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The collision of the two commuter trains in Washington occured when one train ran into the back of the other. This is fairly common and can be adressed in programming.
You truly hit the proverbial nail on the head in your comments on not counting the costs of convenience. We see this principle at work throughout our society. It is the difference between rational economic decision making and addictive or compulsive consumption. We will have a rational, efficient, and conveniently integrated transportation system when enough people come to the same conclusions. The choices made will be based on the cost to move a given number of pepole or tons of freight a given distance. We currently measure vehicles by passenger miles per gallon of fuel. The value of our time is a measure of convenience. This is not a complete accounting of costs but is a useful comparison between alternatives. We might compare how far we can travel in say, four hours and the cost to do so. The cost of infrastructure is paid in depreciation costs. Safety is measured in casualties per million passenger miles traveled.
I expect that as the details emerge, the high speed maglev system will fit an important segment between air travel and highway use. A 250 mph train could cover 1600 miles/day with stops every 500 miles. An express bus would cover only 400 miles a day with one stop. An electric personal vehicle has a 30 mile radius and would be part of a feeder system. Most of our personal errands or commuting falls within 25 miles. Within that radius a streamlined electric bicycle averaging 20 mph is cost competitive with a single driver in an automobile. Familys or other groups may select a van for social purposes.
I need to get back to my primary activity of building fairings, just make sure there are bike racks on the maglev.
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