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So can't a private railroad company build new tracks? For instance we know that traffic is bound by a interstate highway to get from City A to City B. It clogs
by crisopolis 8y ago
So can't a private railroad company build new tracks? For instance we know that traffic is bound by a interstate highway to get from City A to City B. It clogs with traffic due to a aging bridge and losing lanes.
Can my railroad company, acquire all the land necessary to build a station on both sides and track between them and then start to fan out from there?
Besides the property owners who can stop me?
- antonvs 8y ago> Besides the property owners who can stop me? Lack of profitability.
- burlesona 8y agoEnvironmental review.
- toast0 8y agoGetting mostly straight line access between A and B is going to be amazingly difficult, and more so as you get closer and the property owners get more and more stubborn, because you're invested. 99% of a rail route isn't very useful, and doing a jog around a stubborn parcel owner isn't very possible. Realistically, you need eminent domain, a frontier environment, or a super motivated population.
- niftich 8y agoTo build a rail line (or extension) in the US, you must ask the Surface Transportation Board for authority [1]. They also conduct an analysis of environmental impacts. [1] https://www.stb.gov/stb/public/resources_construct.html https://www.stb.gov/stb/public/resources_construct.html
- betterunix2 8y agoTechnically, yes, but in practice it is an enormous expense that will likely never pay for itself. In New Jersey, laying less than 8 miles of tracks on an existing (abandoned, de-tracked) right-of-way in the middle of nowhere and building one station cost more than $60 million: https://www.njherald.com/20171221/train-station-restored-rail-service-looking-more-likely https://www.njherald.com/20171221/train-station-restored-rai...