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US Freight Rail is among the most utilized and most efficient in the world. Freight Rail is actually the reason why our passenger rail sucks so much, because i

US Freight Rail is among the most utilized and most efficient in the world. Freight Rail is actually the reason why our passenger rail sucks so much, because in USA, Freight has priority over passengers. So a lot of our passenger rails sit waiting for the freight-trains to pass.

mulderc 3y ago
It is the other way around. Passenger rail has priority but that law is ignored by freight operators. “For over 50 years, freight railroads have been required by law to provide Amtrak with “preference” to run passenger trains ahead of freight trains. However, many freight railroads ignore the law because it is extremely difficult for Amtrak to enforce it, and as a result, people and the American economy suffer.” https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance#:~:text=For%20over%2050%20years%2C%20freight,trains%20ahead%20of%20freight%20trains https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance#:~:text=For%20ove....
- dragontamer 3y ago
  Oh wow. That's incredible. So legally Passenger Rail has priority, but in practice the freight-corporations bully the passenger lines. Its a difficult situation, because nominally, the freight-rail operators also own those raillines. So a free-market solution is likely not possible. This is just something that needs to be enforced from the top-down.
  - mulderc 3y ago
    A free market solution was never feasible as there are just too many parties and externalities involved. This was always going to be a situation where some type of monopoly would happen at various levels which would likely require some type of regulatory intervention to achieve a Pareto-optimal situation. There are likely solution to the issue that are not top-down, but this isn’t a situation where free market forces will provide the socially optimal outcome.
dubcanada 3y ago
> Freight Rail is actually the reason why our passenger rail sucks so much, because in USA, Freight has priority over passengers. So a lot of our passenger rails sit waiting for the freight-trains to pass. Do you have any sources for this? This doesn't sound correct to me. A train is a queue, there is no priority in regards to crossings that I know of. Edit: I stand corrected, Amtrak report does suggest that freight might have a priority. That report is honestly shocking.
- mulderc 3y ago
  Freight doesn’t have priority, passenger trains have priority according to the law but the law is functionally unenforceable so freight steals priority from passengers.

mulderc 3y ago

It is the other way around. Passenger rail has priority but that law is ignored by freight operators. “For over 50 years, freight railroads have been required by law to provide Amtrak with “preference” to run passenger trains ahead of freight trains. However, many freight railroads ignore the law because it is extremely difficult for Amtrak to enforce it, and as a result, people and the American economy suffer.” https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance#:~:text=For%20over%2050%20years%2C%20freight,trains%20ahead%20of%20freight%20trains https://www.amtrak.com/on-time-performance#:~:text=For%20ove....

dragontamer 3y ago
Oh wow. That's incredible. So legally Passenger Rail has priority, but in practice the freight-corporations bully the passenger lines. Its a difficult situation, because nominally, the freight-rail operators also own those raillines. So a free-market solution is likely not possible. This is just something that needs to be enforced from the top-down.
- mulderc 3y ago
  A free market solution was never feasible as there are just too many parties and externalities involved. This was always going to be a situation where some type of monopoly would happen at various levels which would likely require some type of regulatory intervention to achieve a Pareto-optimal situation. There are likely solution to the issue that are not top-down, but this isn’t a situation where free market forces will provide the socially optimal outcome.

dubcanada 3y ago

> Freight Rail is actually the reason why our passenger rail sucks so much, because in USA, Freight has priority over passengers. So a lot of our passenger rails sit waiting for the freight-trains to pass. Do you have any sources for this? This doesn't sound correct to me. A train is a queue, there is no priority in regards to crossings that I know of. Edit: I stand corrected, Amtrak report does suggest that freight might have a priority. That report is honestly shocking.

mulderc 3y ago
Freight doesn’t have priority, passenger trains have priority according to the law but the law is functionally unenforceable so freight steals priority from passengers.