News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Regional Air Mobility: Why we don’t plan to operate flights under 20km. Parent comment

Re:Regional Air Mobility: Why we don’t plan to operate fligh... by technofiend on Friday July 24, 2020 @04:36PM (#23944136)
We don't have separate high speed rail tracks like Europe does; we have a single rail system used for slow cargo trains that take priority over passenger trains. Imagine driving everywhere with giant cargo trucks driving 80 km / hr in every lane with no way to pass them and you'll get the picture.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Regional Air Mobility: Why we don’t plan to operate fligh... by machello13 on Friday July 24, 2020 @05:28PM (#23944662)
> slow cargo trains that take priority over passenger trains.

This is only half true. Legally, Amtrak has priority, and railroads are required to cede right-of-way to passenger trains. In practice, the railroads don't cede priority nearly as much as they should. This is an ongoing fight. Amtrak has a whole site about it here: https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Regional Air Mobility: Why we don’t plan to operate fligh... by bobthepanda on Friday July 24, 2020 @05:23PM (#23944614)
One other important thing is that in many places railroads used to have more features like more tracks and electrification.

The interesting thing about American railroads is that unlike all other forms of transportation in the US, railroads pay property tax. Therefore, to reduce tax bills and improve their books for mergers, many railroads tore up their improvements.

[ Parent | on HN ]