DoDo estimated the power of an Airbus 380 (I think) at 65MW, while TGV clocked in at 10MW and ICE at 8MW. The number of passengers is comparable.
So you need the time of travel to be 6 or 7 times shorter to make up the difference. Airliners are not more than 2 or 3 times faster than high-speed trains (depending on whether you consider top or average speed) and the train has at least a couple of hours head start because of airport procedures (check-in and luggage collection at a minimum, not to speak of customs checks and longer check-in times for intercontinental flights).
So I don't think Air can beat rail on energy efficiency by passenger-mile. Even less on freight by tonne-mile. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
To be exact,
Not to mention, most people who have the money will gladly buy their way out of spending days cooped up on a train.
I don't see air transport as such a huge problem. Give a few ChE's the economic motivation and we'll rearrange the molecules of biodiesel to make acceptable jet fuel. The only real problem I see off the top is branching the chains enough to have a freeze point at the -40 to -44 required.
Right now, I'll gladly buy my way out of airport hassles and crammed seats, and take leisurely train rides. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
From London to Paris? train hands down.
From LA to NY ?? give me the plane. especially given how lousy our trains are.
But then you can start playing around with the number of seats in various classes and so forth. A business calss seat takes something like the space of 2-3 economy class seats but tickets sell for a much "better" multiple than that.
My guesstimate is that a "normal flight" uses 5l/100km (45MPG) per person.
Kerosene needs to be taxed like other fuels, and plane ticket prices should adjust accordingly. On a short haul flight, say 1,000km, a 1 EUR/l tax would add about 50 EUR per ticket (and thus 500 EUR per ticket on a long haul flight) - that would reduce the number of flights but would certainly not kill the industry. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
