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"1. The capital expenditures of railroad companies are changing. Most of them have pretty much laid track everywhere needed." While this is true, rail networks

"1. The capital expenditures of railroad companies are changing. Most of them have pretty much laid track everywhere needed." While this is true, rail networks are phenominally expensive to maintain. Just look how it went down the gutter in the UK.

jrockway 17y ago
I think the UK is an odd case. The railroads were apparently so unprofitable that even the government didn't want the liability. BNSF, OTOH, is profitable. I assume they even make money from their passenger service. (A commuter line in Chicago with 100+ trains per day.)
- gaius 17y ago
  The oddness in the UK is that train operating companies (TOCs) aren't allowed to own track. Instead there is a separate entity called the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) that owns and maintains the infrastructure. Joe TOC can't really say "London to Edinburgh is our strategic route so we'll happily pay to upgrade it" because Jane Rival TOC running on the same SRA track has zero incentive to contribute. So it's a mess. At the time, however, this was deemed to be better than allowing Joe TOC a monopoly on route A and Jane TOC a monopoly on route B. In practice these are State companies still to all intents and purposes. The staff are all members of featherbedded unions and the government will be crucified by the voters if the TOCs screw up too badly, and everyone knows it.
potatolicious 17y ago
IMHO though, rail passenger travel is going to see a resurgence in the USA in the coming years. Air travel is in shambles, costs are going through the roof and service level is dropping precipitously. For short to mid-range runs I think rail is going to take over again. This would involve un-screwing Amtrak somehow, but if the demand exists, someone will fulfill it. I took the Amtrak train from Vancouver BC to Seattle WA last night - it was very nice. Price was reasonable (about 1/3 the cost of flying), seats huge, I got cell reception the whole way, power plug in the seats, and even a lounge car with snacks and drinks. There's really no better way to travel.
- pyre 17y ago
  Was the first-class or coach? I remember it costing my ~$400 for a round-trip Windsor, ON <-> Toronto, ON in first-class on VIA Rail.

jrockway 17y ago

I think the UK is an odd case. The railroads were apparently so unprofitable that even the government didn't want the liability. BNSF, OTOH, is profitable. I assume they even make money from their passenger service. (A commuter line in Chicago with 100+ trains per day.)

gaius 17y ago
The oddness in the UK is that train operating companies (TOCs) aren't allowed to own track. Instead there is a separate entity called the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) that owns and maintains the infrastructure. Joe TOC can't really say "London to Edinburgh is our strategic route so we'll happily pay to upgrade it" because Jane Rival TOC running on the same SRA track has zero incentive to contribute. So it's a mess. At the time, however, this was deemed to be better than allowing Joe TOC a monopoly on route A and Jane TOC a monopoly on route B. In practice these are State companies still to all intents and purposes. The staff are all members of featherbedded unions and the government will be crucified by the voters if the TOCs screw up too badly, and everyone knows it.

potatolicious 17y ago

IMHO though, rail passenger travel is going to see a resurgence in the USA in the coming years. Air travel is in shambles, costs are going through the roof and service level is dropping precipitously. For short to mid-range runs I think rail is going to take over again. This would involve un-screwing Amtrak somehow, but if the demand exists, someone will fulfill it. I took the Amtrak train from Vancouver BC to Seattle WA last night - it was very nice. Price was reasonable (about 1/3 the cost of flying), seats huge, I got cell reception the whole way, power plug in the seats, and even a lounge car with snacks and drinks. There's really no better way to travel.

pyre 17y ago
Was the first-class or coach? I remember it costing my ~$400 for a round-trip Windsor, ON <-> Toronto, ON in first-class on VIA Rail.