TheStreetForce
62301
1817
33
Sep 23, 2025 8:48 PM
TheStreetForce
62301
1817
33
irrationaldesign
Took me a second, but made me laugh!
MarcUK
The reason the US doesn't have high speed trains is because there's no way to keep the track secure from right wing mass killers.
polopolomarkopolopolo
Facts
rhixhikaru
This looks like the map on the Ticket to Ride board game.
spidermenz
Okay, I've read all the comments, and I mostly understand, but why do most of them lead to Chicago?
TheStreetForce
Chicago is a huge rail hub as it is right now. A lot of this map is updating existing rail infrastructure to HSR. Say you want to go NYC to Colorado by rail you have to go north to chicago first.
spidermenz
Thank you thank you
dcjunkee
Salivates in "Ticket to Ride"
lurkerthatoccationallywantstocomment
Why no PNW eastbound line!
PhailRaptor
It looks like it was meant to be a Phase 2 sort of thing. There's a faint grey line heading East from Seattle through Montana and North Dakota over to the end point of the teal line (roughly Winona/Kellogg MN?). That said, the map is quite old at this point, and has lost a lot of pixels.
RCSpotz
I rode the high speed train in Europe for the first time this summer. What a dreamy way to travel instead of slogging along in your car.
Wuz314159
Watching a Scottish travel vlogger on youtube like: "train comes in 2 minutes. Better not rush, there'll be another in 12 minutes". It's stressing me out with my 2 buses per day. I miss the TGV.
airwoman
My thought immediately went to the fact that if people had an equal vote on this, rail system would be a thing anyway, but unfortunately the rich get a bigger vote. But like, the richest guy is autistic, and he's doing the exact opposite of trains, and his opinion on whether there should be trains carries a looooot of weight unfortunately...
Skywatcher16
i dont think hes actually autistic, personally. i think elon uses it as an excuse for his shitty behaviors/a cover for what hes actually
Skywatcher16
diagnosed with, if hes been diagnosed for anything at all. but mostly the excuse thing. that said, not all autistic folks like trains.
asticknstone
As a Chicagoan, I would love this - would make travel so much easier
Terrywire
Yeah
Terrywire
That's true đź‘Ť đź’Ż
brandonblk
still not nearly enough rail!
sonicrail525
As an autistic train kid
Saeraphym
I would like the teal and the green line to connect in Seattle please.
PhailRaptor
I can see a faint outline continuing the teal line through North Dakota and Montana up to Seattle. If I remember the original copy of this map correctly, that was for a later phase of the proposed plan (that, obviously, never went anywhere).
Saeraphym
It's absolutely for selfish reasons. I have family who lives along that route and a line like that would make it super easy to see them.
spiritussancto
with the amount of autistic medical researchers, it's far more accurate to say autism causes tylanol. and vaccines
zFUBARz
Canada is doing it's part and actually pushing pretty hard to build something akin to that pink line. Get on it America
Filanwizard
Telemapus
doctorbocker
nevergoingtogiveyouupnevergoingtoletyoudown
The problem is the control of the existing rails hinders creating new rails. My municipal is having the same issue with a new road. They need to widen a 2 lane road at the edge of the city that has experienced a lot of urban sprawl in the last 20 years that also connects to a new large commercial area, and has gone from 10-20 cars an hour to basically a constant stream both ways. The road is pinned between rails (1 train a day) and several substations, so can only be improved to a 4 lane.
copperdomebodhi
Autism was first diagnosed in 1943. Acetaminophen wasn't sold as a painkiller until 1950.
PhailRaptor
Which is why everyone is giving RFK so much shit for it
djangojazz
So tangent kind of. Is California still working on their high speed rail from LA to San Fran?
PhailRaptor
Pretty sure Elon successfully killed that a while ago
djangojazz
I heard it was back on in 2024. But now we have dear leader so dunno.
DrR5
DiracsDelta
This would make my life better and easier in a meaningful way almost immediately. So naturally it’s far beyond the capabilities of our government.
IncognitoEnthusiast
Oh it's well within the capabilities of our government, it's just run by literal soul sucking leeches is the issue.
Terrywire
You just said. the fact dear
Filanwizard
It is sad too. Before useful air travel and freeways the USA was at the forefront of railroad technology. The Pennsylvania Railroad was running 100mph electric trains from NYC to DC in the 1930s. And they had plans to electrify everything.
Wuz314159
https://imgur.com/xwL3xG3.jpg
maeta
Comet260
I hate cars so much.
Terrywire
Same with me
BillyBobJimJoeJames
Not american here, i need explication. Merci !
eion85
/gallery/cip7ILq/comment/2475873199
BillyBobJimJoeJames
Thank's. "Firstly, trains are an area of hyper-interest that is pretty common among autistic people."
LtRooney
The US used to have a well-developed passenger rail system, crossing the entire country with the (then) fastest locomotives in the world. This objectively great transit network was systematically dismantled in favor of interstate highways, as it got in the way of oil industry profits. Our modern passenger rail is a bad joke, sold to the ignorant as impossible to improve because the "country is too big" rather than a the result of decisions to make our lives worse so Exxon could profit.
Blackfinity
What does all that have to do with autism?
Skywatcher16
the joke is that a LARGE swath of autistic people really like trains. so with as many people in the US who take tylenol, if it were a cause
Skywatcher16
of autism as our quack HHS secretary claims, there would be too many train loving autistic folks for the "trains arent viable" lie to work.
LtRooney
Nothing, just explaining the part where the US doesn't already have this when it very obviously should. The autism connection is just that acetaminophen has been widely used in the US since the 1950's (right around the time the oil lobby got to work dismantling our rail infrastructure) and there's a stereotype that many autistic people develop a hyper-fixation with trains. Thus, the implication that if acetaminophen actually led to autism, we'd have a decent high-speed passenger rail network.
Wuz314159
I LOLd too hard at this.
Thanshin
It's funnysad.
HeywouldJablowme
I'm lost
Wuz314159
Hello lost. I'm dad. . . . https://youtu.be/OmiDXpTdRRg
HeywouldJablowme
Dad! Why did you abandon me after I turned 18 years old and stop talking to me for 30 years?
TheLordFoxington
Autistic people tend to dive really deep into certain hobbies and knowledge about their interests. Like, "they dug too greedily and too deep" kinds of dives.
Trains and railway systems are a fairly common one.
Also, ASD people tend to be rather 1 tracked (no pun intended) in their pursuits of a project.
So, if everyone who took Tylenol had autism, projects like this would be both high priority and quickly completed.
labyrinthconvention
all aboard, train's headed to the Balrog
rossimus
My father works for an infrastructure construction company that builds train networks all over the world. They looked into building HSR in the US with similar maps to these. They're economically impossible. Can't build the lines along the coasts without forcing people to sell their land or move, and the cross country one would require ticket prices about three times that of a plane ticket for a journey that would take three times as long as flying. The US isn't the Netherlands; it's huge.
Wuz314159
They have HSR in Europe because Europe is much newer than the US. Ă’_o
kranchan
Meanwhile in China...
Wuz314159
Last time I worked in the city next to mine, my carpool abandonded me & I had to walk home. https://imgur.com/xwL3xG3.jpg
Comet260
So how to MAKE it economically feasible?
Wuz314159
https://www.railway-technology.com/features/how-low-cost-airline-subsidies-are-hampering-the-great-modal-shift/
RooGryphon
Kill the rich. They are the ones that want it the old way all the time. As they see nothing past there own pathetic life. So you and your kids get nothing but dust
Skywatcher16
so how has china made it viable?
PhailRaptor
500% the population density, generally
Skywatcher16
a little less than 4 times, actually. and that dosnt answer the question. if you dont know just admit that instead of lying about how its not possible. thanks.
RooGryphon
Forced upon them. You have no choice over there. Government wants your land they take it. Resist and your splattered against the wall
Skywatcher16
US can do similar. look up "eminant domain". it was used a lot to build the interstate system. trump also used it for the wall he never finished.
i meant why isnt it economically viable. getting the land to build it isnt in question. both because of eminant domain, and because most of the proposed routes would follow EXISTING rail infrastructure, so the purchises would be minimal and mostly along the edges of noted existing freight/passenger lines.
UltraDeepFeels
Blasting across the great plains at 220mph sipping a martini explaining my special interest to my fellow passengers
endem1c
sign me up
Telemapus
"Aksherly when Bond asks for it shaken, he's asking for it watered-down because shaking melts the ice into the mixture, see. Also, you must never ask for a vodka martini that's crass, you should ask for gin. A dry martini is one with very little vermouth, although the term is confusing because it's DRY vermouth you are leaving out, see. This is stirred and strained into a chilled glass, no ice at all. And one olive is sufficient, don't you think?"
Sssurri
More like 600mph
MisterLemons
220MPH would do the 3000mile trip in roughly 15-16 hours, including stops. I've done that in a car going a quarter of the distance. A train ride sounds spectacular.
alcamar
I almost missed the grey line, perfection
layinginbedfeelinglikeaquesarito
Not seeing it…
StudioDerpster
Topeka to Albuquerque is one example, I think they might be slower connecter lines. The one across the Northwest states looks like it might be the Empire Builder.
alcamar
Yellow to red to green, green to teal. Can't read the city names and don't want to cross reference atm
Teneksi
I can see loads of grey lines, why is it perfection?
xETM
I feel like i'm missing something...
StudioDerpster
Check reply above
xETM
I did. it only confirmed it.
I don't need instructions, i need it spelled out... literally
TheStreetForce
I am a professional railroader. A train operator or "engineer" as we call ourselves here. Let me say most of us have a lil of the tism going on to do the job successfully. Keeping all the rules and regs inline and such. Some of us have a LOT of the tism going on. Its honest work. :P
Etherealvalentine
My friend who is a conductor called in a vehicle struck by his locomotive and the 911 operator gave him crap because she wouldn't believe him that "locomotive" was a real word. I just thought I'd share that with you.
TheStreetForce
Bruh, the amount of boggling stupidity ive seen round the rails. We want to write collab books of short stories but they would probably be regarded as fiction.
Zahnradfee
I would love to read those!
SabottheHawk
It is kinda the perfect job. Can get down on the routine and safety checks while also being level headed in dangerous situations. (At least for me simple stuff can stress me out to no end but I am calm in life or death situations) Plus trains
TheStreetForce
Yeah. Pick your timeslot out of the day. Nice solitary office. No bosses unless you screw up. Lot of technical brain exercizing stuff while also being mundane and repetitive.
BenYourFriend
If you’d be willing to, I’d love to read one of those “a day in the life” posts from you about your day-to-day work!! It would be a lot of effort to put one together though so no pressure
TheStreetForce
Thats something I would like to do but alas we are federally gag ordered from things like that in ol murica. Ive already been brought up on charges for doing that on bookface. (They didnt stick but my company sure tried.) I will point you tho to a toober called "RailCowGirl". Shes over in Norway where they dont make dumbshit laws based on kneejerk reactions. She has a few "day in the life of" vids as well as some other scenic cab ride vids.
BenYourFriend
A travesty!!! :(
I’ll check out the channel, thanks for the recommendation <3
Sometimesithink
My brother is an engineer on a class 1 railroad and has never had a single thing said to him about anything he posts on social media, and he shares plenty.
TheStreetForce
I shouldnt have said it like that. Just have him be aware its possible and to take care with the social media stuff. Dont want to give them extra ammo to send him walkin.
TheStreetForce
Well, good for him but the cfr regs are "emoloyee conduct" and "protecting company affairs and property." Of course, like the rest, they are all gotcha rules that the charging officer will "interpret" a certain way to fuck with you if they want to.
rolliefingers
My friend's such an idiot, he doesn't understand this, I gotta go to work, can someone explain it to him in a reply? Sry about this, it's all I can do to help guys like him, he's so dumb, I really appreciate your help.
Wuz314159
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmiDXpTdRRg
ThrowAwayAcct0000
Autistic people often like trains.
OverwhelmingSurplusOfDiggity
Your friend is a good person, and should feel good about themselves. I hope your friend has a wonderful day today.
NunyaBizness
This would have been a great idea around 1890.
dontrike
And a great idea now
maeta
Way to tell everyone who the village idiot is.
AfterTheRainComesTheRainbow
Ah yes. Those world famous 1800's high speed trains...
StudioDerpster
Still a great idea! Better even!
TheRealArclight
ok boomer
Skywatcher16
its an even better idea now, unless of course, you are a stooge of big oil or the auto industry, or are a boeing hitman....
iExplainTheJoke
People with autism stereotypically like trains. Lately president Trump claimed that people who take Tylenol while pregnant increase their baby’s risk of autism. The claim is not well supported but assuming it was a universal rule, there would be so many train-loving autists that extensive high speed rail projects would’ve been completed.
threepotatoesinatrenchcoat
An important part that was left out in all the explanations here(I assume they assumed you already knew), is that the US president and his secretary of health and human services have claimed that (based on a few studies that generally aren't considered conclusive) pregnant women taking paracetamol (the active ingredient in Tylenol) is the cause of autism.
Yes, I'm aware that this comment outs me as being autistic, and no, as far as I know, my mother did not take any paracetamol product
DukeDarkwood
I don't trust you. I have no guarantee you will pass any of this onto your friend; you clearly aren't sharing your own knowledge with him. Further, you are a terrible person, putting down your friend so brutally.
If someone comes here and asks, openly, for themselves, I'll answer that. But not someone both rude AND refusing to convey the answer personally. You probably deny your friend Internet access, just to keep him from looking up the answer swiftly.
rolliefingers
Well, yeah, I deny him internet access, duh. I deny him access to the outdoors too. Oh wait did I not mention he's my gimp? Sry yeah he's my cellar gimp. And friend.
SigynRose
The US president claimed that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism. The picture implies that if Tylenol really did cause autism then there would be more trains in the US because autistic people tend to like trains for a whole host of reasons
alrightalrightalrightpartyatthemoontower
We have a friend in his early 20s. He’s super smart and social enough, but does some awkward stuff sometimes. We wondered if he may be a bit on the spectrum. Went to Europe with him. He was fascinated by the trains there. Absolutely entranced. We don’t wonder anymore.
waznewz
Trains are cool. Specially steam trains, that sound it makes when they are under load, is just epic.. the power, the steam, the everything... I like trains...
tangybreath
Trains
narcoleptiKnickers
elbowdeepinagoose
https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTY1YjkxZmJlZDB4d2U1aGd0c2N2dzBpbDI3aHBrNHNrZThyb3R2YTkxNTE5dGhwdyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/w4moCK30MzaEBicas7/200w.mp4
captpeaches
Holy hell, I think I made this meme a few years ago!
Sorcatarius
When you made it, did you crop it properly, or did someone else commit that crime against memes?
captpeaches
I gotta go dig up mine to see
5Outta7
valen00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHkKJfcBXcw I think this music video explains it all pretty well in a fun format.
DanimalRC
Hah! Outstanding.
begenes
That explained so much. Thank you
valen00
I like trains.
RevengeIsIceCream
I am Groot.
IamIntoleranceIntolerant
There are a couple of layers here.
Firstly, trains are an area of hyper-interest that is pretty common among autistic people.
Secondly, the prevalence of Tylenol usage during pregnancy is quite high in the US. This should have created enough autistic people to make this happen.
Feralkyn
Also b/c EFFICIENCY b/c of hyperfocus, imo.
wejustdontknow
Perfect explanation
JPRiddles
I feel like this is missing the link between more autistic people and the creation of high speed rail. I don't think the biggest barrier to effective public transport in the US is a lack of interest in it.
BoppinAndJivin
Layers and layers of beauty are revealed
Minterfresh
lost my shit on "This should have"
buzzingbee
Thank you for taking the time to reply without judgement.
SonrisaFlores
I'm autistic and my mother is also autistic and refuses all pain meds b/c she's old school. So she never had any in the house growing up, so my first pain relief wasn't until I miscarried in the hospital at 20. I discovered ibuprofen then and never touched tylenol b/c I always heard from SCIENCE it damages your liver. PS, I also have 2/5 autistic children, so almost like it's genetic or something
fartyandbloated
FYI Tylenol only damages your liver if you take way too much or take it with alcohol. If your doctor ever gives you something with Tylenol in it don’t worry. Obviously it’s better not to take any medication if you can avoid it and the pain isn’t too bothersome but that isn’t always the case.
Syovere
Autistic daughter of autistic mom as well, and yeah we know it's not actually caused by painkillers lol we're just joking about misconceptions.
KuroFluff
At first I thought, "How are your children 2/5ths autistic?" but I get it now. lol.
battery1979
Tylenol only damages your liver if you take it in excessive amounts. We're talking well beyond the daily recommended dosage for an extended period of time. Ibuprofen will also mess up your body if you abuse it.
SonrisaFlores
What I didn't add for post clarity, liver issues run on my father's side, my grandfather died of cirrhosis and my father had liver cancer, so I try to take care of my liver, even avoiding alcohol.
UserNamesArentEasy
It's hi because Ibuprofen(advil) is not good to use while pregnant. So effectively they just want women to suffer as much as possible during pregnancy.
HelikaformerNubisKnight9
I think it's more because to many still remember Contergan. And you just nobody wants to do tests on pregnant women to see if a med is truly safe during pregnancy. So maybe better safe than sorry by using as little painkillers and other meds as possible. But than the same people saying Paracetamol to be unsafe should press for vaxxing all kids and women before they get pregnant, because it's 100% proven that catching rubella during pregancy can be very bad for the embryo/Fötus.
FoamingToad
Never heard of Contergan, but a quick search indicates it's a brand name for Thalidomide, in case anyone else is curious.
HelikaformerNubisKnight9
It was a HUGE scandal here in Germany where it was sold from 1967-1961 under the name Contergan (Contergan-Skandal) receipt free and advertised as safe during pregnancy. I was born 1977 and still remember seeing the Contergan-Kinder with missing limbs. (And I'm not against Paracetamol/Tylenol as it's beside Novaminsulfon the only painkiller I'm allowed to use. Neither am I against painkiller for women at the gyn. But as I said: You can't test meds on pregnant women to be sure it's safe).
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
I remember after one of my annual physicals my doctor's office called and told me I had to come in urgently about my results. I was terrified. Turned out that my blood tests had shown I somehow no longer had the rubella antibodies, and since my doctor knew I was sexually active she wanted me vaccinated right away just in case I got pregnant. That's how bad it is.
HelikaformerNubisKnight9
Samw with me, as my gyn tests all of her patients for rubella antibodies and even as I was vaxxed as kid I also lost my antibodies (or they were to low in numbers?) so I also got vaxxed again.
eion85
How unusual for Conservatives to ignore the suffering of women.
Freemage69
Not ignore. Advocate for.
UserNamesArentEasy
And actively seek out ways to make them feel worse when there are solutions to issues.
Jarjarthejedi
Man, things would be so much better if they /just/ ignored the suffering of women instead of actively worked to escalate it :/
Colopty
Oh they're not ignoring it, they're promoting it.
dynamojoe
"Why is the birth rate falling? Let's ask several wealthy white men for their opinions."
SuperfluousMeh
Not that we'd have to ask, we'd get them anyway. And then probably a bill for them, too
mcneelyj
Tylenol has been the only pain reliever deemed safe to date. So it is highly used by pregnant women. If it does cause autism…95% of children should be diagnosed as autistic.
God forbid we look at how much broader autism is as a disorder vs 30 years ago.
Rovylern
I know that if I were in elementary school even in the last ten years instead of the 80’s, I would have been found to be on the autism spectrum.
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
My brother definitely is, we were in elementary school in the 80s.
neverhappytoasterdog
I’m almost 70. A bit of today’s knowledge would have made my childhood so much brighter and productive.
TsukariYoshi
Oh man, I feel that so hard. But I'm almost 40 at this point, and employed in a place where I maintain a security clearance - I can't see a lot of ways getting a diagnosis (currently I'm 'not diagnosed, but that boy ain't right') would improve my life but I can think of a hell of a lot of ways it could make it worse. And if I'm on the spectrum, it's high functioning - I've made it this far, why change something now?
I love the idea of getting help and medication - but not the label.
Waidonut
I'd be diagnosed AuDHD and treated and school life would have been a hell of a lot easier
Hevach
When I was growing up they specifically didn't evaluate for autism unless a kid was considered retarded, a 2nd grader reading at a 6th grade level and doing 4th grade math who can draw the shelf layout of any isle you want from the local Meijer? No Mrs. Hevach's Mom your son is just weird.