Before this thread goes off the rails with politics I'd like to say the Chinese high speed rail system is amazing to use and it's unreal how quick they built it.<p>I've been to the country a few times now and hated every second of air travel there, it's messy, people behave really badly regarding rules and pilots are always changing altitude/speed during (supposedly) level flight to the point that you feel like you are on a rollercoaster.<p>In comparison train travel is incredibly pleasant and efficient, albeit sometimes quite busy. I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion but many countries in the West should hire the Chinese to construct and build HSR in their countries with foreign labour under local direction. The benefits are huge for rail. Airports for short journeys just seem wasteful and incapable of dealing with climate change problems. Not to mention the stress of security hassles.<p>Here's the last 12 years of rail in China: <a href="https://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/4/861.gif" rel="nofollow">https://image5.sixthtone.com/image/5/4/861.gif</a><p>In Australia we have been debating the high speed rail issue and doing feasibility studies for two decades now. The cost of AUD $100 billion was considered to not be worth it. Federal covid cash handouts to individuals in the last year alone topped $200 billion.
The greatest obstacles to constructing high speed rails in Europe or the US is expropriating land, environment feasibility studies, somewhat convincing plans for sustainable financing through user payments or otherwise, and the fact that rails traverse several political units (whether borders between countries, states, regions or municipalities) that all have to cooperate.<p>Those are not necessarily issues in a one party, socialist system.<p>Why is Taiwan on the map of Chinese railroads? Can you actually buy a ticket to Taiwan's system at a Chinese station?