They used to have an expression in Germany that the father of a friend there told me: “punctual as the trains.”
And 30 years ago, they meant it. A 9:33 train left at exactly 9:33, not a minute too soon, not a minute too late.
Now, though, it’s a national joke. He told me this after a trip on which I had barely made several tight train connections, which were made even tighter by delays. It’s common to see a delay message scrolling across the electronic signboard at the station or to hear the announcement that your train will be stopping for a few minutes in the middle of a trip. That people grumble about sitting in Frankfurt for five extra minutes, however, strikes me as analogous to whining that one’s chocolate ice cream does not have nuts on it. It’s still chocolate ice cream! And it’s still a train, which is a lot more than we have around here.
True, there is some sort of train that goes through Baldwin City. There’s even a passenger train that stops in my hometown of Topeka. The station hours, though: midnight to 7:45 a.m. And the Germans think they have a problem getting a train at the time they want.
Of course, other areas of the United States have more extensive and more widely used railroad lines. East coast acquaintances speak about traveling per train between cities or between suburbs and towns outside large metropolitan areas.
Trains like this and like the ones in Germany are wonderful for, well…everyone, but for commuters especially. The environmental advantages are a major selling point for me. One splits the gas and thus the carbon emissions with hundreds of other people. Yet taking the train is also a good choice for people who simply want a more comfortable ride to the office. True, you cannot blast your Led Zeppelin CD, sing along with the radio commercials or pick your nose, but you can sleep, read a book, put on makeup or get some work done. All things that you can’t (or certainly shouldn’t) do while driving yourself.
By taking the train, one also avoids the gridlock and slow moving traffic that characterizes rush hours across the country. A 10-minute delay and then a speedy and direct trip sounds better to me than crawling along a 60-mile stretch of highway, trying to merge into an already saturated traffic pool. Getting yourself off the road makes things better for you. Getting people, in general, off the road makes things better, even for those who continue to drive.
The semi-rural Kansas area we live in is a perfect candidate for a railroad rebirth. Since there’s (let’s just be blunt) nothing here, people have to go to the Kansas City area or Lawrence to work, to shop or to see a movie. A train line that connected the towns and cities in this area would be a wonderful way to reduce traffic and a great service to the people of the region. Though it wouldn’t benefit Baldwin, even a train line that ran between Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City would help the commuting issue and make lives simply more convenient. And the track already exists. We just need to really put it to use.
“What about once you get to Kansas City?” I’m sure someone’s wondering. “Are you just supposed to walk everywhere?” Good point. For the train system to really work, a good public transportation system within the city needs to be in place. Buses are probably the most reasonable approach.
I read in my Human Ecology textbook that Chattanooga, Tenn., replaced all of its buses several years ago with a zero-emissions fleet. What? We have the technology to do this, and we’re not using it? That’s what I would propose for Kansas City. Admittedly, it would be pretty pricey. I guess we could go with rickshaws instead. Kansas City Bicycle Rickshaw Service: fighting global warming, annoying traffic jams and the obesity epidemic all at once. I knew there was a reason Kansas puts “health” and “environment” in the same department.