The North American Freight Railroad Resurgence - Possible Prosperous Times Ahead?
To accommodate the height of double-stack trains, tunnels and clearances under bridges must be raised, which is where most of the funding from federal and state governments is going toward.
There was a very good article in the Wall Street Journal last Wednesday on the resurgence of rail. “North America’s major freight railroads are in the midst of a building boom unlike anything since the industry’s Gilded Age heyday in the 19th century, this year pouring $14 billion into rail yards, refueling stations, additional track,” stated the article.
But that is not the whole story. Rail investments have often had a significant level of public investment. Investing public money in projects that would help a private company grow its revenues could be seen as a boondoggle. However, there are two such projects that I support.
One project is the National Gateway project, which benefits CSX, a rail carrier in the eastern part of the US. CSX refers to this project as a “public-private partnership,” which sounds better than “boondoggle,” “crony capitalism,” or “pork.”
Full article at Logistics Viewpoints....
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