tudo é uma função do tempo e do espaço. A viagem não é exceção.
Na Inglaterra, eles dizem que cem milhas é um longo caminho. A América, cem anos é muito tempo. Uma viagem de pesadelo de fechamento de faixa de rodagem, buracos e tráfego estacionário. Foi intercalado com a necessidade de reabastecer em algumas das lendárias estações de serviço de rodovia do país. Somente no pátio da Grã -Bretanha, você poderia ser escalonado com o preço de um litro de gasolina e depois aterrado pela percepção de que o litro para litro - copos de papel morno do café da Starbuck são ainda mais caros. Os campos verdes de Cheshire e veem pôneis elegantes e panorizando e mansão. Ao entrar em Staffordshire e nas placas de Midlands para Historic
I know these axioms to be true having spent the last few weeks travelling in the UK and the last few hours driving to our nearest IKEA in faraway Jacksonville, on the Atlantic coast – 400 miles from my Gulf of Mexico home.
While in the UK, I took the intrepid mission of driving from Liverpool to Brighton on the nation’s antiquated highway system – a nightmare journey of carriageway closures, potholes and stationary traffic.
This is a road-trip which is only 350 miles but took the best part of a day to drive. It was interspersed with the need to refuel at some of the nation’s legendary motorway service stations.
An oxymoron of epic proportions.
I had forgotten how bad the service at a service station could be, and how exorbitant the prices charged were. Only on Britain’s forecourt could you be staggered by the price of a litre of petrol, and then floored by the realisation that litre for litre – tepid, paper cups of Starbuck’s coffee are even more expensive.
But the journey to Britain’s seediest beach town at least reminds you of the aged splendour of the country.
Leaving the industrial and chemical plants of the Mersey basin, you pass through the green fields of Cheshire and see posh ponies prancing and manor houses. As you enter Staffordshire and the Midlands signposts for historic Ironbridge, Castelo Warwick e National Trust Parques e jardins abundam. Atingindo a perna sul, você pega vislumbres de aldeias de Cotswold de abastecimento de chocolate e, finalmente, a beleza rolante das downs do sul.
Britain is incredibly inconvenient to travel any distance within but unabashedly beautiful.
In contrast, the journey to IKEA was a breeze.
Sat behind the purring 5-litre engine, the traffic monitoring app Wayz Aviso de perigos, armadilhas de velocidade da polícia e congestionamento, os 400 milhas de interestadual foram devorados e chegamos relaxados e em bastante tempo para uma bolsa de almôndegas e o que há mais de nada. A estrada forjada por meio de paisagens intermináveis de campos vazios e florestas esfregadas, pontuadas apenas por paradas de caminhão e cruzamentos de estradas principais.
But whilst the journey on America’s highways may be easier, there was virtually nothing of note to see or witness. The road forged on through endless landscapes of empty fields and scrubby woodlands, punctuated only by truck stops and major road intersections.
Isso não é totalmente verdadeiro. paisagem interminável. Parece que o governo dobrou sua recente participação de indiferença a tudo fora de Londres e puxou o plugue de financiamento para a Northern Powerhouse, HS2 e, mais importante, a expansão do Northern Rail, que move milhões de pessoas entre as grandes cidades de Liverpool, Manchester e Leeds todos os dias.
Monuments and memorials to long forgotten battles and heroes are conveniently placed close to the highways, and for fans of logistics and distribution, there are business parks and warehouses to break the endless landscape.
So, it is interesting to think about the two transport policy initiatives dominating discussions on both sides of the pond.
In America, President Biden is about to pump trillions of dollars into infrastructure which will mean building and expanding the interstate road network, allowing more cars to travel further and see nothing of note in the process.
Back in the UK, it appears the Government have doubled down on their recent bout of indifference to everything outside of London and pulled the funding plug on the Northern Powerhouse, HS2 and more importantly the Northern Rail expansion which moves millions of people between the great cities of Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds every day.
Ambas as essas decisões ficam quentes logo após as negociações climáticas do COP26, mas parecem gravemente em desacordo com as intenções declaradas de todas essas reuniões sem fim. Seja uma maneira melhor de gastar trilhões de Biden? Menos. Memphis.
Surely the real-life consequence of both these ill-guided decisions will be to push hundreds of thousands of commuters back into their cars and dump gazillions of tons of Co2 into the air.
There must be a be a better way to spend Biden’s trillions?
If he wanted to, he could build European-style fast rail between the cities of the North East – Boston, New York, Philadelphia – and connecting with Washington D.C and Biden’s home town of Wilmington Delaware – Amtrak Joe should recognise the voter appeal of that at least.
Similarly, West Coast rail lines could connect San Diego on the Mexican border with Seattle in the North, via the metropolis of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland.
And for those in the flyover states, new fast rail could replace the current trains which run ever so slowly along the course of the Mississippi from New Orleans to Chicago via the home of the blues, Memphis.
Business também vê o benefício. O Fast Rail pode levar milhões de toneladas de frete das estradas e permitir que os executivos ocupados dos EUA viajem sem o uso caro e demorado do hub e falou voos através de Atlanta, Dallas ou Charlotte. Reduziu a viagem de 1.200 milhas e 19 horas para um mais palatável, 26 horas 50 minutos.
It is an idea which has been discussed before.
Amtrak – America’s long distance rail provider – has in the past few weeks introduced a sleeper service from New York to Miami – which has reduced the 1,200-mile, 19-hour drive to a more palatable, 26 hours 50 minutes.
Espere! O quê?
Sim, você leu certo. O novo serviço de dorminhoco leva mais tempo do que dirige. Uma reforma das ferrovias que construíram a América está claramente atrasada.
That is in part because the train runs on suburban track, through numerous stations and rail yards, and travels in the dark which means it must slow down and make frequent stops as it rolls south overnight. A revamp of the railroads which built America is clearly overdue.
Claro, a América é vasta. Jogue. 21
In reality, few people travel coast to coast or north to south other than for occasional vacations or family events.
But, like their British counterparts, Americans would welcome a transport system which connected the clusters of towns and cities which make up the communities where they live, work and play.
Atlanta, San Francisco, Metro D.C and the New York tri-state area already have rapid rail systems which could be improved and extended.
But mega-population centres like Miami-Dade, Orange County, Los Angeles – all with chronic M25-style traffic problems – have no transit systems of note and would benefit greatly from a 21 ST CENTURO SISTEMA NEGRAL DE CENTURO NEUTRRAL COM O AVISO ASSOCIADO PARA A SAÚDE PÚBLICA, CRESCIMENTO ECONCIAL E SUSPORTABILIDADE AMBIENTAL. As negociações reais começarão e o Congresso determinará como o dinheiro será realmente gasto. Onde está o Big Rail?
In the coming days, Biden will sign off on the Infrastructure Bill crossing his desk.
Then the games begin. The real negotiations will start and Congress will determine how the money will actually be spent.
The halls of the Capital will be gridlocked with oil and auto industry representatives bidding for new roads and highways, but who will be there lobbying for the little train which could? Where is Big Rail?
