Today, from Amtrak's website:
this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2024
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what... I know that you don't have much in the way of public transit but... you remove what little you have now?
Oh this is nothing. Read up on the streetcars. The country basically removed most of its mass transit light rail because the car companies weren't selling enough cars.
They didn't even do it in smart ways. This town just paved over the tracks. Now, 80 years later or whatever it is, the streets are caving in and they have to do all these expensive repairs.
Not only that, but most cities will claim they aren't big enough to support a tram, despite nearly every city having trams 100 years ago
Believe it or not the US actually has one of the largest rail networks in the world still. Passenger rail is just not popular.
While true, I would add that a big reason is that freight is prioritised by rail companies, causing large and frequent delays for passengers. Amtrak owns some of its own rail, mostly in the northeast, which is perhaps less-than-coincidentally the part of the US that has the most people taking trains.
that's because it's a continent. comparing it to other countries by route km is ridiculous. if you look at coverage, or population per km it's absolutely abysmal. the US comes 132nd per population covered. not to mention 80% of the network is freight lines. so it's the same old: because it's a good thing, it's mostly there for corporations.