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Hey, I saw a brand new BART rail car in Omaha a few weeks ago! It was heading west on interstate 80, on a trailer, being pulled by a semi truck... I couldn’t

Hey, I saw a brand new BART rail car in Omaha a few weeks ago! It was heading west on interstate 80, on a trailer, being pulled by a semi truck... I couldn’t help but feel like there was something wrong with that situation. A few years ago, I saw a big line of brand new VIA rail locomotives (the Canadian version of Amtrak) heading east in Chicago. But at least they were on CN railroad tracks under their own power…

IIAOPSW 4y ago
That has to do with FRA rules. In short, mainline passenger railcars are held to a certain standard of crash-worthiness with freight trains. An excessive standard many will say but none the less its a rule. Subways and metro trains, provided they don't share track with the national network, aren't held to that standard. That's why your BART car is shipped on a flatbed and not under its own wheels.
- jeffbee 4y ago
  Uh, isn't it also because BART uses a wide gauge?
  - IIAOPSW 4y ago
    shit you're right. I forgot that part. But, if it used standard gauge, you'd still see it being transported in non-train-like ways.