| dc.description.abstract | Imagine experiencing multiple different cities and cultures
within a single day. In Europe, this is easily accessible, partly because
of the close proximity and small scale of countries, but also
because of their means of travel. The ease and speed of their
train system make traveling between countries almost effortless,
so what has prevented the United States from doing so as well?
The distance, as the crow flies, from London to Paris is about 212
miles, similar to Fargo to Minneapolis at 207 miles. However, the
drive from Fargo approaches four hours, whereas a train ride
from London barely breaks two (and also crosses an ocean,
might I add.) In this document, I want to explore the reasoning
as to why the United States has not developed an advanced rail
system. Through my process, I want to analyze why the U.S. has
not adapted this system, and what cost it would be at. A major
aspect of the project I plan to examine is the environmental impact.
The United States alone contributes to almost 25% of the
worlds “passenger transport-related” carbon emissions. As for the
physical design, I will take what I learned from my research to create
a universal, modular train station that can be adapted to different
situations. For example, based on a city’s population, there
are different sizes of the station that can be built; in a large city
with the need of a large train hub, there could be the train platforms,
ticket station, retail, dining, maybe even a hotel, whereas
in a smaller city like Fargo, there may just be the platforms, ticket
station, and dining. Overall, I hope to prove that train travel is a
worthy investment for both people and planet, because it will
allow people to take part of new experiences and lower carbon
emissions. | en_US |
