# How come the French have a nifty fast train and we don't?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 4, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731 "2007-04-04T16:44:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731/41 "2007-04-06T13:35:03Z")

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[QUOTE=CalMeacham]  
Yeah, but existing Amtrak would be High Speed Rail in Luxembourg.  
[/QUOTE]  
Oh, they have a TGV connection but unfortunately it has to use conventional tracks until the dedicated high-speed track is complete.

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**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731/42 "2007-04-06T13:44:05Z")

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[QUOTE=Robot Arm]  
In fact, it’s rather the complete opposite way from Amtrak. With airlines, the government manages the infrastructure (airports, and all aspects of the air traffic control system) and the carriers are private companies. With railroads, the tracks are privately owned and the government manages the carrier.  
[/QUOTE]

I have heard arguments that this is exactly why nobody can make money carrying people by rail in the U.S. My understanding is that in Europe the government owns the railbed and infrastructure but private companies run the trains; the upshot of that is that the government has to maintain the expensive part and the private companies maintain the less expensive part (rolling stock) and can mabe more money carrying passengers. Consider how much it costs to carry one person comfortably, and the train MUST run, whether it’s full or empty; freight, on the other hand, requires much cheaper accommodations, and the car doesn’t move until it’s full. Rail passenger service won’t be a solution to transportation problems until the system is fundamentally changed.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731/43 "2007-04-06T14:16:00Z")

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[QUOTE=CalMeacham]  
Yeah, but existing Amtrak would be High Speed Rail in Luxembourg.  
[/QUOTE]

Are you kidding? Luxembourg has high-speed trains that can cross the whole country in less than an hour. The best ones in the U.S. can only travel coast to coast in 60 hours or more. That is a 6000% difference and more than a little scandalous to me. I demand that someone tell me how this could happen.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-the-french-have-a-nifty-fast-train-and-we-dont/398731/44 "2007-04-06T14:26:11Z")

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[QUOTE=Shagnasty]  
I demand that someone tell me how this could happen.  
[/QUOTE]

The voltage in Europe is 220V instead of 110.  
Scandalous!

🙂

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