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I would beg to disagree here. At least from my own personal perspective. I hear politicians and campaigners foaming at the mouth while they condemn rail transit as a wasteful if not even dangerous boondoggle. But I rarely meet people who share those talking points. I meet a lot of people who...

I agree that it's unlikely, but I prefer to call it a long shot. There is definitely a justification, it's just maybe not the right moment in time.

I'm not sure whether a massive glass roof is a good idea in the Californian climate. Must need a ton of energy to run the AC.

Also, California HSR was pretty controversial when it was first kicked off (the public vote was pretty tight, with something like 53 percent saying yes), so I expect promoters low-balled the estimates to get it approved at all. Maybe intentionally but maybe also (and I think this is more likely)...

I wonder if a review of the trolley system might lead to any revivals of any of the suspended services?

I think typically when this type of thing happens is that you get a counter-reaction with crews being more zealous in enforcing the rules, the seat-belt sign being switched on more defensively etc. So the odds of it happening again will probably be lower for a while, until the shock effect wears...

I wasn't there of course, but sometimes people just forget, especially on returning to their seats from visiting the bathroom or standing up to retrieve something from an overhead locker. It is actually advisable to get up from time to time on longer flights and stretch one's legs. Not doing so...

Might also be they are concerned about somebody using some non-approved detergent or cleaning fluid that is not permitted and that could damage the coating of the glass or the rubber surrounds or something else.

On some larger airliners you get some of the seats facing backwards in business class. I guess because they can use the space more efficiently by alternating their direction. Also sometimes the jumper seats used by cabin crew face backwards. I don't know what the rationale for this is, but it...

Didn't California end up taking much of the money Florida rejected? From memory, much of the HSR money directed at the NEC was required to catch up on maintenance or replace end-of-life infrastructure rather than deliver substantial improvements.

This may be true, but typically cities are not called upon to finance inter city rail service. This is the call of the states if not the federal government. How many other corridor services are supported by cities versus being supported by the states? Being poor is often a matter of...

I understood there are no passenger trains between Pakistan and India, but are the crossings closed to freight also? I heard that there are also plans to build a railway line from India into Myanmar. I'm not sure how that would work with the differing gauges. Was Myanmar ever connected to...

There are gaps on CAT too. Section breakers and such. Also there may be situations where the panto bounces or the contact surface of the wire may be contaminated. On CAT this will not as many or as big a problem as it is on 3rd rail, but it is still something that any electric loco is designed...

So this would be the end of vacuum brakes in India? Or are they still in use on freight, thus requiring the continued use and procurement of dual-braked locomotives? What about the neighboring countries to which India presently runs or might one day run thru trains? Not that any one-sided...

Would there be any precedents for rail service being restored to a route that has become a hiking trail? I can imagine this would be a huge red flag among NIMBYs.

Germany was actually one of the last European countries to drop mask mandates on its trains. You still needed masks on trains at a time that you could go into any restaurant or bar without one. This also led to odd situations on international trains. I was on one such train where one minute...

I find the German DB (bahn.de) website is very good, it provides information for most trains in most European countries, including real-time information when things go wrong.

You got to experience First Class as a student?

Bridges / viaducts also need maintenance, inspections and site access and if the land underneath is being used by a third party there are liability issues towards the third party. Flat easements or earthworks, on the other hand, are on the railroad's own land (often with an additional buffer...