XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: sna6345@gmail.com   
      
   "J. Clarke"  wrote in message   
   news:MPG.2d587bec3066dcc898a4a7@news.newsguy.com...   
   > In article ,   
   > droleary@8usenet2013.subsume.com says...   
   >>   
   >> In article ,   
   >>  "John F. Eldredge"  wrote:   
   >>   
   >> > On Fri, 31 Jan 2014 23:42:51 -0800, David Friedman wrote:   
   >> >   
   >> > > On 1/30/14, 1:30 PM, Leszek Karlik wrote:   
   >> > >>   
   >> > >> Rapid rail is pretty nice in densely populated countries, which I   
   >> > >> guess   
   >> > >> is why China is so keen on it.   
   >> > >   
   >> > > China as a whole isn't that densely populated, although parts of it   
   >> > > may   
   >> > > be--it has a large population but also a large area. Its population   
   >> > > density is about 2/3 that of Germany, a little over half that of the   
   >> > > U.K.   
   >> >   
   >> > However, the eastern part, particularly the southeast, is VERY densely   
   >> > populated, and therefore well suited to rail traffic.  The northwest,   
   >> > by   
   >> > contrast, is mostly scantily-settled desert.   
   >>   
   >> People need to stop confusing cause and effect.  Trains don't only start   
   >> making sense *after* a population has exploded, but they were often the   
   >> *reason* the masses could get to far off lands in the first place!  Any   
   >> country that still has an interest in mobility that scales is *not*   
   >> going to go car-centric, self-driving or not.   
   >   
   > Please provide an example of "far off lands" that were settled _because_   
   > of trains.   
      
   Siberia. Just about unique in that regard tho.   
      
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