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Ask the pilot
Airport congestion and flight delays are making travelers insane. A look at what will and won't solve the problem.
By Patrick Smith [2007-10-05]

  • one word: trains

    James Kunstler has, for years, been suggesting that we get usable regional passenger rail working again. The air-travel slow-downs are largely the fault of all those tiny commuter jets carrying 50 people at a time. Or less. If regional rail was working the way it could, you could eliminate a lot of those regional jets, and travellers would not have to take that much more time to get where they're going. Maybe a lot less, in some cases.

    To paraphrase Kustler: the United States used to have a passenger rail system that was the envy of the world. Now we have a passenger rail system that the Bulgarians would be ashamed of (no slam to Bulgaria, btw)... this problem could be fixed easily with a complete reimagining of our regional passenger rail system.

    the fact that it hasn't been done is as much a matter of ignorance and lack of will, as it is technical or financial obstacles.

    -- had_enough
    [Read had_enough's other letters]
    Thursday, October 4, 2007 07:48 PM
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