Public ownership of railroads

[Bostontoallpoints]

The fundamental premise we have to decide before we think about ownership models is what we want the railroads to be, and understand that we, as a society, have a right to have the railroads be what we need them to be. They were built with massive land grants, charters and subsidies, and have been subsidized directly and indirectly since. The railroads can never be uber profitable like they are unless they only carry a fraction of the most profitable freight and continue practicing the downsizing model. If we want the railroads to carry more freight and passengers, we have to accept a lower level of profit for the public good produced. Public ownership of the railroads may seem enticing, but many national railways have ceased operations in the world, and British Rail was severely downsized in the Beeching cuts. An idea worth of study would be separating the infrastructure from the operating companies with the infrastructure companies open to all comers based on fees that would cover the infrastructure costs and a profit. Railroads could then serve anywhere in the country. Passenger services could as well. Food for thought.

The railroads will not part with profitable freight lines. Also, there are more miles of track that have been abandoned then being used. The U.S. government could take these abandoned lines for nothing and run government rail coast to coast. There is no need to seize private railroad tracks.

 

[jis]

The railroads will not part with profitable freight lines. Also, there are more miles of track that have been abandoned then being used. The U.S. government could take these abandoned lines for nothing and run government rail coast to coast. There is no need to seize private railroad tracks.

It depends on what the original deed was for that real estate. In case of many lines, once they are abandoned the real estate reverts to the land owners adjacent. So all of the abandoned RoWs may not be available just for the taking, even those that have not already been hijacked by the Trail builders.

 

[eldomtom2]

That the differences were primarily due to private control versus public control was the major point of the studies I read.

You don't remember what the studies were, or what mechanism they propose.

As to the subsidies since: What subsidies?

The US government pays large subsidies to railroads for capital projects. Plus there's the Railway Labor Act...