China: we are building out infrastructure because it is good for the people

Lemmitors: no, that's actually because they're very authoritarian, building public infrastructure for public use is exactly what evil dictators do

But At wHaT CoST?

You can also look at Japan, where railroad isn't even the main moneymaker for the companies that operate them (pretty sure some even run at a loss). Instead, it's the hubs that those railroads create (ie all the real state connected to the stations which is owned by the railroad companies and can be rented out to businesses).

In essence, railroads shouldn't be built because they're profitable. They should be built because they're a basic necessity for unifying a country/region. The profit comes from the increased mobility and the new hubs and opportunity that mobility can create. But most politicians are too short-sighted for this.

i have many issues with the ethics and morals that comprise the current chinese dynasty. but they are extraordinarily rational when it comes to the great imperial forces of the world. it costs a government less, long term, to implement big public works projects. the technology for high speed rail will reduce traffic jams, reduce infrastructure maintenance costs, and boost the economy but it will take 30 years to bear fruit? china will do that because it's cheaper.

meanwhile here everything is analyzed and implemented in 2 year increments. it's unsustainable

I remember when the Texas Lone Star Rail project between Austin and San Antonio finally got "fully funded." I was in college taking a transportation systems course, and one of our guest speakers was the director of the project.

I realized how doomed we were when I found out she was the only employee of the project and only worked 20 hours a week - almost all of which was speaking engagements.

Exactly- California has to negotiate with every landowner, government agency, business, etc. to build a railroad. China doesn't have to deal with that. If they want to tear down a building, they just do it without caring much about the person they are taking it from. Authoritarianism is really good at doing big things really fast.

mire any project in beuracracy and lawsuits

That may have been true in the 2010s for cal hsr, but at this point the thing holding it up is just money. The environmental review is done for the segment between san Francisco and Los Angeles and everything has been cleared and construction is going on for the initial Bakersfield to Merced segment. There's just no money to build it, the only consistent form of funding for it is California cap and trade sales which only nets $750 million annually on a project estimated to cost well over $100 billion. They occasionally get some money from the federal government only to have that taken away or suspended whenever trump gets in office.

That's what really separates China from the US, the people in control of their tax dollars are using them to build infrastructure for the people instead of using it on billionaire tax breaks and to make jets and bombs to drop on Palestinians.

Next four largest high speed rail networks are in Spain, Japan, France, and Germany... which might not be perfect democracies, but are certainly far from the worst.

Democracy isn't the problem, and you certainly don't need to be a dictatorship to get things done.

The US will never have true high speed rail because they would rather deliver maximum profit to shareholders than acturally improve anything, thats why in a decade from now China will probrally still have a pretty good standard of living while the US will become a fascist undeveloped hellhole.

China has a higher sense of representative government than the US does.

BuT aT wHaT cOsT

"The glorious democracy where 75.000 people have gotten disappeared this year without due process can't build a railway because it's too democratic"

Obligatory "but at what cost!"

And Chinese citizens consistently poll as being more satisfied with their election options and outcomes than Americans. Honestly, when you're at the point where you're saying that China is authoritarian but worlds largest prison state USA isn't, you're basically just giving up the game that you're using the word as a euphemism for "non-western"

I'm seeing this post trending on the frontpage, seems like a lot of people care. You can keep malding, though, that's amusing too

It's only played out for those content with their table scraps