Interesting article on the inefficiencies of high-speed rail in Europe and how it has replaced more affordable "low"-speed trains. It's a model that has potential in other places, but it has disrupted existing connections and costs negatively in Europe. https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/12/high-speed-trains-are-killing-the-european-railway-network.html

High-speed rail travel between Paris and Amsterdam has tripled in cost, in part bc it uses a booking system similar to airlines rather than the flat prices of old rail. So a few early bookers get great deals, and everyone else pays double or triple the old prices.

Night trains were practical because they reduced perceived travel time and saved you a night at a hotel even if they took longer. Of course a shorter travel time can be very convenient, but it comes at such a steep price that there's no reason not to fly instead.

High-speed lines replaced various "slow" lines, decreasing the number of direct connections, and making some trips *longer* as well as more expensive. Even where the travel time is marginally lower, it often involves changing multiple trains, thus making trips less convenient.

High-speed rail is more sustainable relative to planes, but not relative to low-speed rail. So when connections that were meant to replace flights only end up replacing older rail, energy use actually goes up.

The most successful high-speed rail connections are small- or medium-distance ones that connect to cities with major airports, like Frankfurt, and function as connections between airport hubs, enabling more longer-haul plane trips by reducing congestion at airports.

But they don't ultimately reduce demand for flights and only replace very short-distance connecting flights. High-speed trains also create a lot of new demand which is not replacing less sustainable travel methods. The demand is driven by affluent travellers bc prices are high.

High-speed rail also funnels resources away from low-speed - even though the latter is still more widely used. Often it cannot take advantage of maximal speed bc of integrated rail and geography, and average speeds can be well within the range of slow trains.

I've never travelled with HSR, but low-cost airlines are competitive even with low-speed rail in terms of cost. I will generally fly across countries and only use trains for intra-national travel, where I do enjoy them a lot.

It will be hard to compete with low-cost airlines unless they're regulated out of existence.