of how passenger rail should be done. France, Germany, Switzerland - those guys do it right.



2. I was talking about our inter-city lines, that are shared by freight and passenger services.  The railway lines were built in the 19th century when tunnels, excavation and bridge tech wasn't very developed.  Most of Australia is flat, but the eastern seaboard (where most of the population and industry is) has a continuous mountain range running down it.  So, the railway lines (passenger and freight) are not at all straight and this limits speed and adds a lot of time.  I'd guess it causes capacity constraints as well -you'd have a much better idea than I.



3.  No, I'm talking Australia, not America. 3 different "official" gauges across the country, excluding some private lines that are different again.  Some Sydney-Brisbane passenger services require a change of train at the New South Wales/Queensland border.  It's seriously messed up.



Here's the Wikipedia page.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia">//https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_gauge_in_Australia



4. Yes, I was talking passenger rail.

My expertise is freight rail. Class one railways do not operate passenger rail. CN and CP both did though until the late seventies, but competition in air travel killed that. Small towns are best served by motorcoach travel that connect to  major centres. But, in remote areas they are often more than half empty.  So, they reduce the number of times they  visit such places to  once or twice a week.



CP, where I work,  has some of the steepest grades of any class one railway in North America. We have spiral tunnels through the Eastern rockies, whereas CN routed there's through Jasper between mountains and by the highway. They both have similar speeds with similar slow orders.

[Anonymous]

Small towns are best served by motorcoach travel that connect to major centres. But, in remote areas they are often more than half empty. So, they reduce the number of times they visit such places to once or twice a week.

That's why we have intercity bus competition in Alberta now..



The previous provincial government ended Greyhound's monopoly between Calgary and Edmonton because that company reduced service to remote Northern communities..



They got tired of losing money on those runs and now there are alternatives between the two largest cities in the province.

[Blazor]

I live in a railroad town, Roanoke. Norfolk and Southern railyard is here, but they pulled the corporate office a few years ago. Trains go right near my house too, maybe 1/4 mile away, can hear them when they go by. When I get out on the interstate I can tell they are going 60mph easy.

[Anonymous]

Small towns are best served by motorcoach travel that connect to major centres. But, in remote areas they are often more than half empty. So, they reduce the number of times they visit such places to once or twice a week.

SHarry is an idiot and a faggot. Presumably the wanker wants taxpayers to spend billions to acquire land. build roadbeds, install underground fibreoptics. dump millions of tonnes of ballast to accommodate a handful of rural passengers that a few people with minivans could do without spending a dime of public money. It's no wonder the middle class in developed countries is being taxed into extinction.

[RW]

Small towns are best served by motorcoach travel that connect to major centres. But, in remote areas they are often more than half empty. So, they reduce the number of times they visit such places to once or twice a week.

SHarry is an idiot and a faggot. Presumably the wanker wants taxpayers to spend billions to acquire land. build roadbeds, install underground fibreoptics. dump millions of tonnes of ballast to accommodate a handful of rural passengers that a few people with minivans could do without spending a dime of public money. It's no wonder the middle class in developed countries is being taxed into extinction.

You call everyone you don't agree with an idiot and a faggot.  I'm starting to think you are the master of projection.



 

[Harry]

SHarry is an idiot and a faggot. Presumably the wanker wants taxpayers to spend billions to acquire land. build roadbeds, install underground fibreoptics. dump millions of tonnes of ballast to accommodate a handful of rural passengers that a few people with minivans could do without spending a dime of public money. It's no wonder the middle class in developed countries is being taxed into extinction.

You're making a heap of invalid assumptions there.



The government is already spending billions on road systems that will be overtaxed, again, in the next 10-15 years.  That is on top of the billions that commuters and travellers already spend on motor vehicle expenses, and doesn't take into account the value of the time they spend in traffic.



Take any public road system in the world, and it will be heavily subsidized by the government, and hence through taxes.  Rail, as a mass transport system, inevitably delivers more bang for the buck.



The problem is exacerbated by the amount of freight carried on the roads.  Road freight isn't, and never can be, as efficient as moving freight by rail unless you're talking about relatively short trips to and from a local depot.



The problem is the upfront cost of setting up a railway.  In this regard, there is a sliver of truth in your post, particularly with regard to acquiring the land.  This is why it's necessary to take a long term position and acquire the corridors, if not build the actual railways before they become necessary.