My question is WHY?
We have an incredible system of intercity transport here that makes
far more sense than rail. We have air-travel. Air-travel makes more
sense because our country is much larger than European countries.
Also, Air-travel allows for adaptation to changing market demands.
So we build a massive high-speed rail system between a half-dozen
cities. Only after it is built is it discovered that one of the
primary "money-making" runs is barely even used. Instead of adapting
according to the market demands, now you have this 600 mile stretch of
rail-system that has to be operated and maintained.
High-speed rail only works between specific locations and even that
only works when the travel-time is a couple of hours. Business travel
is the major reason for travel between cities and this is what any
transportation company is banking on. But time is money. If I can jump
on an airplane and make it to my destination in three hours, why would
I take rail which would be a full day? The absolute upper time-limit
for business travel is four-hours between cities. Tell me, even with
high-speed rail, how many routes fall into that category?
Anybody who has taken the typical Amtrack across the country finds
themselves surrounded by non-business travelers. Only in
Boston-NYC-Washington corrider do you see a major amount of business
travel and much of that could be construed as some form of commute.
AG
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|