We tend to avoid 'level crossings' in the UK. Bridges, cuttings and viaducts
solve the problem.
OK, that reflects the fact G.B. was built-up a long time before the USA
was; in the USA, towns and cities sprung up along railways; as I'm sure
you know even to this day there are many sparsely-populated parts.
As a result of some high-profile grade-crossing tragedies (such as a
school bus stalling out in heavy traffic and being stopped on the tracks)
there is increasing pressure to phase out many of these crossings but of
course the question arises of who pays for it annd/or who is going to be
eminent-domained off their land
My point is all forms of large scale energy production and distribution
have hidden costs attached to them; the hidden costs of solar-to-hydrogen
seem much lower in human terms than fossil-fuels and nuclear when it comes
to producing electricity.
Hydro nowadays, there's simply no more rivers to dam up big enough to
make it worthwhile for Big Energy.
If someone can leverage obsolescent silicon-production infrastructure,
take advantage of tax-law quirks, and has access to large areas of "junk"
land with plenty of sunshine to produce hydrogen in quantities enough to
replace coal and at the same time repurpose that coal into motor and turn
into motor and turbine fuels at a market-attractive price and turn a
profit while he's at it GREAT
.
