High-speed rail is for persons, not for goods. With high-speed train you can travel from A to B (with A and B being in the 'right' range of course) cleaner and faster than with the highway. And it may actually create a demand for more travel. In France, Marseille had a big housing price increase as the high-speed train brought Marseille 3 hours from Paris (<a href="http://bit.ly/9qPHlM" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/9qPHlM</a>).