[shreyansj]

Can you give an example of your train trips that are shorter than the flights. It seems like a short flight between SFO-LAX is about ~1.5 hours of sitting-inside-the-tube. I am not aware of a train between these two cities that can do this trip in any significantly less time than that.

[yongjik]

One thing to consider is that train seats are significantly roomier and more comfortable than airline economy seats. This site[1] lists most high-speed trains having seat pitch of >900mm (or 35in), some reaching 1,000mm (39in). According to [2] most airlines have seat pitch of 31-32 in.

[1] https://misc.transport.rail.europe.narkive.com/ffTnAi0D/seat...

[2] https://www.seatguru.com/charts/longhaul_economy.php

[m0zg]

6 feet is 72 inches though. So this is insufficient.

[devonkim]

Wasn't sure which were the apples and oranges to even begin comparing it seems. I was thinking of train trips locally like commuter trains for about 30 - 40 miles v. short flights a state away because for a train trip to be made a route needs to exist, and those tend to be commuter trains. I wouldn't suggest a train to be an aggregately shorter time period for a long distance trip.

Another factor to consider is that total time for air travel for the covid context should include sitting on a tarmac and loading / unloading.

[xvilka]

Building high-speed train track would provide exactly that, something like Shinkansen or CRH trains.

[peacefulhat]

the parent comment is that we should build highspeed trains like the ones in other countries that demolish plane travel time and overall checkin to destination time.