Modern airport security is fatal for overland airline flights of short durations. An hour by train? You could drive or train that in the time between when you're told you should be at the airport to the time the plane actually takes off
Yes. New Orleans to Texas cities like Houston can make sense but not Mobile. Also public transit isn't great in either New Orleans or Mobile. It's not much more than a two hour drive. People will just get in a car.
> Yes. New Orleans to Texas cities like Houston can make sense but not Mobile.
It made sense until Katrina destroyed a bunch of the infrastructure and Amtrak had to stop running. The fight is to restore service, not create a new service.
My comment was in reference to flying. Although I don't know what the pre-Katrina train traffic looked like on that route, it's not unreasonable to have a train connecting the Gulf coastal communities in that area. Though of course you're competing with a not terribly long drive.
Went to New Zealand. My $30 ticket plane ticket from Christchurch to Hokitika was probably subsidized, but the sheer ease and accessibility of the flight was remarkable. I just got on the plane. No security, hardly a briefing. Walked out onto the ramp and got on. The plane was a Q-400, the size of which would make TSA security mandatory in the US. I know airlines like Surf Air in California were trying to specialize in small-plane (Pilatus PC-12, which is less than 12,500 lbs) but I haven't seen them grow much.
