James May Admits Trains Are Better Than Cars! | Earth Science 

"they are great fun, they are fascinating, they are a great hobby but they aren't quick at getting anywhere" absolutely perfectly put description of Cars. Thank you mr may

I'm from a town with no public transit. Since I technically live on the outskirts, I have to walk about 90 minutes to reach the nearest bus stop, and even then it only goes a few places downtown. When I visited Britain, it amazed me that I could travel the whole country while rarely setting foot in a car

"You suddenly panic and think, 'Shiiit!'". That's my life in a nutshell.

Actually, James has done a very good point on that even if people consider that train service in Britain is underdeveloped, it's still faster than going in the car (sticking to the speed limits) for long distance travels. Here in Spain high speed train rails are being constructed "to get to date" like in other countries, but what for if you would only save 30 min. in the longest travel in comparison to the 'underdeveloped' train ways we've got now, and at expense of many many millions of euros?

Sir James May has a nice ring to it!

I like trains too James. I travel regularly between Strasbourg, France, and Göttingen, Germany, usually making the trip in a little over 4 hours. Going by car takes 4,5 hours if there is little traffic, but that almost never happens on the heavily used A5 and A7 autobahns. So while the train is not much faster than going by car, at least it's more comfortable, relaxing, and I can get work done.

The 'I like trains kid' approved of this. And so do I, I like trains.

That explains his love for the caravan train in top gear ;)

James May submits to trains, OK. Cool cool cool

James May is one of the few people who knows the definition of irony and actually uses the word correctly.

I'm only 14 years old, but I agree with James an awful lot, I love the technical workings of trains, but also cars.

1200 tons? Lol! I'm.an engineer ( loco driver ) here in the USA. The last train I ran was 20,000 tons 180 cars. Pain in the butt to operate, never got over 35 mph. James May is awesome!

I have only been on a train once in my life. My cousin & I climbed on a freight that stopped for a few mins once. I learned 3 things that day. 1) People in small towns know who your parents are & will call them. 2) My dad can drive to the next town faster than a freight train. And 3) The railway will stop a train to look for 2 kids. Well,I guess I actually learned 4 things. While my parents didn't usually spank, that wasn't a hard fast rule & they were willing to spank in some situations.

Wow James you are very philosophical! Also love music in the background. Great channel with great videos, keep it up!!

James, I thought the same about the bit at 2:40, but then I visited my homeland Russia, and it has exactly that. A train station at everybody's home, within minutes of walking. The city and country side was fashioned in a way to accommodate the "elektritchka" train system, although it really works more like an above ground subway.

I live in Southern California. I choose to take a train whenever I can use one to avoid driving. $10 on weekends take me all the way to Los Angeles, plus travel on subways, trolleys and buses included.

I just took my first train ride this year, and I really liked it. I plan on taking another in Jan 2014.

Is this why you always go on a train when you are racing jeremy?

I get excited when seeing trains. I dont live anywhere near any trains at all so when I'm traveling on a highway with some tracks next to it and I see a train that's a mile long with all sorts of different things on it from different country's its pretty cool.

A thin coat of silver on one side of the glass helps to reflect some but not all of the light passing through the glass. However, the glass is still technically transparent. the trick is to have a difference in light intensity on each side of the glass. The side that you want to be a mirror should be brightly lit, while the side you want to be able to see through should be much darker. In fact, an untreated glass could be a one-way mirror, the difference in intensity just has to be greater.

In Japan the rail system is developed well enough that a car is not essential. I traveled on nearly every local line in the country and visited or went through nearly every station. In most built up areas there is a station within walking distance. Bicycles, taxis, and buses are readily available for any short trips away from a station. For long distance travel the express lines are very nice and these are usually connected to local lines for convenience.

I Just imagine Jeremy Clarkson's sleepy face listening to this HAHAAHH. But great video, entertaining as always.

More like this please, Awesome.

Plus, he did win in the latest race from London to Milan.

Want to feel the enormous power of a train? I just got back from chasing F40PH 1013 on the 1.13% grade up to MP 10, and when you are standing next to a 15 foot tall wall of steel giving 3000 horsepower and vibrating the ground... Only then do you understand the power of a locomotive. Seriously, if the ballast wasn't tamped in before it has to have sunk the ties by at least an inch by now. I don't know if there are powerful locomotives outside of the U.S. but I can say that here I have heard my engineer friends complain that they have too much power. But who cares if the rail systems of the world are inefficient and not well funded... if we invest in them there will be better more reliable service. The car ruined mass transport and now that the world needs it we don't have it. Each side has its benefits, but for travel over 500 miles rail is cheaper. Food for thought.

That's good going since i'm in Scarborough and the average time is 48 mins to York

Top 5 people I can just listen to all day: james may, david mitchell, neil degrasse tyson, michio kaku, stephen fry

Shinkansen: it's a "normal" high speed railway system. Maglev: I think it manages hills better, because it doesn't rely on grip to propel itself (in fact, it doesn't even touch the "rail")

How does a see-through mirror work? I mean those windows that look like a mirror from one side, but are transparent on the other side. I love the channel by the way!

Question: what about MAGLEV and Shinkansen going up hill and downhill? I know that's a tiny percentage of trains in the world but it's still interesting. Btw, I might recommend taking the long-distance VIA Rail here in Canada on a few pretty routes if you can.

I like the piece of music on the background. Can anyone tell me how's it called?

James please make a podcast of you talking!! :D

yes but there is magnetic flux slippage as well. similar thing you find in an ac induction motor.

very extremely correct trains are just better than cars and I really approve of this.

There is something about trains that captures our imagination as children. In North America, trains are vastly supplanted by road and air transport, yet little kids like to play with toy trains. They like to count the cars at crossings. They haven't been supplanted in the minds of children, which I think is a great thing.

With cars its not often that you can go 125mph through the city center! However another big downer with trains is if one breaks down on the main line, EVERY train behind it is pretty much stuffed. not exactly a hard shoulder on the railways. Having said that I do prefer trains to cars. :)

Can he be my professor!!! I would love to sit and listen to his lectures because you would learn a lot like now!!

Please can someone tell me what music is playing in the background. I have been searching high and low for someone to answer the question and the only answer I can see in this comments section couldn't be more incorrect.

Well said James. More people need to realise this view

That remembered me when in Top Gear (In Thai, I think) You 3 took a train with your bikes and it left you in a place different what you thought it'd be :D

The colours of the trains especially indoors annoy me.. boats, airplanes as well. It feels so un-comfortable. Why do they always have to create illusions in building they think, use light colours so it feels as the vehicle is lighter than it is, when it´s really heavy?! I like the natural feeling and wish that trains, boats, and airplanes at least indoors were of brown colours, and parts of them if not all, dark.brown. It would feel comfortable. Brown colour brings one close to physical reality, to sense from closer where one is, and what´s happening.

4:20 spot on

I remember the top gear episode where they converted cars into trains haha

well personally I thought his explanation as to why he likes trains was very eloquently and beautifully worded.

James May's view of trains: coal powered steam strains on their way to Hogwarts. Reality: Buses on rails.

what about mag-lev (magnetic levitaion) trains as they dont have anything to grip to?

The only time public transport won as far as I remember was when James was driving the car across London

How do green screens work? The ones that you use on this channel. I'd really like a good May explanation of it!

It feels like listening to a crazy uncle

He won the last one in the yacht though! Although he was absolutely wrecked by the end of the race!

I want to know the name of the song playing in the background!

What is them music playing in this video?

hm i drive 2h each day with the train in total (work commuting) and i have probably 5 minutes to the train station fro my workplace AND my home,,, But if they just where not that crowded or in the last time always delayed (switzerland) :/

I've never ridden a train. Now i'm quite excited to get on one. :D

As someone who has waited in numerous lengthy airport security lines, I concur.

What is the music from in this video?

James May is too cool :)

James is the only reason I watch this channel

I lost it when he said "SHIT now what?"

can you imagine goeing to the supermarket by small plane? (people living far away from a store in a big country yes but i live in a small country) you would have reached the store before you were at crusing altitude

Still have to get to/from the airport/station.

From my nearest main station to the nearest city takes about 45 mins on the train but in a car only takes 20.

This ten years old!? Jeez, i thought it was a new one

'trains in england are underdeveloped' Well, anyone who says that should come and live in Australia for a few weeks. The train network is abysmally suited to not only our urban enviroments (literally hasn't changed in 30 years) but to intercity transport as well. Going from Melbourne to Sydney takes on a good day 12 hours, which is actually slower than the car if you go non stop. The trouble is that Australia is so spaced out that its not fesable for new stuff to be built. That upsets me greatly

Now on to a separate, but similar topic; is rail travel better than flight? The answer is yes

Yes, This is why you don't always have to fear being seen in a window during the day, when the sun is shining into it.

I love people complaining about trains in GB. In Poland avg train is slower than before WW2. It takes 14 hours to cover 700 km or 435 miles.

they also in usa 1.5 miles long too

... trains have obsessed lots of folks since their inception .. there must be a stupendous one on James Mays man lab or toy stories ...

along time ago i watched a video about a truck crashing, that lead me to a train crashing video, then that to more train clips.. a few videos later i was in the heart of TRAINSPOTTING RU-vid!!! and i couldnt escape!! :O.... well ok i acutally spent quite a bit of time there!

Cool

or compare either of those cities to anywhere in the US! I've lived in california for 9 years and haven't yet seen a single train other than underground, in-city ones.

does anyone know what is the name of the music in the back (violin) thanks.

Not all trains go that fast... Northallerton to Manchester takes 2 hours 10 minutes on the transpenine express, longer than it would take to drive.

I truly believe trains are the key to the future, as population increases and fuels become more expensive and we create climate change. Trains can deliver great quantities of goods and people at high speeds for a fraction of the fuel and much safer than other forms of travel

deep man, deep.

What is that background music?

James May says the car is more convenient than the train, but can get out of your seat, on an InterCity train, and go to the toilet, without it making your journey take longer. You can also have lunch, while the train is moving. (You could even make a cheese sandwich, on the train, if you got a table. 😉) You can use a laptop on a train, so you can work, without the train taking longer to get where it's going. That's all stuff that would make a car journey take longer. You have to adjust your lifestyle, to optimise your train usage and get the best out of your journey. And, you do, of course, require a government that diverts road funding towards public transport, so that train frequencies increase, buses get priority over cars and cities and towns are converted into walkable places.

Train spotter also known as a "Foamer"

Everyone always sees the past James. "The human brain takes around 80 milliseconds to process and react to information, so we're always living in the past" said by Vsauce.

Yea James.

london to york in an hour? meanwhile in Australia... 3 hours Sydney to Newcastle. bloody cityrail.

*New Zealand

I'd love to drive a train. Absolutely hate to depend on public transport though. I said it in one of my videos - Basically, I want a car, that's a train.

I take the train because cars are expensive and i get carsick (i live in the Netherlands)

is nice

The Tube can't be as underdeveloped as the TTC.

Someone needs to show Jeremy this, get him to rub it in his face again haha, that would be great.

James has been watching asdf movie's and decided to yell "I LIKE TRAINS"

I was thinking the same thing lmao!

Trams!

Indeed, then we're back to the convenience argument again.

This is why I like motorcycles. They are faster than cars, and even more convenient. They are dangerous, but only because you're driving among clumsy cars.

Mr James May - the only man in the World who can make trains romantic :)

And what happens if you place a normal mirror in front of it? Will you finaly see the end of the "mirror-hallway"?

to be fair they design those races to be close

are those old dutch passenger wagons?

Except that often trains are delayed or slow or whatever so cars often get you there quicker.

I think it works like blinds on a microscopic level. So I was once told.

Some parts may be scripted, but look at Series 20 Episode 1, James beats Jeromy in the "fastest car in the world" challenge! Either way, they are all hilarious!