Although the article neglects how the average US citizen reacts to trains the premisis are important. Do note that the China and European examples cite the better services on their trains than we can find on Amtrak today. Did not see any statement on Japan RRs.
Any way wonder how many Amtrak hater persons will debunk this article ?
As a self certified ATK hater, one of the few here, I see no need to debunk this feel good article in the trade press which seems to be saying that HSR can be competitive with short haul air service. Oh my!
Mac
I think the majority of people on here reject the concept of HSR. I feel like I am one of the few who sees HSR and HrSR as the direction a national passenger rail system should be heading.
One problem is that certain types see passenger rail as a tax drain, especially for infrastructure, but look the other way with regard to air travel infrastructure and highways. Clearly we need all three.
When the original Shinkansen route opened in 1964, Tokyo-Osaka was the JAL cash cow. As soon as the business travelers realized that the new high speed trains ran from city center to city center that cash cow became hamburger. Note that this was long before airport security became anything more than a couple of uniformed police bodies patrolling the terminal.
The difference was overall speed and a more comfortable ride. First class fares were comparable, but ordinary fare rail tickets were far less expensive than air. Plus there was no long taxi trip or ride on slower local transit trains (which cost additional money) at each end. Bottom line - airliners might be faster gate - to - gate, but HSR won the office - to - office sweepstakes.
Chuck
That is true in other countries with HSR, even over longer distances in China, such as the Beijing-Shanghai line.