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Originally Posted by bikegypsy
That makes sense. Should we apply this logic to other modes of transportation as well? Should we monitor our driving speeds to match our population? How about flying? Planes out of YUL are slower than the ones out of CDG?
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It isn't about monitor our driving speeds but about building transportation infrastructure. Would you build a large international airport in a small, remote town? Would you build a controlled access, divided highway for the sole purpose of connecting two small communities?
HSR is very expensive to build. The higher ridership from the higher populations means that the cost of building the high speed line can be divided among more riders.
Also don't forget that the 1 hour travel time between Paris and Lille is the fastest non-stop train, but not the only option. They also have slower regional trains that take over 2 hours. This full gambit of options is possible because of the high demand due to the large populations.
The other difficulty getting funding for HSR is because while half of Canada's population lives within the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, half the voting public does not and thus do not care if there is HSR in the corridor.