Originally Posted by
macabus
The oil companies have spent billions lobbying against rail expansion for over 30 years. With oil company profits forecasted at over $100 billion this year, it will be interesting to see whether they can continue to influence the government's reluctance to embrace rail.
No need for conspiracy theories to keep rail a trivial factor in American personal transportation: well understood theories of population density (lack thereof) and transit patterns will do it, except in very select areas, like the Northeast Corridor.