> […] it's much more efficient than the alternatives […] Efficiency by what metric? Energy per distance travelled? Energy per kilogram moved (per kilometer?)?

> […] it's much more efficient than the alternatives […] Efficiency by what metric? Energy per distance travelled? Energy per kilogram moved (per kilometer?)? Time? CO2 emissions? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transport * https://ourworldindata.org/travel-carbon-footprint https://ourworldindata.org/travel-carbon-footprint For distances <120 km, cars are often quicker than trains, and for >900km planes are, but in between trains are often quickest (assuming infrastructure is actually present).