Editing High-speed rail (section)

===Automobiles and buses===
High-speed rail can accommodate more passengers at far higher speeds than automobiles. Generally, the longer the journey, the better the time advantage of rail over the road if going to the same destination. However, high-speed rail can be competitive with cars on shorter distances, {{convert|0|–|150|km|mi|-1}}, for example for commuting, especially if the car users experience road congestion or expensive parking fees. In Norway, the [[Gardermoen Line]] has made the rail market share for passengers from [[Oslo]] to the airport (42&nbsp;km) rise to 51% in 2014, compared to 17% for buses and 28% for private cars and taxis.<ref>[http://www.osloby.no/nyheter/Rekordmange-kollektivreisende-til-og-fra-Oslo-Lufthavn-7949419.html Rekordmange kollektivreisende til og fra Oslo Lufthavn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505153741/http://www.osloby.no/nyheter/Rekordmange-kollektivreisende-til-og-fra-Oslo-Lufthavn-7949419.html |date=5 May 2016 }}, in Norwegian.</ref> On such short lines−particularly services which call at stations close to one another−the [[acceleration]] capabilities of the trains may be more important than their maximum speed. [[Extreme commuting]] has been enabled by high-speed rail with commuters covering distances by rail daily that they would not usually by car. Furthermore, stations in less densely populated areas within the larger [[conurbation]] of larger cities, like [[Montabaur railway station]] and [[Limburg Süd railway station]] between Frankfurt and Cologne, are attractive for commuters as the housing prices are more affordable than in the central cities - even when taking into account the price of a yearly ticket for the train. Consequently, Montabaur has the highest per capita rate of Bahn Card 100 in Germany<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schlesiger |first=Christian |date=2018-01-12 |title=Deutsche Bahn: Verkaufte Bahncards 100 auf Rekordwert |url=https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/dienstleister/deutsche-bahn-verkaufte-bahncards-100-auf-rekordwert/20833438.html |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=www.wiwo.de |language=de}}</ref> — a ticket that allows unlimited travel on all trains in Germany for a fixed yearly price.

Moreover, a typical passenger rail carries 2.83 times as many passengers per hour per meter width as a road. A typical capacity is the [[Eurostar#Rolling stock|Eurostar]], which provides capacity for 12 trains per hour and 800 passengers per train, totaling 9,600 passengers per hour in each direction. By contrast, the [[Highway Capacity Manual]] gives a maximum capacity of 2,250 passenger cars per hour per lane, excluding other vehicles, assuming an average vehicle occupancy of 1.57&nbsp;people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2003/fcvt_fotw257.html |publisher=US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy |title=Fact #257: 3 March 2003 – Vehicle Occupancy by Type of Vehicle}}</ref> A standard twin track railway has a typical capacity 13% greater than a 6-lane highway (3 lanes each way),{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} while requiring only 40% of the land (1.0/3.0 versus 2.5/7.5 hectares per kilometre of direct/indirect [[land consumption]]).{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} The Tokaido Shinkansen line in Japan, has a much higher ratio (with as many as 20,000 passengers per hour per direction). Similarly, commuter roads tend to carry fewer than 1.57 persons per vehicle (Washington State Department of Transportation, for instance, uses 1.2 persons per vehicle) during commute times. Compare this to the capacity of typical small to mid-sized airliners like the [[Airbus A320]] which in a high-density arrangement has [[Airbus A320 family#Specifications|186 seats]] or the [[Boeing 737-800]] which has an absolute maximum seated capacity of [[Boeing 737 Next Generation#Specifications|189]] in a high-density single-class layout - as employed for example by [[Ryanair]]. If a business or first class section is provided, those airliners will have lower seating capacities than that.