Originally Posted by moondog

I've noticed that trains that stop in ~7 places en route are often empty in BJ or SH, but if you go the distance, you can count on this not being the case for long. I felt a bit silly when I splurged for that upgrade last week (pre crash) because 2nd class was half full and 2 second class seats > 1 first class seat. However, at least in my car, every seat was filled at least once during the journey, so perhaps the additional coin was well spent.

In spite of the crash, my interest in flying back and forth between BJ and SH remains close to nil. While I certainly don't fancy meeting my maker in a train wreck, I feel compelled to weigh those odds (WAG = 1:100,000,000) against a 1 hour flight delay (~1:3), and choose the former. As an aside, the LA crash puts things into perspective, statistically speaking (train ridership in China is significantly greater than that in the USA).

I'm planning on starting a new thread about HSR when this current tragedy dissipates because I like it, to the extent that I'm willing to forego miles, and because I feel obligated to use it for the greater good (e.g. I want those random cities in the middle to blossom, in spite of my inability to profit from such).

In closing, I agree that the MOR got caught with its pants down and sincerely regret the loss of life. That having been said, it's impossible to deny the fact that this new infrastructure is a game changer. My money and my mouth are in the same place.