- Paris to Bordeaux by plane is $430 (380EUR) right now, 2 days before Christmas but if you look at a less interesting time of year, like February, most days you're looking at $71 (62EUR) (per ITA Matrix with prices in EUR and Paris as sales city).
- The flight itself is only 75 minutes but right now, it takes 45 minutes to get from Paris to CDG and 25 minutes from BOD to Bordeaux, for a total of 145 minutes travel time. Add at least say half an hour to get through security and get to your gate and you're at 175 minutes total trip time.
- Paris to Bordeaux by train is $126 (111EUR) right now but like air, is much cheaper at a less interesting time of year. Most of January is only $18 (16 EUR) (per oui.sncf).
- It takes 153 minutes from the center of Paris to the center of Bordeaux by train (metro to Gare Montparnasse, then TGV to Bordeaux).
So right now, you're looking at $126 + 153 minutes for train or $430 + 175 minutes by plane. Later, you're looking at $18 + 153 minutes by train or $71 + 175 minutes by plane.
For this particular trip, I think the train is clearly a winner.
Small correction: It's 2 hours from Paris to Bordeaux.
That plane leaving SFO isn’t stopping in Fresno.
I suppose when you’re contriving an example, you’re hoping that people aren’t really paying attention.
Unfortunately, now it’s incredibly expensive to build HSR.
China, the same size as the US, will have 25,000 miles of HSR within a few years.
Your calculus is wrong but let’s just check back in 2025. At some point, we’ll realize the advantage that all that HSR gives China.
The population density of Kansas and Montana is quite low. America is quite large.
However, Los Angeles and New York, San Francisco, etc are much more densely populated than Spain.
In America, gas is $3-4/gal, the flight from LA to SF (about 1 hour) is $200. Also, don't forget European cities were designed for pedestrians, while in the US, they were built for cars.
I would say the most efficient way to travel in France is by train, while in the US, it is by plane.