In 1869, the completion of the transcontinental railroad knitted the country together. The national network grew as the nation did, becoming dense in the industrial Midwest and Northeast. In the Great Plains, a spiderweb of lines let farmers get grains to market. But later, railroads cut back as the national economy changed. They endured hard times with too much track and not enough industry. The railroads lost market share to trucks, and lost most passengers to cars and airlines.
The railroads ran steam locomotives, which took an enormous workforce to operate and maintain. A changeover to diesel power by the 1950s, along with other technological advances, let railroads eliminate jobs. Before the formation of Amtrak in 1971, freight railroads also staffed their own passenger trains. A more recent change in how railroads operate — called PSR, or “precision scheduled railroading,” has consolidated trains and cut crews.
The rail trade group put the cost of a strike at $2 billion a day, endangering travel, critical supplies and commerce during the busy holiday season. Ultimately the Biden administration intervened in the labor strife between unions and companies,Editing by Julie Vitkovskaya and Ann Gerhart.
The sad thing is that rails are the solution to so many problems – IF they are regulated and safe. Imagine how much fossil fuels all the trucks that go coast to coast are putting into the air. I don’t know why Republicans are against expanding rail service and its safety.
So in other words, not a Renaissance
you people are complete disgrace