[org.whodat]

had that not happened, we'd have a balance today of rail and road

Wrong, and wrong again. The railroad had all their system in place and refused as the have today to adapt to the times. Railroads may be cost effective on large bulk, but they are not efficient when it comes to time and distance. In short it was taking a train load of freight on the order of three weeks from the west coast to the east coast and that was just time on the train. You would spend another week are two getting the containers on and off the train. That was a few years ago but I don't think they have improved much.

[Chief Engineer]

Railroads used to be tied up in almost everything they did by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Their rates were set, they could not abandon useless track, they could not even improve their system without going thru years of bureaucratic BS to make any changes. They needed the ICC’s permission to lower their rates.

The ICC is now gone, replaced by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) who exercises minimal oversight to assure that railroading remains competitive.

Now the railroads, without the ICC are investing Billions in infrastructure and equipment. They are now able to price their services to reflect competition.

Railroads are competitive in time and cost with trucks over long distances. Ask UPS!

The ideal combination is railroads for the long distance and trucks for the “last mile.”