"Why not just expand airports or build hyperloop?" Because neither solves the actual problem.
The key insight
Short-haul flights (under 500 miles) are the least efficient use of airport capacity. HSR handles these trips better while freeing airports for what they do best: long-haul travel.
The airport capacity problem
Major US airports are already at or near capacity. LAX, JFK, O'Hare, Atlanta—they're congested, and expansion is incredibly expensive and politically difficult.
Here's the thing: a huge portion of that capacity is consumed by short-haul flights that HSR could serve better. The LA-SF air corridor alone sees 4+ million passengers per year. Free up those slots, and airports can handle more long-haul international flights—the trips where planes actually make sense.
This isn't theoretical. When Spain built HSR between Madrid and Barcelona:
- The train captured 60%+ of the travel market
- Airlines reduced short-haul flights
- Both airports gained capacity for other routes
What about hyperloop?
Look, we'd love for hyperloop to work. But:
- No commercial hyperloop exists anywhere in the world
- After 10+ years, the longest test track is under 1 mile
- The engineering challenges (thermal expansion, emergency evacuation, maintaining a near-vacuum over hundreds of miles) remain unsolved
- HSR is proven technology operating safely in 20+ countries right now
Betting on hyperloop instead of HSR is like refusing to buy a car in 1920 because flying cars might exist someday.
What about buses?
Bus rapid transit is great for urban and short regional trips. But for 200-400 mile corridors:
- Buses can't match HSR speeds (200+ mph vs. 65 mph)
- Bus travel times make day trips impossible
- Buses are subject to highway congestion
- The experience difference affects ridership
Buses complement HSR; they don't replace it.
What about self-driving cars?
Autonomous vehicles might reduce accidents and improve traffic flow, but they don't solve:
- Induced demand: More efficient highways fill up with more cars
- Physical space: You still need 4+ lanes of highway per direction
- Energy efficiency: Individual vehicles will never match trains
- Land use: Car-dependent development remains car-dependent
HSR isn't competing with future technology—it's solving today's problems with proven solutions. And it makes every other mode work better by handling the trips it's best suited for.