4 ms·

I'm arguably not well versed in rail/freight, but if they conclude that part of the issue is a lack of railroad (i.e not enough lines), can't we just unlock a f

• AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  "Unlock a few billion"? Whose few billion? They're going to want you to prove the return on investment before they're willing. And even then they may not, if they think there's a greater return on investment somewhere else. I'm slightly familiar with one project: Adding a third main track from Needles to Barstow, California. Two years ago (I think it was, might have been three) I found a very preliminary survey crew at Ash Hill. They were just establishing the... baseline points, maybe? The fixed locations from which the surveying is done. Now it's two or three years later, and construction has reached (or so I hear) from Needles to Ibis, which is maybe 1/10th of the distance. These things happen over years, not over weeks, even with a billion dollars.
  • cratermoon 4y ago
    Needles to Barstow isn't even a hard build, it's pretty flat and largely sparsely-populated desert. Admittedly it's the Mojave desert, which is harsh and unpleasant place to work outside, but compared to adding another between, say, Barstow and Bakersfield through Boron, Mojave, and over the Tehachapi pass, it's a cakewalk.
• K7PJP 4y ago
  The issue has nothing to do with a lack of railroad. The issue is the insatiable drive for profit by capital in an industry that is already incredibly profitable. I’m also curious who the “we” you mentioned is supposed to refer to.