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It's not clear from your phrasing whether you know this already, but America has an extensive freight rail network already. It's the best in the world in fact

It's not clear from your phrasing whether you know this already, but America has an extensive freight rail network already. It's the best in the world in fact. More than 40% of all freight in America uses rail, while in Europe it's less than 20%. Passenger rail is another matter entirely. Common wisdom about trains in America seems to focus on passenger rail (which is infamously abysmal in America.) But that absolutely does not generalize to freight rail.

bobthepanda 5y ago
Freight volume is one story. The comparison is a lot less generous when you compare freight by value. US moves a lot of bulk freight by rail that isn’t particularly high value. I remember reading that freight railroads are sometimes opposed to decarbonization plans because a good deal of their volume is coal and oil.
- robonerd 5y ago
  The rail lines are there, regardless of what they're used for. Whatever structural problems exist in this domain aren't addressed by building more more freight rail.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    that kind of depends on your definition of "problem." One thing that is potentially a problem is that freight rail has been so optimized and cost cut to the bare bones that the network is now extremely brittle. This tends to impact passenger rail more than freight rail (passenger rail is legally supposed to have priority, but in practice this has never been enforced and the freight carriers usually just make passenger rail take the hit instead of freight), but this is a problem in major hubs like Chicago. And I bring up coal and oil, to say that if major changes were to happen in those markets and they dried up, the American freight rail network is not set up to easily pivot to things like fast freight that might take its place, and then we would have a freight rail network that is great for addressing a nonexistent market. Fast freight needs generally straighter, faster lines than what exists today.
    - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
      Well, if that coal & oil thing dwindles down, there is a new demand known. WATER!
andbberger 5y ago
swiss freight rail is the best in the world

bobthepanda 5y ago

Freight volume is one story. The comparison is a lot less generous when you compare freight by value. US moves a lot of bulk freight by rail that isn’t particularly high value. I remember reading that freight railroads are sometimes opposed to decarbonization plans because a good deal of their volume is coal and oil.

robonerd 5y ago
The rail lines are there, regardless of what they're used for. Whatever structural problems exist in this domain aren't addressed by building more more freight rail.
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  that kind of depends on your definition of "problem." One thing that is potentially a problem is that freight rail has been so optimized and cost cut to the bare bones that the network is now extremely brittle. This tends to impact passenger rail more than freight rail (passenger rail is legally supposed to have priority, but in practice this has never been enforced and the freight carriers usually just make passenger rail take the hit instead of freight), but this is a problem in major hubs like Chicago. And I bring up coal and oil, to say that if major changes were to happen in those markets and they dried up, the American freight rail network is not set up to easily pivot to things like fast freight that might take its place, and then we would have a freight rail network that is great for addressing a nonexistent market. Fast freight needs generally straighter, faster lines than what exists today.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 5y ago
    Well, if that coal & oil thing dwindles down, there is a new demand known. WATER!

andbberger 5y ago

swiss freight rail is the best in the world