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No, in the US the two systems are used for different things. Trucks allow point-to-point delivery. Trains are more useful for carrying bulk commodities. John M
by idlewords 12y ago
No, in the US the two systems are used for different things. Trucks allow point-to-point delivery. Trains are more useful for carrying bulk commodities.
John McPhee has written some wonderful articles about modes of transport, and the people who work in them: http://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Carriers-John-McPhee/dp/0865477396 http://www.amazon.com/Uncommon-Carriers-John-McPhee/dp/08654...
- mjhoy 12y agoI was about to post about John McPhee, too, when I saw your comment. Excellent book, recommended. Somewhat related, also great: Looking for a Ship.
- afarrell 12y agoThe Box, but Mark Levinson is also a great read. http://www.amazon.com/The-Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller/dp/0691136408 http://www.amazon.com/The-Box-Shipping-Container-Smaller/dp/...
- gsnedders 12y agoWhat's stopping intermodal containers being used to displace the long-distance trucking? Trains should on the face of it be cheaper, even when you're not transporting bulk commodities (you're talking in the US case a train 1500m long, potentially with the containers double-stacked depending on the route).
- idlewords 12y agoThis paper seems to give an interesting perspective: http://intermodal.transportation.org/Documents/brown.pdf http://intermodal.transportation.org/Documents/brown.pdf It comes down to highway transportation being massively subsidized in the US, to the detriment of rail. So rail is cheaper but much higher latency than trucking, with the potential for long and unpredictable delays.