Originally Posted by Roody

I don't know either if good rail could compete here. But competition isn't really something that can be known, since highways were given every advantage by government while railways were being starved out of existence. There has never been free competition in the transportation sector--nor should there be. Transportation is part of the "common good" that can most efficiently be provided by government, not by the private sector. So it's kind of foolish to talk about competition between highways and railways. This form of competition doesn't even exist now, never has, and never will. Nor should it.

As for property rights, the Roberts Court has pretty much written those off with it's eminent domain rulings. Even private developers can now confiscate private homes to build shopping malls or apartment complexes, so it shouldn't be too hard to take over the land for public projects like a railway or highway.