20 years ago I backpacked around Europe on a Eurail pass for all of April and part of May. I even paid the supplement for the high speed trains.
Most of the time, the trains were all but empty.
I think eventually Boston-NYC type routes will be handled by quad-copter type drones that land right in the city center. That type of passenger rail will be obsolete
For one, that was 20 years ago. Ridership has increased significantly since through a combination of deliberate EU policy and efforts to remove the barriers that made long distance rail journeys so terrible decades ago. Old experiences riding long distance international trains (likely at non-peak hours), outside peak tourist season aren't necessarily representative of the modern experience.
Passenger rail competes with highways, not airplanes.
Not entirely true… Eurostar killed London to Brussels and London to Paris flight numbers
Doesn't invalidate what I said.
Well it kinda does… over shorter distances planes compete with trains
I far prefer taking the train from London to Amsterdam over flying and it's slightly longer time wise
For Paris and Brussels it's about the same time