Train travel to move people efficiently. What a concept (here in the KY-ana tolling Mecca).

As we pursue the further glorification of automotive transport through the elephantine boondoggle of the Ohio River Bridges Project, sensible folks in Europe ponder the benefits accrued from high speed rail.

Frankfurt by train, faster than flying; After Paris and Brussels, direct high-speed train service to Germany expected to run from 2013, from the Guardian on line.

A German high-speed train will visit Britain for the first time next month on a dry run for a direct rail service between London and Frankfurt.

... Eurostar, the Paris and Brussels service that operates from St Pancras, has been a success since its 1994 debut, now carrying more than 9 million passengers and taking three-quarters of the air and rail market between London and the French and Belgian capitals.

DB is considering a route that would start in Frankfurt – the heart of Germany's finance industry – with possible stops at Cologne and Brussels en route to London. The service is expected to grow the high-speed rail market between London and the continent by around 10%, carrying more than 1 million passengers per year.

The Guardian also considers the aesthetic benefits of this service.

Beyond Frankfurt - the Rhine Valley

Plans by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway, to run direct train services between London and Frankfurt will gladden the hearts of innkeepers, castellans and walking and cycle tour operators across the historic and beautiful, riverine landscapes of the Rhine Palatinate, known since 1946 as the German federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

The German high-speed ICE trains already travel the countryside adjacent to the Rhine Valley, reducing the need to run long distance trains through the riverside line. We took one in 2007. If you wish to go quickly between Frankfurt and Cologne, you can. If you wish to dawdle beneath the awning at a Rhineland vineyard, you can.

Options. How quaint.