Originally Posted by Machete_

It'll be fantastic to be able to travel all over Eurasia without flying on trains that go almost as fast as planes, and with no bullshit 4 hour security check in for international flights and with train stations typically being in the center of cities rather than 70kms away, door to door travel may actually be faster than flying even for long trips.

Not to mention trains are WAY more fuel efficient than flying so peak oil won't affect Eurasian travel as much

http://dvice.com/archives/2010/03/china-plans-mas.php

While America is trying to figure out how to connect Disney and Vegas with a maglev train, China is going forward with plans to connect a whopping 17 nations with a high-speed rail network. The plan right now is for three major lines: one that connects Beijing to London via the Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel) and continues on to Singapore; a second line that covers Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, and Thailand; and a third that would bridge China, Russia and Germany to other European railways. And, just when you thought it wouldn't get crazier: China wants to get this done in the next 10 years.