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The difficulty with the proposed high-speed train line is that a used plane can be bought for one-third the price of the train line, and the plane, which is just as fast, can fly anywhere. The train would be a fixed linear system, and we live in a world that is spreading out in all directions and in which consumers choose free-wheel systems (cars, buses, aircraft), which do not have fixed routes. Thus, a sufficient market for the train will not exist. Which of the following, if true, most severely weakens the argument presented above?

1. Cars, buses, and planes require the efforts of drivers and pilots to guide them, whereas the train will be guided mechanically.
2. Cars and buses are not nearly as fast as the high-speed train will be.
3. Planes are not a free-wheel system because they can fly only between airports, which are less convenient for consumers than the high-speed train's stations would be.
4. The high-speed train line cannot use currently underutilized train stations in large cities.

Correct answer: Planes are not a free-wheel system because they can fly only between airports, which are less convenient for consumers than the high-speed train's stations would be.

Solution

The argument assumes that planes are a free-wheel system and therefore a better consumer choice than a fixed train line. If planes are actually constrained to airports and are less convenient than train stations, then the comparison weakens and the conclusion about insufficient market demand is undermined. This directly attacks the core premise of the argument.

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