Every Country HUMILIATING America at High Speed Rail Explained

Have you ever sat in airport security, crammed into a delayed flight, and wondered why America still doesn't have a single mile of true high speed rail while the rest of the world races ahead??? You're not imagining it. Japan invented bullet trains in 1964 while America was bulldozing its downtowns for parking lots. In this video, as a real urban planner, i'm breaking down every country humiliating America at high-speed rail and exactly how they pulled so far ahead. From Japan's perfect 60 year safety record to China building more track in 17 years than the entire rest of the world combined, these are the trains that make American transit look frozen in time... #highspeedrail #urbanplanning #explained Japan: Invented high speed rail in 1964 and still embarrasses everyone. 60 years, roughly 7 billion passengers, and zero deaths in a crash. The average delay is 1.4 minutes per train. France: The system America was supposed to copy. The TGV opened in 1981 and France now runs nearly 70% of the EU's high speed track alongside Spain. They let competitors in and prices dropped... China: Went from one line in 2008 to over 50,000 km today. Built more highh speed rail in 17 years than the rest of the world combined. New trains built for 400 km/h. Spain: The longest high speed network in all of Europe, second only to China. Opened the Madriid-Barcelona route to competition and fares fell nearly 30%... Germany: The plot twist. The land of engineering precision running at 60% punctuality, the worst on record. Even the country famous for trains is having a rough decade. South Korea: Took the French design and made it more reliable than the original. Over 99% punctuality through a country that's 70% mountains. The average Korean has ridden it 20+ times... Italy: The country people joke can't run anything on tiime, beating Germany at over 85% punctuality. One of the first nations to let private rivals run trains on the same tracks. United States: The richest country in human history with zero miles of true high speed rail. The Acela markets itself as high speed while crawling on track your great-grandparents rode through... Which of these systems have you actually ridden? And do you think America will ever catch up? Let me know in the comments! 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗖𝗞 𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢𝗦; How Cities, Streets & Transportation Actually Work ↪ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO5PaPVyUlAm3fivbm18stRE09lUVz1yJ Every WORST Metro System in the World Explained ↪ https://youtu.be/_gEpiNdCSCg Every Transit System That WORKS Explained in 9 Minutes ↪ https://youtu.be/HYYIXluTu8E -TIMESTAMPS- 00:00 Japan 01:16 France 02:32 China 03:56 Spain 04:53 Germany 06:05 South Korea 07:10 Italy 08:14 United States 09:45 The End If you'd like to support this channel and its mission to make urban planning knowledge accessible for everyone, you can join our "Planning Office" via the 'Join' button! 🤝 You can also offer one-time support using the 'Super Thanks' feature below the video and be featured on the 'Thank You Board' at the end of the video, just like all our supporters. 🙏 📩 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 (𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀): [email protected] **** Welcome to Urban Planner Explained! I'm Umut, an urban planner currently pursuing my Master's degree. I'm passionate about decoding the complex world of cities, and I'm here to break down everything I've learned—from university lectures to my travels—into clear videos. My goal is to make the often technical subject of urban planning engaging and easy to understand for everyone. On this channel, we explain various topics like city models, principles of urbanism, some insanely-well designed cities, and American suburbs in a simple and clear way. Of course, topics like Megacity projects, future city models, street patterns, smart cities, walkability, urban design, zoning, public transportation and urban planners are also in our area of interest. If you want to better understand your environment, join a conscious conversation about cities, and explore these living organisms with me, you're in the right place. Subscribe to join the community and let's meet in the next video! © 2026 Urban Planner Explained