In a highway, any car can enter and is flexible to switch lanes and the coordination between cars is mostly a responsibility of the drivers. In the railway everything is pre-routed and no surprises are technically possible — dispatchers and planners have more control than the train driver and there is no room for flexibility — you just stay in your rails. What is air like? Can I build my own plane and just join the air traffic without telling anyone?
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Not really like either. Traffic is segregated by altitude with East bound traffic is at odd thousands of feet altitudes and westbound traffic is at even thousands of feet altitudes. Navigation is often done by flying from VORTAC point to VORTAC point, but modern nav equipment can give you a direct route. Flight plans are filed before you take off for commercial flights, but the route can be changed in flight if the weather has become a problem. You change by talking to air traffic control and telling them what you want to do and getting permission to do so.
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