They can do anything they want to. It's called airport security.

RE Bullet Trains: Japan Vs America
There are 2 huge reasons you see bullet trains in Japan and not in the USA (Ditto Europe BTW)

1)Distance (yes - the pun was intended) - The longest Bullet train route is 593 KM, or 368 miles - most are in the 250KM range, or about 175 Miles. Now lets look at just ONE common flying pair in the US - NYC to Chicago - that's 800 air miles, and around 900 track miles due to the fact you can't really go straight - Twice the distance of the LONGEST bullet train route

2)Passenger density. Now, on Honshu, where the Bullet train runs, there is enough passenger load to justify the fixed infrastructure of trains - picture NYC to Chicago - there is an a LOT of open land between where you are only going to pick up a couple of passengers if you stop

About the ONLY place in the US where high speed rail makes sence is in the Northeast Corridor, and guess what? It has the Acella, and before that, the Metroliner. Yep, the Metroliner pokes along at a mere 120 MPH (Acella is slightly faster). North of NYC, in the Boston segment, there ARE problems, but we have just invested in electrifing the rest of the route (Used to switch at New Haven). The big problem there is that the route is VERY twisty due to the fact that you are cutting across river valleys the whole way

Basically, it comes down to economics. It costs a fixed amount per mile to maintain RR tracks. If you double the miles, you double the cost to maintain that track. You now have to carry double the passengers to make up the difference. if most of the land you are crossing doesn't have enough passengers to pay - it just doesn't make sense

I didn't know any of that. Interesting. I see your point.

I still say if Mother Nature had intended us to fly, she would have given us wings. Grin.

Well, as one guy I know put it

"The difference between England and the US is that in England, 100 miles is a long way, and in the US, 100 years is a long time"

If you think about England/France (the TGV), and Japan, the distances are small. In the US, the distances are HUGE. Remember, the US is a continent. You really don't see transcontinental high speed rail anywhere.

BTW another story RE scale:
I once worked with a guy who had some relatives coming in from Europe (where a country like, say France, fits comfortably in an average state). They asked this question = "Should we see the Statue of Liberty in the Morning, and the Grand Canyon in the afternoon, or the Grand Canyon in the Morning, and the Statue of Liberty in the Afternoon?"

They REALLY thought they were close enough together that you could see both in ONE day. But then again, let's face it, you can drive across the average western European country in a day if you push it

Another point not to be ignored in train politics and funding is the fact that Japan and Europe both fully admit and accept that their trains are government provided services for their populations and don't require them to be profitable since they are tax funded. Although Amtrak is federally regulated and owned it is expected to be self-funding and hopefully profitable - never has been and there have been frequent threats of bankruptcy and closure as a result. The japanese wouldn't consider allowing their rail system to go bankrupt nor would the Europeans.

Yes, you're perfectly right !
After my first stay in the USA, I stopped thinking of it as one country, but rather as one half continent : great distances + so many geographical differences + different ways of life + different prononciations + people of different origins (not yet melted in that huge "melting pot" .....).

In France, a "Breton" (leaving in Britanny, west coast) is somewhat different from an "Alsacien" (living in the east, near the german border), or a "Marseillais" (living in Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast). Maxi distances : less than 1000km.

What can be said about WASP's (?) in N.Y. and Navajo people in Arizona, or Utah or New Mexico ?? How many miles between them ?? How many other differences ? And yet, you also are one nation.


Alain