Doesn’t Matter Who Wins the K Race; We’re All the Same

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Adder

I'm a huge believer in rail, but not even I think it will work to criss-cross the country. It's too big and too empty.

But there are shorter, busier clusters where rail could mostly replace air travel if we were willing to build real high speed trains (like the rest of the developed world). We aren't because it's "too expensive" and requires hard choices and Americans are in love with the "freedom" of cars.

2. Amtrak Detroit to Chicago is a suckers game. It stops in 8 cities and is very unreliable as to arrival time.

But the other problem is that very few cities have mass transit once there. Once you get to Chicago's rail station you are fine. But once you get to Detroit? You need a car.