this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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Unless it's cargo...
For Cargo, population is not really a factor. A 600 People Hamlet can have a freight train running several times a day because there is a mine. A 10,000 soul city might not have any freight lines. For passenger trains, people are the cargo, i.e. there have to be enough people wanting to take a train
This is a myth that is also used in Canada to make sure nobody demands public transit and keep using cars. Both our countries were literally developed by railroads. And now we maintain a vast road network to all of those small towns that also costs billions.
Somehow we're dense enough for highways, electricity distribution and phone lines but not railroads.
https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:gmd:gmd370:g3701:g3701p:rr000640/full/pct:12.5/0/default.jpg
Sure, but you could have stoppers within the state to the capital, then a high speed interstate train, and then a slower stopper the other end.
There's also transport solutions like shared car fleets the other end of the high speed train (in effect short term rental) so you make the inefficient miles be done individually, but the main leg with the high demand a rail one.
There are plenty of trips that could be made more efficient with sufficient will and imagination among transport planners