A railroad will use dramatically less fuel to transport heavy products far better than a diesel truck. With fuel prices being the driving cost of moving all products we are used to, in the near future, products will be canned and shipped by the slower cheaper rail system. Light rail will take over a dramatic share of transportation of people who travel less than 600 miles.
Just look at europe. When I was there, the most common transportation was by rail. They have dealt with fuel prices much longer than we have. Once people find how relaxing it is to travel by rail, they will joke at being stuffed into a childs seat and paying for their luggage. Not to mention the poor customer service and the inability to predict when you get to your destination.
Imagine arriving relaxed from not being in traffic jams with your fuel gauge dropping like the dollar. We need to spend close to a trillion dollars repairing our infrastucture, let's spend a significant portion on light rail, high speed rail, and rail safety. Cars were fun but their time has passed.
Marc
