[Bernard]

Based on recent events in the Pacific Northwest, I would think they would be better off building a highway instead of a railroad. Whether the vehicles are powered by fossil fuels or electronics, the transportation could be bypassed as needed in the event of an emergency, and the locals would gain the benefits of locating service businesses near exits along the highway.

Of course, that last one is pretty free-enterprise, so maybe socialists won't like it, but still; a modern railroad with limited access rights seems very 1% in nature.

[tom h]

Morales is a Marxist and government-owned railways are inherently Marxist too.

Highways allow people to travel freely; railroads constrain you to travel when the government sets the timetable and on a government owned asset. The jobs are all government too, so there is more possibility for political patronage.