How much money do the feds pour into roads for OTR trucks? How much money goes into airports, air traffic control, and security? Yet, the WSJ pisses and moans that the railroads are "subsidized" when they are supposed to operate and fund maintainence-of-way their trackbed solely on operating revenues? Pull federal dough for highways and air travel and see how long they last.
Of course the trucks help pay for the roads (gas and tire taxes, plus all of the various state tags)