Blog-Wa, the Dog-Wa Blog

One of the hardest things about living in the age of information is that there’s way too much of it.  It’s nearly impossible to sift out what is interesting, relevant and trustworthy.

So I hadn’t even heard about the new Rail Runner passenger line between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  They called it the Rail Runner to play on Road Runner, which is the New Mexico state bird.  Evidently the 90 minute ride is faster than driving on New Mexico’s most congested stretch of highway.  It’s said to be affordable, and so far it’s a hit with the riders.

But what struck me in the BBC article covering the new train were some really intriguing factoids about trains in America.

For example, I had absolutely no idea that the United States moves almost 10 times as much freight by rail as Europe does.  Given the size of Europe and the fact that they’ve always moved people with trains, I would have guessed the exact opposite.

Besides, the only time we talk or think about trains in America is when we are arguing about building passenger trains that rarely every come to fruition.  I should correct that – people who live between Boston and DC deal with trains.  And now the folks from Albuquerque and Santa Fe do too.  But the rest of us?  Fuggedaboudit.

But what’s really amazing is how GREEN the trains in America are.

Would you believe me if I told you that an American diesel train can move a ton of freight 436 miles on one gallon of fuel?

Unbelievable!

Of course, we’re still looking forward to the day when we get our MagLev superfast train from Vegas to LA.  But in the meantime, it’s great to know how efficiently we are moving freight.  And kudos to New Mexico for getting the job done.