[Eric in the Ozarks]

America has an investment in rail lines that can move coal to where it's needed every day.

Not so, natural gas lines.
Imagine you're taking down a 650 MW coal unit due to age. New nat gas boilers are due to replace the coal burners. You have a 4 inch gas line 30 miles away but if you extend a feeder line out to connect, you'll suck the pilot lights out of every hospital and nursing home within 200 miles.

Meanwhile the the rails are taken up for some goody two-shoes nature trail.
Fie !

[thackney]

. New nat gas boilers are due to replace the coal burners. You have a 4 inch gas line 30 miles away but if you extend a feeder line out to connect, you'll suck the pilot lights out of every hospital and nursing home within 200 miles.

That won't happen. A Natural Gas Power Plant is going to be fueled from the 1000 PSI transmission pipeline. It is not going to hooked up to commercial/residential service unless it is so small it won't make a difference.

[Moonman62]

Here’s an overhead view of a 3,750MW natural gas combined cycle plant that FPL built in the past 6 years. They put it next to an existing substation. I don’t think they had any problems getting natural gas to it.

https://www.google.com/maps/@26.6988004,-80.3762091,1678m/data=!3m1!1e3