[Publius]

Suppose you live in a small town in flyover country and the nearest airport is 300 to 500 miles away. What then?

[Paladin2]

What then?

Automobile, or The Dog

[Dr. Sivana]

Suppose you live in a small town in flyover country and the nearest airport is 300 to 500 miles away. What then?

Then the odds of having a train stop near you is quite low. If there were train stops at all such towns, they could not be the high-speed rail everyone wants, and you may as well take your own car or Greyhound. For many in rural locales, that is a feature, not a bug.

[DuncanWaring]

The nearest railway station is probably also 300 to 500 miles away.

And I doubt that there are many people in the continental US who live more than 100 miles away from at least one scheduled-service airport.

[j. earl carter]

Suppose you live in a small town in flyover country and the nearest airport is 300 to 500 miles away. What then?

I'd suggest driving a car. I really doubt the typical person has an Amtrak station closer than the nearest airport.

As far as highways being crowded: This is really only true when you get to the cities. In between cities, traffic generally flows well. The city traffic isn't constant for the full 24 hours. It is often possible to plan your trip so that you don't ever experience traffic when driving.

The exception is the east coast from Richmond VA up to Boston. This section of I 95 is always a mess, and it's not surprising that's the one area of the country where Amtrak does well.

[PTBAA]

“Suppose you live in a small town in flyover country and the nearest airport is 300 to 500 miles away. What then?”

Then you decide how to solve what is a personal problem, not a societal one.

[Carriage Hill]

You drive.

[Osage Orange]

I’d say you were in paradise....