"By your "you still need a car, so we can't have trains" logic we wouldn't have aircraft either, and yet, somehow, the airline industry is doing pretty well in the US. "
entirely different. people only occasionally use planes. so car rental upon arrival or whatever is justified. getting people to pick you up from the airport is still a chore for most people however.
trains are more a daily transport solution, and as such you need a cheap and good solution for the final leg of the journey.
as for europe, they also have high population density like japan. i wouldn't worry about it, this will happen organically. oil prices will rise, population will rise, people move to the cities. spending on prestige projects is hard to justify when other needs are not being met.
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"By your "you still need a car, so we can't have trains" logic we wouldn't have aircraft either, and yet, somehow, the airline industry is doing pretty well in the US. "
entirely different. people only occasionally use planes. so car rental upon arrival or whatever is justified. getting people to pick you up from the airport is still a chore for most people however.
trains are more a daily transport solution, and as such you need a cheap and good solution for the final leg of the journey.
as for europe, they also have high population density like japan. i wouldn't worry about it, this will happen organically. oil prices will rise, population will rise, people move to the cities. spending on prestige projects is hard to justify when other needs are not being met.