The True Story of The Train Map
Once again the journalists have stabbed me in the back. A recently published article on the website Vox (Link Here) discusses a train map that went viral back in 2020 on twitter. While the January 2020 train map did have about 100k more likes and 50k more retweets, I feel that a disservice has been done to me since my tweet “Imagine one day having this train map” was not mentioned once during the Vox article. My tweet was big enough to have an entire KnowYourMeme page dedicated to it, plus it is a train map of the entire world rather than just the US. I think that this is a great example of how US-centric our minds can be, and how we must expand beyond the US to think of how we can improve the whole world. The Worldwide Train Map is so much more than just letting Americans get from Boston to DC in a few hours, it’s about connecting the globe and getting dome on the Newark — Rotterdam line.
Train maps are important because trains are the best way to improve the speed, efficiency, and viability of these projects, so they must be efficient to be effective. Map efforts should cover all known, practical needs of the railway. Map efforts should also consider regional efforts to reduce greenhouse gases or the effects of climate change. Map efforts should also consider future needs for the rail system in order to identify funding mechanisms and support. The more complex and comprehensive the map, the better.
I am writing this post to at least have Vox reference my viral tweet or even interview me to add my thoughts on the Worldwide Train Map to their article. I would also like a signed photo of Pete Buttigieg with Chasten if possible. While it is great to see some train map imagining, why not imagine having an even bigger train map? My DMs are open.
