European Rail versus American Rail

Most people think that rail transport is far superior in Europe than in the United States. If you are talking about passenger transport, European rail is far, far, far superior to American rail.  Interestingly American freight rail is far superior to European freight rail. From the Randal O’Toole:

Europe has decided to run its rail system primarily for passengers, while America’s system is run mainly for freight. Europe’s rail system has about 6 percent of the passenger travel market, while autos have about 78 percent. Meanwhile, 75 percent of European freight goes by highway. Here in the U.S., highway’s share of freight travel is only 29 percent, while the auto’s share of passenger travel is about 82 percent. So trains get 4 percent of potential auto users in Europe out of their cars, but leave almost three times as much freight on the highway.

Fast passenger rail and freight rail cannot share the same tracks because the passenger rail is so much faster. Before America goes crazy for passenger rail, it is important to understand what rail currently does well in the United States.