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If the freight rail system were as good as it should be, long distance trucking would be a rounding error instead of the dominant freight mode.
by AlotOfReading 3mo ago
If the freight rail system were as good as it should be, long distance trucking would be a rounding error instead of the dominant freight mode.
- anonymars 3mo agoTrucks and trains serve different purposes. My understanding is the US has a higher percentage than most of freight carried by rail. Indeed at the expense of its passenger rail
- TylerE 3mo agoAirlines killed passenger rail, not freight. Prior to it all being rolled into Amtrak virtually every railroad was losing money on passenger service.
- reaperducer 3mo agoThe Post Office shifting mail transport from trains to planes is what changed the economics. The passenger trains also carried mail, which helped make them profitable. Then the mail, and the money, moved to passenger planes.
- Scoundreller 3mo agoCanada is moving away from moving regular mail by air to cut costs. Dunno if it will move by train or truck. Probably too late to add much volume on the ground.
- coryrc 3mo agoLong distance trucking gets heavily subsidized by all other road users. Damage is caused by the fourth power of weight, but trucking only paid 35% of maintenance while being responsible for 99% of the cost. https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy/ https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-hidden-trucking-indu...