Intercity networks, though, intrinsically serve rural counties, because the optimal spacing of stations and normal population distribution in the majority of the US (that is, outside the Northeast Corridor) dictates that, eg, a small city like Coshocton should get a station on a Regional HSR corridor between Pittsburgh and Columbus, which means far superior accessibility to rural areas in that and the neighboring counties than airports can ever provide.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

Mind, the Village of Granville, that was the closest town when I was growing up, and the City of Ravenna, where now live, are roughly the same size, but Granville is probably bigger and certainly more prosperous ... the ambitions of a place when it was established and how things turned out are not always lined up.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.