Maximum travel time for daytime trains in Japan is about 6 hours--this appears to hold true for conventional and high speed rail.
Travel times on conventional express trains are about the same as travel times driving on the expressway. HSR is much faster...
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...than driving times (Tokyo-Hakata is around 13 hours if you drive), but slower than air travel (Tokyo-Sapporo is about 2 hours flying)
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So I'm inclined to think that the 6-hour limit is a reasonable ceiling for rail service. Counterpoint: China.
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The high-speed line from Beijing to Shenzhen takes something like 8 hours to traverse, and when it opens, Beijing to Urumqi will be 12 hours
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The big question: is this viable outside China, in countries where air travel is more affordable? Is it even viable in China?
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If you had the option to take a 12-hr overnight train from NY to SF, would you, instead of flying? Amtrak currently takes 4 days.
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Will return to this later, I think
#TrainTwitter
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