Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="schlimm"] [quote user="greyhounds"]Just let the market work.  Intermodal will assume its "proper" role in the world of freight.[/quote] You and Bucyrus assume the market is a perfectly functioning one, which is rather unlikely. In the situation referenced, the market does not account for negative externalities (external costs).  A blind faith in even a free market (which this situation is not) is neither rational nor likely to lead to an efficient outcome. [/quote] So just what is it about the free market that is not working here?  The first poster thinks the problem is that WE as a society are spending too much on fuel.  So he wants to get many of the truck trailers onto rail where the fuel economy is higher.  If his objective on this idea is that this traffic can be converted to rail with no sacrifice in service and speed, then he is on the same page with several other deep thinkers to which I have posted links to in several recent threads about the national sustainable transportation system vision for the U.S.  The only problem is that this vision requires a completely new rail system with a new role for both trains and trucks.  It requires new track, newly designed trains built for special purposes, new types of truck service, new terminal and sorting systems, electrified railroads, new types of traffic control, and new labor agreements.   <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Is it doable?  I suppose it is, but at what cost?  Not everything is worth doing just because it is possible and there is some payback.  There would be some payback in building special manufacturing facilities on the moon.   <o:p></o:p> Perhaps the original poster is not talking about this revolutionary rail system.  Maybe he is simply suggesting that WE need to save fuel by shifting truck freight to rail as the industry exists today.  WE could do that today and save a lot fuel as has been indicated.  But then the question needs to be asked, why are WE not doing this today?  If transportation was only about moving something from point A to point B, then nothing would move by truck if rail were cheaper.  But transportation is also about time, and some shippers are willing to pay more for speed. <o:p></o:p> So how do you get truck freight to shift to rail when the shipper prefers truck even though it does cost more and use more fuel?
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag