Contrary to appearances, the United States actually has significantly developed rail infrastructure. This infrastructure however, is geared mostly toward freight, rather than passenger rail. The United States freight rail system is actually considered the largest and best in the world, with rail contributing to 32% of U.S. freight transport compared to 8% in Europe (DIOMIS 2009). Freight lines however, are not necessarily suited for passenger rail use. Firstly, the lines are privately owned and therefore difficult to regulate. Compared to freight, passenger rail yields significantly lower profits (if any at all), and thus passenger rail today is usually publically operated. Public use of private rail lines often means that freight is given priority on the lines, an arrangement that leads to intense passenger delays that undermine the appeal of a passenger rail system (Dan Schned). Additionally, lines developed for freight do not necessarily follow routes that make sense for passenger rail, as businesses shipping commodities often have different transit needs than individuals looking to travel and commute.
Despite today’s limited passenger rail services, the United States has had a long history of railways, with rail infrastructure developing right alongside the budding nation. From the beginning, rail construction was supported by the U.S. government, particularly the Army Corps of Engineers (Smith 1985). The earliest rail construction in the United States began in the 1830s, consisting mostly of short, local lines run by private rail companies (“Historic Timeline”). As development continued, lines converged into larger units, particularly in the Northeast and Great Lakes region. In 1862, the Pacific Railway act approved the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad, which was completed in 1869 with heavy government funding and support (“Historic Timeline”). In these developing years, rail companies enjoyed significant subsidies from the federal government, which held the belief that rail development would induce economic progress throughout the nation. Already freight reigned supreme. On lines that were owned by a single rail company, passenger rail was tightly controlled and very expensive (Van Oss 1893). Only on rail lines owned by multiple companies did rail companies compete for passenger traffic with better trains and cheaper fares. Even here, the incentive was primarily to use the passenger service to advertise the line for freight (Van Oss 1893). Entering the 20th century, rail continued to develop,
History of U.S. RAIL
Rail in The United states
Figure 1: The map below shows intercity passenger rail use as of 1962. At the time, only the NEC ard lines around Chicago got frequent use.
Figure 2: Aside from a peak during WWII, passenger rail ridership decreased dramatically after the introduction of auto and rail travel, a trend that has continued as cities have developed around auto transit.
Photo 1: A locomotive from 1890
Photo 2: A bustling Penn Station in 1920