Romance of the rails : why the passenger trains we love are not the transportation we need /

American transportation has undergone many technological revolutions, from sailing ships to steam ships, from passenger trains and urban rail transit to airplanes and automobiles. Normally, the government has allowed and even encouraged these revolutions, but for some reason the federal government i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	O'Toole, Randal (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, D.C. : Cato Institute, [2018]
Subjects:	Railroads > United States. Transportation > Passenger traffic > Government policy > United States. Passenger trains > United States > History.

Table of Contents:

The transcontinental railroads
The growth of urban transit
The golden age of passenger trains
The golden age of rail transit
The silver age of passenger trains
The decline of urban rail transit
The decline of intercity passenger trains
The municipalization of urban transit
The nationalization of intercity passenger trains
American cities rediscover rail transit
Keeping up with the Joneses
Rapidly deteriorating transit
Low-capacity rail
Streetcars and the economic development hoax
It would have cost less to buy all the riders priuses
Why Amtrak is being replaced by intercity buses
The false promise of high-speed rail
Passenger rail in America's transportation future.