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You don't need to be surprised -- rail is more widely used than domestic air travel. (Reminder: regular express services run at up to 125mph; the HS1 -- Channel
by cstross 7y ago
You don't need to be surprised -- rail is more widely used than domestic air travel. (Reminder: regular express services run at up to 125mph; the HS1 -- Channel tunnel -- route maxes out at 180mph, and the HS2 line in development is due to hit 220mph eventually. This isn't Amtrak!)
The real competition for trains is automobiles and coaches, due to road-building having been prioritized since the 1950s. Also, rail fares have risen faster than inflation ever since privatization, and the surplus were siphoned off to the private-sector owners rather than being reinvested in modernization. Hence the current poor state of affairs.
- pmyteh 7y agoThis is right. Generally, rail dominates air for journeys of up to three hours, and is competitive up to about 5. Many of the domestic air routes (and closer international routes like London to Paris) are really only for people connecting onto long-distance flights rather than a popular way of going city-to-city. The more general-purpose flights are either longer (London to Scotland, or Exeter to the North) or over water (mainland to NI, for example). The main competition for medium-distance routes is absolutely road, which has the majority share (cheaper, but normally slower on the main intercity trunks).
- razakel 7y ago>the private-sector owners Many of the train operating companies are in fact owned by foreign governments. Abellio is Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Arriva is Deutsche Bahn, Govia is SNCF.