Hatunen wrote on Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:00:24 -0700:

Hatunen wrote:
On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:40:55 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Tom P wrote:
JamesStep wrote:
One factor that's often not considered is that around 25%
of people consider themselves nervous flyers, according
to some surveys. Many of these people would probably
prefer train travel if it was comparable to airlines in
cost and time.

James

I commute regularly 250 miles inside Germany, sometimes by
plane, sometimes by rail. It is comparable in terms of
cost and time - but as time goes by I am getting more
nervous travelling by high speed train than by air. Trains
are intrinsically less safe than airplanes for many
reasons- - an airplane has two engines. If one stops, it
carries on flying. A train has dozens of wheels and axles.
If just one of these breaks at high speed, you're dead.

So how many people have died as a result of a single wheel
or axle on a train breaking?

101 on the InterCityExpress near Eschede, Germany in 1998.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterCityExpress

You're late--this has already been discussed.

Not when I posted it. And I'm one of the ones who discussed
it.

There is an interesting article in today's Daily Telegraph maintaing
that train travel in NW Europe is faster and cheaper than planes:
http://tinyurl.com/6k8vyc

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not