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[quote user="Datafever"] I am not sure that you realize how one-sided you come across on the issue of subsidies.  You keep bringing up the point that the railroads received massive land grants (although railroads were by no means the only recipients of land grants).But more to the point, the issue is not so much about the initial building of the infrastructure, but about today's upkeep of the infrastructure.  Without dredging, barge traffic on the Mississippi would be limited.  Without dams, barge traffic would be even more limited.  In the old days, barge operators had to contend with low water levels, floods, constantly changing channels, etc.  These factors have been mitigated by public works projects. Do railroads receive subsidies?  Sure they do.  But what happened 150 years ago, or even 30 years ago, is of little relevance to the issue of infrastructure maintenance that the railroads must deal with today.I do appreciate the message that you are trying to convey; I'm only asking that you keep the comparisons relevant.  Thank you. [/quote]The problem is the allegation made by Mr. White that, without subsidies, barging would be more expensive than railroading.  If you take away all forms of subsidies from both modes, the fact remains that barging is a lower operating cost method of transit, and that usually results in lower costs to the end users.The other thing I was pointing out was that railroads offer these introductory rates, much as the credit card companies do, then after you're in deep they'll jack the rates on you even as service levels drop.  It has happened time and again to other utilities, so why would one infer that it won't it happen to the TVA?  Of course, this is a bi-modal move currently being used by TVA - rail and barge.  It'd be interesting to see if the TVA could opt back to that move if the all-rail move doesn't work out.
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