Files
Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32906
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
URI
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
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.
Recommended Citation
Ford, Taylor, "Connecting US" (2021). Architecture Theses. 199.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/architecture-theses/199