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BNSF is a freight railroad network, unsuitable for mass public rail transit. Buffet is getting into the freight service business, not passenger traffic.
by thingie 17y ago
BNSF is a freight railroad network, unsuitable for mass public rail transit. Buffet is getting into the freight service business, not passenger traffic.
- Anon84 17y agoI know. I'm hoping the interest will spill over to passenger traffic, like we are starting to see now with the European high speed train network.
- thingie 17y agoIs there any surprising recent development concerning European HSRs? There are new lines opening in Spain, France, Germany, lots of ideas in many other countries (UK), but it isn't much faster or bigger than last few decades. There are still more new highways, and even though railroad passengers numbers (HSR) are rising, still only quite slowly.
- adw 17y agoNew lines in the UK, too: High Speed 1 (the Channel Tunnel Rail Link) has been up and running for a bit, and the discussions about a high-speed replacement for the Midland Main Line are going.
- anamax 17y agoHuh? Freight rail and passenger rail are basically at odds with one another. For efficient transportation, we want freight rail.
- jordanb 17y agoBNSF rails are used for mass transit in Chicago. They're also used for Amtrak routes. BNSF has historically been the freight railroad most friendly to passenger rail. Unlike Union Pacific and CSX, they aren't antagonistic to Amtrak, and make an effort to give the passenger trains proper right-of-way. An interesting note about the Metra service in Chicago is that it is operated by the BNSF under contract with the State. So the Metra conductors on the BNSF line are actually BNSF employees. It is one of the busiest and most productive lines Metra operates. It's also one of the most professional.