Oh, they have a TGV connection but unfortunately it has to use conventional tracks until the dedicated high-speed track is complete.
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.
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.
The voltage in Europe is 220V instead of 110.
Scandalous!
