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Re: Swiss electric trains and economics ?
Author: Charles Koch
Date: 11-03-2022 - 11:01
Chris Ogilvie Wrote:
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> First of all, the video shows a light rail operation, not a train.
An argument could be made that it's still a train. It has flanged wheels and runs on steel rails and it has several carriages. It's not all that different from a couple of RDCs coupled together.
> But to provide an answer to your question: Simple! The Swiss provide a superior product in a densely populated country with a challenging geography. Quite often travel times by rail, even on narrow gauge operations like the Rhaetische Bahn, are competitive with road travel, due to the geography there.
If the Swiss government had wanted to, it could have become as "auto-centric" as the U.S.A. Many restrictions are in place to discourage auto ownership and use. The Swiss government, and other governments in Europe, have put almost all of their eggs in one basket--rail--and government policies will be such that people will use rail because there will be too many obstacles and hindrances for them to use other modes. It's interesting how some countries embrace passenger rail (Switzerland, the U.K., as examples) and other countries totally reject it (Mexico, Guatemala, Lebanon and Afghanistan) as examples.
[worldwiderails.com]
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> First of all, the video shows a light rail operation, not a train.
An argument could be made that it's still a train. It has flanged wheels and runs on steel rails and it has several carriages. It's not all that different from a couple of RDCs coupled together.
> But to provide an answer to your question: Simple! The Swiss provide a superior product in a densely populated country with a challenging geography. Quite often travel times by rail, even on narrow gauge operations like the Rhaetische Bahn, are competitive with road travel, due to the geography there.
If the Swiss government had wanted to, it could have become as "auto-centric" as the U.S.A. Many restrictions are in place to discourage auto ownership and use. The Swiss government, and other governments in Europe, have put almost all of their eggs in one basket--rail--and government policies will be such that people will use rail because there will be too many obstacles and hindrances for them to use other modes. It's interesting how some countries embrace passenger rail (Switzerland, the U.K., as examples) and other countries totally reject it (Mexico, Guatemala, Lebanon and Afghanistan) as examples.
[worldwiderails.com]
