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Truckers, buses and motorists do not pay for the full cost of roads. Highways are provided primarily as a subsidised public utility. Railroads are expected to pay the full cost of their infrastructure and pay property taxes to local municpalities which state highway authorities do not do. With respect to fuel taxes there is a problem of perspective. The trucking industry claims that fuel taxes are part of the money that they pay for the road. There is some truth and hence the reduction in fuel taxes for railroads. If one treats fuel taxes as a consumption tax similar to sales tax then there should not be a difference in the tax rates between railroads and trucks. This would mean that if the infrastructure were provided on the same basis to both modes then the mode with the best efficiency would have the lowest costs. <br />Railroads are also part of the problem since they view infrastructure as their private property, which it is under the current regime. As a result they are often not to cooperative on government supported projects that might impinge upon their ability to control the infrastructure. <br />Governments could provide major funding for grade separations and crossing protection through the highway fund and both the railroads and the highway user would benefit. You may notice that on interstate and other divided highways that there are usually no grade crossings. If one views a double or triple track railroad as the railway equivalent of the divided highway you will still see grade crossings. This is becuase the needs of railroads have been deemed subservient to the interstate highway system by both the federal and state (and provincial in Canada) governments. <br />The way to increase capacity is to increase speeds and mutiple track. Speeds can only be increased with shorter trains and increased crossing protection. Look at the maps in Trains comparing multiple track segments in 1950 and 2006. It is a sad state of affairs. Do you think that when gasoline costs 5$/gallon that we will shut down one lane of the interstate if traffic volumes decline? Somehow I don't think so but that is exactly what the rail industry did with government approval in both the US and Canada.
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