Zephro posted:

Sure, but there aren't that many trips that you can plan a week or more in advance and that leave at funny times of the day. This is definitely a market but it's not a very big one, and you often see trains defended for their social benefits, as a way of helping people who can't afford cars, or who can't drive for whatever reason, move around the country. But they're actually not at all good at that, and the stupid expense of walk-on fares is one reason (though not the only one, of course - they only go to rail stations, obviously).