An environmental argument for increased intercity rail ...

mattfels wrote:If it's so easy to get taxpayers to subsidize intercity passenger trains, then why isn't there a Southerner?

Where? In what country?

There used to be an intercity train by that name on the South Island of New Zealand. During the transition through which New Zealand privatized its passenger-train services, this train got an operating subsidy. When the transition ended and the subsidy ran out, in February 2002, that was the end of the Southerner.

Viability study conducted by the Ministry of Economic Development:
http://www.med.govt.nz/irdev/reg_dev/southerner

News article from the Otago Daily Times, 11 Feb 2002
http://www.newzealandnz.co.nz/discussio ... 000002;p=1