It's kind of insane how vast the world, and everything humans have built on it so far is.
Take those ~1800 trains running simultaneously in the middle of the day in Germany. Each one weighs like dozens of tons and carries up to hundreds of passengers.
Now multiply that several times for all the trains running simultaneously in the middle of the day in all of Europe.
Then look at countries like Russia or China that completely dwarf Europe when it comes to [actively used] rail networks.
The US alone has 220 thousand kilometers of railroads. That's more than half of the distance from Earth to the Moon. Add China's 160 thousand and it'd be enough to take a train all the way to the Moon.
And this is only trains.
Maybe it's just me, but... where did all of that come from? Absolutely stunning.
It has different countries and you might be able to somehow set it as a wallpaper - mind you, it's fairly resource heavy, so possibly not the best idea.
That's like 30% of the problem. Russia has trains everywhere. The rest is just that Henry Ford set up his factories along the border, and we've leaned hard into car-centric development ever since. (Well, actually, we might be turning a corner now, but it's slow)
If you look at the road system in Canada, it's the same pattern, basically. There's a few dirt "highways" that stretch into the northwest, and absolutely nothing connecting the northeast. All the agriculture and so all the sizeable cities are in the south.
Actually, Russia has a lot more going on up there. As you can see the Russian homeland stretches pretty continuously up, and even in the colonial areas further east, they have mid-sized arctic city Norilsk (that disconnected bit of red). The best we can do is Yellowknife at 10,000.
I still take Via Rail whenever I have to go to Toronto, Ottawa or Quebec from Montreal, and it's so convenient and relaxing to go from home to somewhere in another city entirely by rail the whole way. Especially compared to the circus that is flying today. But why does it have to be so dogdamn slooooow. And I wish there were more than a couple viable destinations for someone who doesn't want to drive everywhere.
You can kind of see how much of a choke point Cologne is there. The line between it and Düsseldorf is in the middle of a major upgrade as well which adds to the chaos. 30 years of neoliberal underinvestment coming home to roost.
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This pleases me.
It's kind of insane how vast the world, and everything humans have built on it so far is.
Take those ~1800 trains running simultaneously in the middle of the day in Germany. Each one weighs like dozens of tons and carries up to hundreds of passengers.
Now multiply that several times for all the trains running simultaneously in the middle of the day in all of Europe.
Then look at countries like Russia or China that completely dwarf Europe when it comes to [actively used] rail networks.
The US alone has 220 thousand kilometers of railroads. That's more than half of the distance from Earth to the Moon. Add China's 160 thousand and it'd be enough to take a train all the way to the Moon.
And this is only trains.
Maybe it's just me, but... where did all of that come from? Absolutely stunning.
I'd love a series of live versions of this and other countries that I can make my background
Not a live version, but it comes from here: https://chillchamp1.github.io/github.io
It has different countries and you might be able to somehow set it as a wallpaper - mind you, it's fairly resource heavy, so possibly not the best idea.
Oh thank you, this is fun! Look at Tokyo! https://chillchamp1.github.io/github.io/#tokyo
When they’re actually running, yes 😅
and they're all late
Man, if only Canada could even have what Germany does in the middle of the night.
yeah but also
That's like 30% of the problem. Russia has trains everywhere. The rest is just that Henry Ford set up his factories along the border, and we've leaned hard into car-centric development ever since. (Well, actually, we might be turning a corner now, but it's slow)
i wouldn't say all over russia
If you look at the road system in Canada, it's the same pattern, basically. There's a few dirt "highways" that stretch into the northwest, and absolutely nothing connecting the northeast. All the agriculture and so all the sizeable cities are in the south.
Actually, Russia has a lot more going on up there. As you can see the Russian homeland stretches pretty continuously up, and even in the colonial areas further east, they have mid-sized arctic city Norilsk (that disconnected bit of red). The best we can do is Yellowknife at 10,000.
Yeah only where >95% of people live. And if we can't get AT LEAST 100% why even try, right?
Hi, yes, unrelated question, but if I upgrade to Canada+ what are some of the benefits?
Less advertisements, and the opportunity to upgrade further to one of our many confusing premium packages. Duh. /s
Everyone lives on the bottom line though.
I still take Via Rail whenever I have to go to Toronto, Ottawa or Quebec from Montreal, and it's so convenient and relaxing to go from home to somewhere in another city entirely by rail the whole way. Especially compared to the circus that is flying today. But why does it have to be so dogdamn slooooow. And I wish there were more than a couple viable destinations for someone who doesn't want to drive everywhere.
Do i get this right: It's just the straight lines between start and destination station and not the actual physical routes?
Another commenter posted the original source.
It has details on the data sources, some five route info, some only give stations and times. Impressive work, but relies on the data available.
Absolutely unwatchable.
I can see my train from here
Beautiful.
You can kind of see how much of a choke point Cologne is there. The line between it and Düsseldorf is in the middle of a major upgrade as well which adds to the chaos. 30 years of neoliberal underinvestment coming home to roost.
Sorry I read night train and all I can think is
🎶 I'M ON THE NIGHTRAIN BOTTOMS UP I'M ON THE NIGHTRAIN FILL MY CUP🎶
Mesmerizing, but the question is, were they all on time?
was a single one on time ?*
It's not even a question; they were not.
E: I mean maybe some were, like at the start of their journey or after a Pofalla-Wende
Waiting for it to break 2k 😬