# A renaissance for railroads



## Save Our Trains Michigan (Oct 18, 2006)

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=31180



> A renaissance for railroads WASHINGTON -- Railroad traffic is growing worldwide at such a rate that most of the rail systems in the industrialized world are stressed to carry all the freight and passenger traffic being pressed on them, according to this report by Don Phillips published by the International Herald Tribune.
> 
> So across the world, corporations and countries are spending large sums of money to keep up with the demand.
> 
> ...


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## frj1983 (Oct 25, 2006)

What makes the capacity situation even worse:

is that during the 80's many railroads got rid of trackage (either by removal or selling) to save money in the short term and are now paying for it in the long term!


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## DaveKCMO (Oct 25, 2006)

> He surprised everyone with a plan to increase freight haulage between the Port of Los Angeles and Chicago. Rose said the line, which handled train traffic just fine for more than a century with long stretches of only one track and sidings, would eventually become a three-track main line all the way.


i assume this is the same line that the southwest chief uses?


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## AlanB (Oct 25, 2006)

DaveKCMO said:


> > He surprised everyone with a plan to increase freight haulage between the Port of Los Angeles and Chicago. Rose said the line, which handled train traffic just fine for more than a century with long stretches of only one track and sidings, would eventually become a three-track main line all the way.
> 
> 
> i assume this is the same line that the southwest chief uses?


For part of it's run, yes. But the Chief doesn't follow the BNSF transcon the whole way to Chicago.


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## EmpireBuilderFan1976 (Oct 27, 2006)

What is really a shame is that all of the US Railroad companies don't follow BNSF's business model. They seem to have the best track and least congestion problems. In recent years they have replaced alot of the trackage that the Empire Builder uses. The result is the Empire Builder cruising along at the maximum allowed speed for a good majority of the trip. And in alot of areas feeling like you are gliding ABOVE the tracks!


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## frj1983 (Oct 27, 2006)

EmpireBuilderFan1976 said:


> What is really a shame is that all of the US Railroad companies don't follow BNSF's business model. They seem to have the best track and least congestion problems. In recent years they have replaced alot of the trackage that the Empire Builder uses. The result is the Empire Builder cruising along at the maximum allowed speed for a good majority of the trip. And in alot of areas feeling like you are gliding ABOVE the tracks!


That business model speaks strongly to me as BNSF is one of the Railroads that seems to get Amtrak over the road fairly close to schedule. If all the predictions say that more traffic is coming your way, it seems odd to "not" begin preparing for it.


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## George Harris (Nov 14, 2006)

Railroading is a business that requires long term thinking and work. Planning only for the next quarterly report is the road to ruin.

BNSF and predecessors ATSF and BN have had a policy of trying to stay ahead of the curve for years, and tha is the only way it works. They did not wake up something like five years ago and say, hey traffic is going to surge. They have had a policy in place long before that of keeping the fixed facilities in good condition.

They also simply seem to have a much better understanding of how to keep things moving. The High Line used by the Empire Builder has about the same traffic density as the Sunset Route (IIRC), but not only is the Builder's schedule much better kept, there is also much less slack in it than in the Sunset's.


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## frj1983 (Nov 16, 2006)

George Harris said:


> Railroading is a business that requires long term thinking and work. Planning only for the next quarterly report is the road to ruin.
> BNSF and predecessors ATSF and BN have had a policy of trying to stay ahead of the curve for years, and tha is the only way it works. They did not wake up something like five years ago and say, hey traffic is going to surge. They have had a policy in place long before that of keeping the fixed facilities in good condition.
> 
> They also simply seem to have a much better understanding of how to keep things moving. The High Line used by the Empire Builder has about the same traffic density as the Sunset Route (IIRC), but not only is the Builder's schedule much better kept, there is also much less slack in it than in the Sunset's.


Your point is well taken George,

I was just making a snarky remark aimed at UP in my response above as I understood that BNSF has been doing long range planning for years.


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