Highway Cost the Train a Future Paycheck
There are many forms of transportation available to the average person these days. One of the most underused forms of transportation in the United States is the train. Some can trace the diminishment of the train in the US as a primary form of transit back to the 1950's with the advent of the national highway system under the Eisenhower administration. The ability for people to be free of timetables through the use of a car, in addition to the tremendous advance of the American roadway system made the train seem a bit less attractive to the populace. Suddenly, people began to spend their paycheck on automobiles and car related expenditures.In Europe, however, the advance of roadway systems throughout the continent did not lessen the popularity of the railway system. Much of this was due to the fact that the railway system was already well integrated into the logistical makeup of the continent. Unlike the US model, the European roadway system did not free people to travel where they wanted, when they wanted. This was not the result of a poor road system, but due to an incredibly well run and well-integrated railway system. For the Europeans, the question became why to spend one's paycheck on an automobile when there already existed a perfectly reliable and efficient railway system.
Anyone who has taken the train in the US can see that it is quite comfortable, and easy to get around in. The issue becomes one of cost and of logistics. The highway system was allowed to advance so quickly, and so many people have already staked their paycheck on automobiles, that the train infrastructure has become stultified. The train may free one of having to drive, but it does not free one of the convenience of arriving at the precise place that one wishes travel to.
This is quite unfortunate, as anyone who has experienced the ease of train travel in Europe can attest to. The train infrastructure in Europe was allowed to advance at a pace with the road system, and so can quickly bring anyone from any point in Europe to any other point with the ease of automobile travel. It is often far more comfortable, as train travel allows one to be free to advance one’s own goals, such as having the ability to do one's work while on a train, thus using the train to help earn one's paycheck. It may be too late for the US to truly embrace commuter train travel on the level of Europe, but the train should not be seen as a holdover from a lost past, but more of a passed over opportunity for relaxed and relatively stress free commuting and transportation.
Contributing National Payday Staff Writer
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