Actually rail transit is already moving to a far more economical hybrid of virtual tracks- meaning all of the benefits rail promises with no track construction because it uses 21st Century technology rather than 19th Century technology.
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Virtual track rail could be implemented on the existing rail guideway and provide bus like pickup at bus stations in local communities, join up onto rail guideways as a train, then go back to be smaller passenger units dropping people off at local bus stops. A SINGLE SEAT and LOW COST solution.
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Virtual track rail (meaning no tracks required) is going in all over China and the companies providing it have factories already in the US and the systems are FTA approved. Absolutely nothing stopping this brilliant, low cost 21st century solution except for rail crooks wanting $300 million a mile construction profits and kickbacks.
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The future of transit is here now and going worldwide, but not in crooked, corrupt Honolulu.