Investigators into the Amtrak crash in Philadelphia are focusing on excess speed, but there is a related issue: the overall condition of Amtrak and the nation’s infrastructure. One of the reasons that American trains should not travel 100 miles an hour in many places is that the state of our rail system — like the state of our bridges, highways and airports — is not good.

Many airports here look dilapidated relative to those in Asia and Europe. Roads are choked with traffic. The fastest train from Boston to Washington takes about six and a half hours. The fastest train from Paris to Marseille — a slightly longer distance — takes just over three hours.

The train that derailed on Tuesday was thought to be traveling at least 100 miles an hour — twice the speed limit on that section of track. That is about half the French train’s average speed on the trip from Paris to Marseille. (Reuters has also reported that the section of the track where the crash occurred lacked advanced braking technology designed to prevent derailments.)