Remember I almost saw the need desire for a Raleigh-Wilmington rail line, but I had no use for a Salisbury to Asheville, mainly because I don’t think anyone else would have use for it, either.
Turns out Harvard economist Edward Glaeser —via Antiplanner—- says “the case for subsidizing urban mass transit, like the MBTA, is certainly debatable, but it is much stronger than the case for subsidizing rail links between non-coastal cities.” Unfortunately, Glaeser adds, “wisdom seems to take wing whenever politicians start envisioning the shining splendor of fast trains.”
Antiplanner adds “there are always some who think rail lines should be built no matter what the cost and how few people will ride them.”