[hinckley buzzard]

True. Japan has an extensive rail system but only one short stretch Tokyo to Osaka IIRC is profitable. The rest is a financial sinkhole.

[muawiyah]

Japan's rail system, in the aggregate, probably seems to be heavily subsidized but much of that arises out of the fact that the alternatives would chew up too much real estate ~ given the current technological level of automobiles and buses.

Still, the technology is being developed to automate automobiles ~ there are computer systems actually in place on real motor vehicles traveling around the United States.

They take on the chore of driving the route. They don't need rails or even special marker posts to assist them.

In the long run automated automobiles will be the standard ~ and that long run is coming up fast.