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2 weeks ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
As I’ve written before, there are few institutions, or people, with a higher approval rating than Dolly Parton. While I love her for her music and the feeling of joy she gives us, I also love that Dollywood Express, the heritage steam train that operates within Dollywood, has a higher rail ridership than 27 states. Dolly grew up in the back hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, not far from a Civil War–themed tourist park called Rebel Railroad.
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3 weeks ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
(A must-read and source material: Transit Costs and Understanding the Costs of Transit Construction)No single issue threatens the proliferation of public transit in the U.S. and Canada more than the time and cost it takes to build it. Projects like California High-Speed Rail or New York’s Congestion Pricing face fierce backlash not just because of what they are, but because people no longer trust our ability to execute them. Our institutions have lost credibility.
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1 month ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
You’re sitting in the humid air of South Florida, taking one last glance at the departure board to make sure you're boarding the correct train—to Madrid, Spain. Even though Miami and Madrid are separated by just 4,400 miles as the crow flies, the rail journey ahead of you would stretch nearly 15,000 miles. Why am I bringing this up?
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1 month ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
Picture it: a grassy tram gliding through a tree-lined median in a quiet but vibrant neighborhood. It’s the meme we’ve all seen—and for many of us, it looks like a better transit system than whatever city you’re reading this from. You can’t deny their beauty. In Downtown Portland, the introduction of the Portland Streetcar in the 2000s spurred $4.5 billion in new development and added 18,000 housing units.
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2 months ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
The Las Vegas Strip—and the city itself—has a pathetic transit system. It’s one of the most visited places in the world, yet the airport, which sits right next to the Strip, has no rail connection. Buses come roughly once an hour and barely connect to any meaningful destinations. And it’s not just me saying this.
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2 months ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
(First, I want to apologize for the delay in this article. I had a personal emergency and needed to focus on my family—what really matters in the end.)The fastest train in the continental United States, the Acela, reaches a maximum speed of 150 mph on very short segments of the Northeast Corridor. In contrast, Japanese Bullet Trains already achieved maximum speeds of 170 mph 33 years ago, during George H.W. Bush's presidency.
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2 months ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
The average driver sees an empty bike lane and thinks, "What a waste of space." But that same scrutiny is never applied to car infrastructure—where overbuilt highways, unused parking lots, and empty roads are rarely considered excessive. And yet, many freeways built over 50 years ago make little sense today. If anything, they should be rethought entirely. Take a look at the top 10 U.S. cities with the most highway miles per 1,000 people, as ranked by Streetsblog. The results?
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2 months ago | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
(Thumbnail image and logistical aspects come from Against the Compass. Please follow their great work)I love the creativity of world-building. The fantastical settings in Star Wars and Dune captivate me just as much as the stories themselves. They showcase how humans might live on other worlds—adapting to every imaginable landscape, wielding technology far beyond our reach. Yet, despite all this imagination, one thing always bothers me: where are the trains?
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Mar 7, 2025 | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
The Manhattan street grid is remarkably intuitive. If you stand at the intersection of Third Avenue and 125th Street, you’re exactly 75 evenly spaced blocks north of Third Avenue and 50th Street. It’s like a game of Battleship—even visitors can navigate the grid within a day or two. Historically, pre-automobile street grids emerged in two ways: intentional planning and organic development. Some cities, like Washington, D.C., were meticulously designed.
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Feb 28, 2025 | 
thetransitguy.substack.com | Hayden Clarkin
You're standing in the lobby of Lyon-Part-Dieu station, looking up at a departure board displaying 23 domestic and international train lines—routes that can take you to Paris, London, Frankfurt, Turin, and Barcelona without a transfer. If you're not looking for an intercity or high-speed train, you can still choose from 12 tram lines, four metro lines, and a network of local and regional buses. Now, compare that to Nashville, a city and metro area of similar size.
