I wonder what it costs to maintain rolling stock and railway lines with their associated infrastructure.

Planes don't have to maintain bridges and level crossings on their entire route.

Monopoly or near it. Planes have to compete.

Privatization backfiring?

Die DB vereint das schlechte von Zentral- und Osteuropa, aber auch Westeuropa: Teuer UND Scheiße.

Hope that stupid shit stays away from here. Choo choo mothafaker!

#Trains are mostly dead to me. Not just because of price, but also price inconsistency¹, the exclusive info systems² & payment shenanigans³.

1. Train fare from country A to country B can by bought in either country via the national rail provider. Each quote different prices for the same train. (the EU had some agenda to fix this, but apparently it has failed)

2. Tor users are blocked from even seeing which trains are available, and if that exclusivity doesn’t stop you sometimes there are extra hoops to see the prices.

3. Cash payers often have to pay much more than online payers (#warOnCash). Complex promos also make a game of it. E.g. there will be a cross-border weekend fare, but you cannot buy that ticket from your departure point. You have to take a train to the bordering town, get off the train, and buy the cheap cross-border ticket in that station, then get the next train.

Buses are:

• cheaper most of the time
• have open platforms (no blockade against Tor users or CAPTCHAs)
• ironically have lower GHG than trains according to British research

Dang, no wonder America decided to scrap passenger trains altogether and go all-in on planes and cars (and buses if you can't afford either).