That 3.9M figure includes European Russia and the Nordic countries, which are largely excluded from the map image to make the difference more glaring. Not as much rail connectivity in the north. But even with that, Europe is twice as densely populated as the USA. If you look only at the EU, it is 3x as densely populated.
It’s not the only reason for the difference, but it’s a big one.
Still excludes much of Russia to the Urals (which is in the 3.9M figure).
But to be clear, I’m not arguing that there’s a view which will make the US map look good by comparison. There are quite a few reasons why the US situation sucks.
Part of it is how the population is distributed. Here’s a view of population density that helps tell that story:
Compared with Europe his country has A LOT of empty space. Large tracts of agricultural land and large tracts of marginal to desolate land.
Add to that the construction and funding of the railroads here. It was all owned by private enterprises focused on freight. If the freight dried up on a route there was no incentive to invest in maintenance. Many railways started fading right around the same time that passenger demand was drying up due to the construction of the interstate highway system and then later due to deregulation of the airlines. Mail started moving by plane and by truck, so that guaranteed income stream dried up too. When the railroads were consolidating and eliminating passenger routes to save money the government formed Amtrak to try and save a few routes. Outside of the northeast it has generally been a curiosity, an experience, more than a competitive transportation option. And most Americans are fine with that. They prefer to roll around in a pickup truck on their own.
That 3.9M figure includes European Russia and the Nordic countries, which are largely excluded from the map image to make the difference more glaring. Not as much rail connectivity in the north. But even with that, Europe is twice as densely populated as the USA. If you look only at the EU, it is 3x as densely populated.
It’s not the only reason for the difference, but it’s a big one.
Honestly still pretty bad (older map) Especially considering this is just high speed lines.
Still excludes much of Russia to the Urals (which is in the 3.9M figure).
But to be clear, I’m not arguing that there’s a view which will make the US map look good by comparison. There are quite a few reasons why the US situation sucks.
Part of it is how the population is distributed. Here’s a view of population density that helps tell that story:
Compared with Europe his country has A LOT of empty space. Large tracts of agricultural land and large tracts of marginal to desolate land.
Add to that the construction and funding of the railroads here. It was all owned by private enterprises focused on freight. If the freight dried up on a route there was no incentive to invest in maintenance. Many railways started fading right around the same time that passenger demand was drying up due to the construction of the interstate highway system and then later due to deregulation of the airlines. Mail started moving by plane and by truck, so that guaranteed income stream dried up too. When the railroads were consolidating and eliminating passenger routes to save money the government formed Amtrak to try and save a few routes. Outside of the northeast it has generally been a curiosity, an experience, more than a competitive transportation option. And most Americans are fine with that. They prefer to roll around in a pickup truck on their own.