CNBC Explores: America’s Railroads | CNBC Marathon

Profit over safety is all i heard

US reporting is so weird, why are you people proud that your railroad companies are the most profitable, that doesn't help normal people.
What actually helps people and should make them proud, is the government running amazing bullet train services for everyone, like in France or China.

do roads make money in USA I highly doubt any of you pay for using them

I always take Amtrak whenever I can

They blowing bubbles on Precision Railroading (PSR)

At lot of these issues would go away if lobbying was banned for what it is - bribery and corruption

"Amtrack is struggling to compete" my question is, againts who😂😂? How many comuter train company is there in America???

Did I see Kicking Horse Pass?

I highly doubt its vheaper in other western countries. Its very expensive but I would guess other western nations have more government funding and various subsidies

What china 🇨🇳 became in 30 years is America 🇺🇸 dream

In America 🇺🇸 privations are the winners since the government is owned by corporations and billionaires

Due to our history of neglecting planning/building infrastructure for it, it's a mess. Needing to move highways, utilities, bridges, and pay off landowners, and other stuff like that is what makes it such a mess. I'd suggest doing it first in places which don't require that, and take measures to make things happen more inexpensively. When areas which cooperated and didn't obstruct it, have better economic growth and better lifestyles, then the crowded, expensive, greedy places unwilling to cooperate, will be come cheaper and more willing to cooperate. In extreme cases, they'll decay until ready to be bulldozed and start over.

There are places where the real estate issue is simply too expensive to solve. Let them ride buses there, between places where the new infrastructure is created in less problematic areas. They could be nice buses. Maybe you don't even need to get out of your seat, it could be a module transferred from a train to a bus and back to another train. Or as with Acela, it's all on the same train, but just has to have certain sections traveled more slowly.

I like how they speak about "precision freight" in glowing terms, but fail to mention how terrible it is on its crews, and how dangerous it is in terms of the crew being sick and exhausted all the time.

NEED TO RECONSIDER PASSENGER RAIL,REBUILD/REPLACE TRESTLES OUTDATED!!!!!?😂😢😮😅

The railroad executive says in one sentence how they want to compete for business, but in the next, says the laws that force competition is "wrong headed".

Don't like using public transportation, so nope. Better highways please.

We don't even allow autonomous trains yet people talk about autonomous trucks... on the road?! You have to be mentally impaired to a level below that of a lifeless organism, to allow driverless trucks on our roads. Stop talking about things that will never come true, if we don't even allow autonomous trains. Absolutely barbaric.

shame on the politicians and lobbyists oppressing and stalling connectivity of cities with rail options.. we should have already had Amtrak to Green Bay 15 years ago but you thank now no longer republican (big surprise there) governor Scott Walker for axing that. still waiting.

Passenger trains costing just as much as a flight, is ridiculous! Can’t operate successfully on that business model!

There should be light rail systems in every major city & there should be a nationwide light rail system!

America should build its new railways like it build its old ones, with cheap Chinese labour

The flatlands of Japan? LOL shinkansen literally crosses mountains.

Arguing a minimum crew of 2 rule for a train that might be 2 miles long is wrong is insane.

When I left the service, they paid for a one way flight, or other mode of transport, to my designated home state. With my home state being California and that I was stationed in DC, I decided, since I’m in no hurry, why not take a train across the country. It turned out to be too difficult for the military to process, and they sighed and cried, something to the effect of ‘why do you have to be so difficult??’, so I opted for a flight instead 😂

How does anyone watch this propaganda and not instantly discount it? Defense contractors and pharmaceuticals sponsor every second of this programming...

please don't make excuses for how horrible rail is in the US

Just imagine retiring as a registered nurse,using all your income/salary to pay rent and tax without any good investment or means of extra cash, tending to leave your profession/ job that has been part of you for many years with no good funds. How will you cope

The mistake is that, the cost of taxi to and from the airprots ought to added to the price of the plane tiicket. The railroads are very conveniently lo ated in the downtown areas of every city, and accessible by the cheap public transports. In NYC, one can make it to any rail station by taking subways for just $6 round trip, and in a jiffy. To the airport, it would cost between $70-$160--and hours of travel time. for short distance travel. Taking the ACELA to DC or Boston from NYC, takes a lot less time (about half the time and half the cost). Taking the plane, one must get to the airports, waiting to go through the body search, waiting at the gates, and facing the possibility of delays (on departure side), and the geting from the airport to the city on the other end. Takeing the train to DC ot Boston from here, is just the extension of the subway ride. Cheap and easy on time too.

BUT, that is for short distances. For long distance, there is no comparision between planes and trains: Train will NEVER match the speed of time and cost of planes. This country is just too big for trains to compete long distance. Taking three-four days to get to the West Coast from NYC (the fastest), is no match for 7 hours by plane. Europe and Japan are small counties, the size of Califronia or smaller. US is gigantic and not made for passanger trains, now that we got the air travel. No amount of Liberal fantasy will change that simple fact of geography.

Yes two drivers per train seems fair. It's a massive responsibility, so many people want to get rich but don't want to do the job properly...

Same reason other American countries can’t have HSR

I am weary of everybody wanting to put people out of work. Some of our social issues are the result of people no longer interacting with one another. Automated check out stands, autonomous trucks, and autonomous trains are examples of how bad things have become.

This didn’t explain anything it mocked

Amtrak should be shut down.

Freight rail companies seem to really like to talk about efficiency and profits but don't say a word about safety. So much can go wrong with a 1 man crew.

Amtrak can turn a profit.

It is stunning how few Americans know about this amazing freight rail system. This is a result of endless media propaganda that has most Americans believing that the only important railroad is Amtrak and that it is an afterthought in the US rail system that simply needs more taxpayer money to improve. Notice how 2/3 of this video is devoted to passenger rail (Amtrak). This is absurd.

Honestly something about the same companies owning the rails and the trains rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it would be better for the market if the tracks were publicly ownes (like highways) and railroad companies could operate nationwide as a result, untethered to a territory. Plus it would allow for more favor to be shown to passenger rail. Heck the contract to use the rail could stipulate rail companies must procide passenger service. I'm just spitballing here so take it with a grain of salt

The best thing about USA economy is that they just print unlimited dollars 💰💵 and fund any project they want 😂 how come funds are a problem for them confuses me 😂 money should be the last problem for them.

Unless you build separate track for passenger trains it would be stupid to increase passenger service on existing track.Passengers won`t tolerate sitting on a siding for a few hours while more profitable freight is on a different time schedule.Passengers need much more service and room than freight does.Passengers care what hour of the day they get to where they are going.The overall cost of train travel is not convenient when people don`t live mostly in cities.People don`t want to give up the flexibility of personal travel of their time and choosing.The only way passenger travel makes sense is dedicated long distance travel in the United States is high speed service over long distances and as fast as airplanes. That would be about 200 miles an hour faster than today`s high speed trains. This would lower the price of air travel after the infrastructure was built. The infrastructure would be highly expensive but could recoup the costs over time.

I been a truckers 42 years you the news media keeps saying there is a driver shortage. This is a lie there is not a driver shortage according to ooida

Taxpayers pay for the interstate system, why not the rail-bed and stations? Use a toll-mileage system (e.g. toll highways) and hub-rental fee (e.g. airports) to pass through some of the cost to privatized rail companies (both passenger & rail).

Ihr habt schon geile Loks....Grüße von Deutschand....🙂

California's High Speed Rail at $77 Billion is about 3% to 4% of the $2 Trillion Bush and Cheney spent (wasted) for their war for profit in Iraq (for their socialist taxpayer funded corporate welfare handlers, Halliburton, Bechtel, KBR, Blackwater, etc.). And hopefully no one will get killed. Please don't tell us HSR supporters the U.S. can't afford HSR!

"shareholders love it" is not how we should approach our national logistics network. These long trains are deadly and a nuisance to small towns. Are you going to spend 25 million to build a bypass over each crossing? That's what's needed if they're all long. We have issues with our ambulances and firemen being able to get to the other side of town due to this.

Nationalise the private rail lines. Private ownership over natural monopolies is absurd and unethical.

PSR doesn't make the RRs more efficient, it's a hit mess.