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Jay, I don't really know why this is so hard for you to understand, nor why you seem so emotional about it.  I'll go over the facts again so you'll understand:1.  Mr. White of the AAR made a point of suggesting that barge lines were subsidized, inferring that railroads aren't.  Nothing could be further from the truth, as Jay well knows.2.  I made the point that since there is a prior usage right on the Mississippi, subsequent development on that river is prohibited by statute to inhibit said navigation.  Thus, the fees paid by the barge lines more than cover their rightful cost of using the "new and improved" navigation system, unless you count flood control et al as being a responsibility of the barge lines.  After all, all waterway systems are open access.3.  I pointed out that historically the barge lines have paid more into the Waterways Trust Fund than what has been forthcoming in navigation improvements by the Corps.  Current anomolies don't discount this point.  Dredging and lock maintenance are not yearly expenses, more like every 10 to 15 years, so it would make sense to divide the current commercial navigation budget of the Corps over that time period.  Puts the true cost into perspective.To add to this discussion, Jay made mention of the fact that post-dam navigation may have draft depth that exceeds that of pre-dam navigation.  So what?  Is the Corps supposed to minimize such improvements?  Remember also that railroad lines have been re-aligned due to river projects, such as the UP along the Columbia River.  The UP line pre-dam was rather heavy on the curvature, post-dam was rebuilt with gentler wider curvature.  Was the Corps supposed to replace the UP line as it was with the exact same curvature?  Of course not, that's not the American way.  We like our rebuilds to be better than the old ones.Consider also that the Corps is required by law to maintain a certain navigation depth for it's projects that disrupt prior river navigation.  If the barge lines all went away, leaving only private and recreational shipping, the Corps would still have to maintain the draft and locks at it's required state.It is also worth noting that the Corps budget for navigation expenses tend to be two or three times the actual physical cost of such projects due to the ever present requirement for an EIS, usually followed by an environmental lawsuit, further followed by a revamped EIS, etc. etc. etc.  How do you think the railroads would fare if they were required to complete an EIS every time they reballasted the tracks?  In cases where the dredging projects are delayed over a long period of time, the barge lines and/or river ports themselves would gladly take on the chore of dredging and maintenance of navigation aids themselves (and at a fraction of the C of E budget for such things), but they cannot legally do so.Thus, you can argue that under the extreme de jure perspective barging doesn't pay the costs of maintaining navigation on the Mississippi, but I would challenge that take under the de facto perspective.  Just because bureauacracy and eco-litigation take navigation costs far beyond the basic physical costs doens't mean that the users are supposed to be morally responsible for such money wasting actions by anti-barge entities.  If anything, let the interfering entities pay those costs since they (the bad guys) are the ones who generate such wastefullness.The bottom line is this:  Barging is a lower cost mode of transporting bulk commodities at low speed than it is for railroads after all costs are accounted for, assuming river or canal navigation is available.  Railroads are best at transporting bulk commodities at relatively high speed, and of course can go places barges can't.  And the US multimodal transportation system works best when all the modes work in concert for the most efficient moves, not when one mode tries to monopolize traffic to fatten the cats.BTW - I'll make a bet that the TVA opts to keep the barging move (as long as it is still physically available) after they research current rail practices as they relate to utilities.  Any takers?
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