Can I be the one to make the obligatory train comment? Moving hundreds of people 500 miles in comfort, using only electricity, is also a VERY solved problem.

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HolyLampshade 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The 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.

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chrishare 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Trains are great, but they can only go where tracks go. Planes are faster, too, noting that boarding times can dilute that. Trains are perfect for freight and super frequent routes, though.

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tmtvl 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Commercial passenger planes can generally only lift off and on at dedicated facilities, though.

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7952 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Those facilities can be much more modest and can scale up and down depending on location. Particularly for smaller short haul aircraft.

	▲	pkulak 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Maybe. But they can almost never be in places where people actually need to be; like central cities.

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jryle70 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

So both can coexist? what's the issue? Why does HN waste energy on pointless pissing contests?

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boelboel 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's not about moving hundreds of people, it's about moving 30-100 people. Many places don't have the demand or physical possibility for a railway. If this wasn't the case there wouldn't be so many short distance flights.

	▲	pkulak 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Many places don't have the demand or physical possibility for a railway. This I don't get. I've seen rail stops in the smallest towns, where the train stops for 30 seconds to let a couple people on or off. Places where even the smallest airplane makes no sense at all. Not 30-100, 1-2.

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7952 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

But politically and financially it is very challenging to build new capacity in a lot of places.

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lotsofpulp 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Can I be the one to make the obligatory land acquisition and permitting comment? Navigating the acquisition of all the land and environmental and other rights via US courts is a VERY unsolved problem.

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newsclues 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

How do you get a train from Vancouver to Victoria on the island?