With the help of the designer's clarifications in the forums, I've updated the rules by clarifying language, removing errors, adding more examples of how game mechanics work, and adding a few bits about the differences in the original board and the new "updated art" board.
After reading through it a few times I think I've gotten it to the point where even someone with no train game experience (such as myself) should now be able to "get" it.
Now 18 pages.
(Side note: this also turns out great when printed in booklet format).