"Despite the decline of rail transport in our lives, it remains an essential component of our economy. Because rail transport makes sense."

It makes sense because of low costs of transportation. It has gone out of favour for transportation of poeple because we found cars and buses more convenient. Cars allow door to door transport at our own beckoning. How could rail compete?
However when it comes to cheap mass transport at a distance there is no equal.
Trucks should be used only for local deliveries. HOWEVER we also got used to trucks for mid and long distance transport (like drug addicts) for same reason = convenience. In doing so we waste a non-renewable resource, namely oil. There will be a price to pay for that in not too distant future. Solution is that we will have to return to mass transport by railways and probably electric instead of diesel.

Revisiting another alternative:
Some are thinking air ships for large transport, but these are too dependent and vulnerable to weather conditions. Hence dough convenient not reliable enough.

I hope this recent discussion has satisfied all those who have not had the opportunity to participate a few years ago.

Again, Thanks Ringer & Hoov for your effort to provide the particulars, Ed.