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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by PNWRMNM Dave, I am no fan of open access as I see it only as another way for shippers to beat carrier's rates into the ground, which believe me they try to do daily. Setting that aside, how will open access improve capacity? I see no necessary or natural connection between the two. Mac [/quote] Mac, I'll give you an example of how an open access system could alleviate congestion. In the Pacific Northwest, UP's line to Puget Sound runs through the Columbia Gorge to Portland, then up the I-5 corridor via BNSF trackage rights to Seattle-Tacoma. When UP hauls a unit grain train to a Puget Sound port, it runs through the heavily congested Gorge then up the congested I-5 lines. After it is emptied, it runs back the same way. Of course, BNSF owns a line over Stampede Pass that runs from the Puget Sound down to the Tri-Cities (and a UP connection) and has only a few trains a day e.g. it has alot of extra capacity. If UP could run their eastbound empties back over this line, it would obviously free up capacity through the Gorge and the I-5 lines. But of course, BNSF won't let them do that, at least at some reasonable price, whereas if that line was open access, UP could take advantage of it. I'm sure if one could study the situations of one line being heavily congested while a competitor's parallel line has extra capacity, you would find literally hundreds of such scenarios.
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