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[quote user="Murphy Siding"] [quote user="Bucyrus"]And at this point, it is only a matter of intent, so no government policy or funding is in place now.  Moreover, if the political climate changes or if there is inability to generate public funding, none of these elements of electrification may ever come to fruition, or even be started.  However, at this point, I think it is clearly where we are headed.  The intent is there and I don’t see a problem paying for it.[/quote] That really doesn't lead me to believe this is quite the slam-dunk you seem to be portraying.  Wishing that BNSF would convert to electricity, even though it appears economically impossibe, is nothing more than a wish, even if some folks in the federal government and a lot of wishful thinking folks in California think it would be cool.  In the end, the taxpayers would have to be convinced that the money required could not be used better somewhere else.[/quote]   I did not say it was a slam-dunk.  I am only referring to the intent at this moment and the willingness to spend public money.  It may be economically impossible for BNSF to electrify with private capital, but government funding would be easy.  Matt Rose said that is what it will take.  The taxpayers did not object to paying $750 billion just to create jobs with no particular payback required other than to put people to work.  I don’t see taxpayers holding anybody’s feet to the fire.     <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> As I have mentioned in several other threads, this is not about the railroads making a private business decision to electrify based on efficiency payback.  Instead, it is about a government decision to electrify rail in order to create a non-oil, zero-carbon, national transportation system in the name of national security and public safety.  That idea is all over the place, including in the FRA.  I must have posted 15-20 links in the last couple months echoing the same agenda.  Boosters include BNSF, CSX, NS, and Trains magazine.   But I think I have included enough qualifiers to indicate that I am uncertain as to the completion of this national vision.  The current spending that might be committed to this, and to other things is dependent upon a certain level of future prosperity, and at the same time, the burden of the current spending jeopardizes that future.
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