An impressed traveler revealed their honest thoughts about a high-speed rail train from Guangzhou, China, to Hong Kong. Typically, a 3.5-hour trip was condensed to just 30 minutes, barely enough time for them to experience their business-class ticket. However, the original poster still enjoyed his experience immensely.
"Imagine living in Miami and going to work in New York in the morning, then coming back at night," said YouTuber POV: Digital Nomad (@POVDigitalNomad). "You would be able to accomplish so much with high-speed rail. I'm surprised we don't have these in America."
The traveler shared the same thoughts as many who have experienced high-speed rail for the first time. Its convenience, feasibility, and price are all enviable reasons why Americans have expressed a desire for such infrastructure at home.
Amid these hopes, burgeoning projects are underway for similar transport. However, Asian countries still rank the highest in railroad infrastructure quality.
This YouTuber's business-class ticket cost only $60. Economy-class tickets are just as affordable, ranging from only $22 to $29. These prices are comparable to the amount one would spend on gas in an internal combustion engine car, which would be around $40 combined for the nearly four-hour car journey.
Meanwhile, you are drastically reducing your contribution to planet-harming pollution. Our World in Data wrote that "taking a train instead of a car for medium-length distances would reduce emissions by around 80%."
Additionally, China has been transitioning most of its railways to electric operation since 2019. Besides the typical amount of pollution saved from rail transport, electric trains can emit 20% to 35% less carbon per passenger mile compared to diesel trains.
If one were to take a plane, not only would the travel time still be much longer, but you would be emitting six to seven times more planet-harming pollution per passenger-kilometer than taking high-speed rail.
The video, which was also posted on TikTok, amassed dozens of viewers.
"Not bad for the price," wrote one intrigued commenter.
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Absolutely 👍 Others speculated on why the United States does not adopt high-speed rail.
"Big oil won't allow it," one commenter put succinctly.
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