Originally Posted by
BlueMoon
It is actually costlier on many routes to take the train in the EU than it is to fly (thanks to EasyJet and RyanAir). Not to mention flying takes must less time. Not to mention the infrastructure for rail is just as much a PITA and expensive to build as that for aviation.
The US is far to large for the type of rail used in Europe, it makes sense in places like the northeast corridor, but I'm not taking a train from NYC to CLT, or DTW to BOS. I had a friend take a train from Chicago to NYC jsut to try it, it took 24 hours (thanks to a 4 hours delay on the tracks).
What we really need is some alternative type of fuel for aviation...be it Algae, liquid coal, or what have you.
What we really need is to drill for our own oil, of which we have plenty, and give OPEC the middle finger. Unless you change the laws of physics, alternative bio fuels won't power airplanes. Not enough energy per molecule.