When our family was in Italy in 2011, we had the pleasure of using several train routes that were easy to access and relatively inexpensive. One in particular on a longer stretch paralleled the autoroute (freeway) and it was stunning to see long, welded track sections, ground to perfection.

The train was hauling the mail, literally and figuratively. Once we cleared the urban area (Turin, as I'm recalling) we picked up speed rapidly and it was quite a sight to see the train outpacing the big, fast touring cars (Lancia, M-B, others) as we blasted through the countryside.

There is some discussion that I hope will advance to restore several remaining sections of track in Michigan that would link southeast and southwest parts of the state with northern Michigan. Supporters claim that if we were to be content with top speeds in the 80 mph range, the trip would be about five hours - similar to an automobile but more comfortable - for a relatively low cost. If we wanted 100 mph or better, then the cost would rise by about 10X.