I seriously think we need to ask serious questions if we’re able to shift people point to point further, faster by first going 4 miles towards space for a fraction of the price of moving more people at once on an electrified railway stopping at multiple destinations, picking up and dropping off along the way.
Something cannot be right. How can they not compete and be profitable? What am I missing?
Outside of major cities in the UK trains tickets are ludicrously priced.
Yeah, but from A to B the plane does not use man made infrastructure and planes are for longer journeys than typical trains. Two airports cost a lot less than the constant maintenance of hundreds of miles of tracks, signaling, crossings, bridges and tunnels, forest overgrowth etc. plus the road infrastructure needed to maintain all parts of the train track corridor, even if it’s a dirt road, it needs minimum maintenance.
Well. In the UK the rails and infrastructure used to be privately owned. But it turned out a private company couldn’t be trusted with that level of safety within their remit. So it returned to government control quite some tine ago.
The train companies are private though. Well except for a handful that failed to meet requirements.
the rails and infrastructure used to be privately owned. But it turned out a private company couldn’t be trusted with that level of safety within their remit
Google Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield rail crashes if you wanna know more.
Oh I remember why. I was considering including links to some of the causes of the end of railtrack. But I thought it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to those already here that private companies and safety are seldom bedfellows.
I seriously think we need to ask serious questions if we’re able to shift people point to point further, faster by first going 4 miles towards space for a fraction of the price of moving more people at once on an electrified railway stopping at multiple destinations, picking up and dropping off along the way.
Something cannot be right. How can they not compete and be profitable? What am I missing?
Outside of major cities in the UK trains tickets are ludicrously priced.
Planes don’t have to maintain the sky, but trains need to maintain the rails.
Essentially any costs that can be externalized & paid by the public with air travel have been, like maintaining airports, etc.
Airlines pay landing fees though, they definitely aren’t using the airport for free.
Yeah, but from A to B the plane does not use man made infrastructure and planes are for longer journeys than typical trains. Two airports cost a lot less than the constant maintenance of hundreds of miles of tracks, signaling, crossings, bridges and tunnels, forest overgrowth etc. plus the road infrastructure needed to maintain all parts of the train track corridor, even if it’s a dirt road, it needs minimum maintenance.
You are correct, but I think the airports are privately owned though, it’s just they need a lot less to maintain them in relative terms.
Privatised railroads
Well. In the UK the rails and infrastructure used to be privately owned. But it turned out a private company couldn’t be trusted with that level of safety within their remit. So it returned to government control quite some tine ago.
The train companies are private though. Well except for a handful that failed to meet requirements.
Google Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield rail crashes if you wanna know more.
Oh I remember why. I was considering including links to some of the causes of the end of railtrack. But I thought it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to those already here that private companies and safety are seldom bedfellows.