My point exactly, if in inverse. It’s been a slow, long-term decline, almost like it was encased in amber at times, but the likes of Obama caused very painful and obvious damage at a time when they needed help. The coal mining industry was vibrant there once (I can remember what seemed like miles of coal cars slowly rolling through town on a single train), but once the EPA started mandating clean coal, a lot of mines went out of business. Other industries suffered, as well. Last year, the Westvaco paper plant had to close down, and it was a hammer blow to one of the most economically-depressed regions in America. Been that way for decades now. The steel industry is shot to hell, and we were a major artery for Pittsburgh to utilize, being two hours away. Businesses in every sector are finding faster, cheaper ways of moving goods and commodities. As much as I hate to say it, I don’t see a time when rail is going to see a post-WW II style boom again, even if we had a white-hot economy. Too many other mitigating factors in 21st Century America now. And I’ve always been pro-rail (although I may be a little culturally biased there).
Well, obviously, rail transport has an advantage (in it’s cheapness) to road transport in the contagion.
Overall though not so much.
Rail is cheap for bulk. There’s a permanent advantage there.
The value of it may ebb or wane at times.
Sometimes you want something fast, sometimes you want it cheap.