California's ambitious high-speed railway project to link up San Francisco and Los Angeles remains a pipe dream.
Around $11 billion in taxpayer money has been sunk into the construction of the California High-Speed Rail network, which has been mired in delays and setbacks.
Photos of one part of the scheme triggered some ruthless mocking recently on social media as “the world's most pointless crossing” to nowhere. The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County was touted by the California High-Speed Authority as one of the first completed structures of the project. But the short concrete bridge that stopped mid-air with no connections at either end elicited a torrent of ridicule. Both SpaceX's Elon Musk and Dogecoin creator Billy Markus took a dig at it on X, with the latter dubbing it the "most remarkable human achievement ever."
Some estimates suggest another $100 billion might be swallowed up before the bullet train plan is completed.
Screenshot of X post by California High Speed Authority showing the Fresno River Viaduct.
© Photo : CaHSRA
Bullet trains have become commonplace around the world, with China operating the most complex high-speed railway network in the world, outperforming those of Japan and France. Boasting a length of around 26,000 miles (41,900 km) – two-thirds of the world's total high-speed railway networks – its railway has an impressive safety record. China's Shanghai maglev magnetic levitation train tops the list with a maximum operating velocity of 300 km/h.
A maglev train in Shanghai, China.
© AP Photo / EUGENE HOSHIKO
However, in the US, only about 375 miles (603.5 km) of track can reportedly handle more than 100 miles (160 km) per hour.
Furthermore, there has been mayhem on US railroads in recent years, with train wrecks of one kind or another constantly making it into the news. By October 2023, 742 train derailments had occurred in just that year, as per the United States Federal Railroad Administration.
The most noteworthy such incident, which led to a full-blown environmental disaster, occurred on February 3, 2023. A train hauling 20 cars from Norfolk Southern with hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. A massive fire erupted, leading to officials burning vinyl chloride inside five of the tanker cars in a controlled explosion that released chemicals in the air and water, including hydrogen chloride, phosgene, butyl acrylate, and ethylene. Months later, residents were still complaining about health issues they believed to be related to the incident.
Here are some other US train accidents that occurred in 2023:
In February 2023, six Seminole Gulf railway cars carrying propane went off the tracks in Florida.
A derailment in Massachusetts on March 23, 2023 yet again involved Norfolk Southern.
In March, 2023, a train derailed in Raymond, Minnesota, with some of the damaged cars with ethanol and corn syrup bursting into flames.
In April 2023, three railroad employees were slightly injured when a freight train with hazardous materials derailed near Rockwood, Maine.
In June, 2023, a trestle of the Twin Bridges Railroad collapsed in rural Montana. The incident sent 10 loaded train cars into the Yellowstone River. Six of them contained asphalt and three contain molten sulfur.
On July 17, 2023, residents in the Philadelphia suburb of Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania, had to evacuate after a CSX freight train operating on Norfolk Southern-owned tracks derailed, with more than a dozen of the train’s 40 cars falling off the tracks. The accident resulted in the leaking of hazardous materials.
On November 24, 2023, a CSX freight train carrying chemicals, including molten sulfur, derailed and caught fire in Livingston, Kentucky, forcing residents to flee their homes during the Thanksgiving holiday.
In Jacksonville, Florida, a rail car stationed at the Florida East Coast Railway spilled nearly 30,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid, causing a temporary closure of the Philips Highway.
In October, 2023, La Porte, Texas, a shelter-in-place order was issued following a train derailment. At least one railcar contained flammable components, including hydrogen fluoride.
The Brightline high-speed passenger trains that operate between Orlando and Miami, with part of the route on track owned by the Florida East Coast Railway, reportedly hold a record for being the deadliest in the US. The fatalities here chiefly stem from vehicle-train collisions.