COMMENT: It’s time to think outside the box on wheels

Numerous industries and companies throughout history have gone from powerhouse to poorhouse because they were blind to the innovative new directions the world was taking. The rail industry, for example, played a vital role in driving US economic growth in the 19th century, enabling the industrial revolution in the northeast and the expansion of the American frontier in the west. However, eclipsed by the move towards automobiles and aviation, trains lost out to other modes of transportation in the 20th century.