Also suffering were the passenger trains of the railroads, however, the traffic demands of WW2 itself delayed the overall abandonment of passenger rail service. On commuter and lightly traveled lines railroads responded by buying self-propelled diesel coaches like these. These Budd coaches were new in the early sixties. After the war, returning servicemen generated an increased demand for those things that were put off due to the war effort. Among these demands were new automobiles.
Automobiles require roads, and the governments of the country responded.
Perhaps no where was it more obvious than in California where the freeway system burgeoned, particularly in the Los Angeles area. This new highway system contributed significantly to the dismantling of the Southern Pacific commuter railway system for Los Angeles. Visit some automotive museums, etc. Intercity passenger service survived on the business traveler. Additional competition from passenger airlines took most business travelers from the rails by the 1960's.