I'd love to agree because rail is beautiful. However rail is even more over regulated than trucking. Also it requires massive capital investments, both in the r

I'd love to agree because rail is beautiful. However rail is even more over regulated than trucking. Also it requires massive capital investments, both in the rail system and operators to get economies of scale, which causes problems with monopolistic pricing. Also the trucking industry has huge $$$ influence on politicians. On the plus side for rail, high speed automated container systems could significantly reduce delays, automate shunting yards, etc. The difference between automated docks like Rotterdam and the manual way trains are loaded is stark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxXZQ7emHC0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxXZQ7emHC0 http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/35955-extreme-engineering-loading-container-train-video.htm http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/35955-extreme-engi... The use of driver-less trains is feasible, but the rail network (especially signalling) in America is so antiquated. Perhaps outsource it to the Netherlands... Automated rail container system fails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7I4wa1gpoc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7I4wa1gpoc