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Man, I’d love more trains but we can’t act like the infrastructure necessary to support them, if not present, is very challenging to develop. Even ignoring lan
by HolyLampshade 13d ago
Man, I’d love more trains but we can’t act like the infrastructure necessary to support them, if not present, is very challenging to develop.
Even ignoring land acquisition (which is a big thing to ignore in populated areas where a train would most benefit the population), there are simple things like road crossings, other infrastructure crossing, etc.
In this case an airplane may be simply a lower friction solution.
- mr_toad 13d agoThe biggest costs and sources of delays to building high speed rail in the UK are legal challenges from people who don’t want any construction to take place anywhere near them.
- HolyLampshade 13d agoI’ll believe it. If someone were to try to achieve the same in my area (not even high speed rail), between two metropolitan areas, they’d have to contend with thousands of private land owners. I lived in the UK for a few years, so I can appreciate and really enjoy a robust rail network, but it’s not an easy thing to achieve.
- pkulak 12d agoI don't disagree, and yet, despite all of that, new freeways can _always_ be built. And they require far more land and cost. It's totally possible for us to build things still. Just have to care.
- HolyLampshade 12d agoI’d argue even new freeways are challenging, at least in my area. They’ve been trying to close a loop around this city for 30+yr now, with a 3mi gap remaining. The last 3mi extension toward closing the gap took nearly 15 years to get through environmental reviews and legal challenges. This final segment will likely take an equally long period.