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Railroads Struggle to Deliver Coal to Utilities

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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by TomDiehl [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by TomDiehl [quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal And the quote of note: "But it {adaquate coal deliveries} will take time because of the enormous task of expanding an industry that until only a few years ago was abandoning track as its business dwindled." So, because of Staggers, we're paying higher energy bills. [/quote] The part of that quote of MORE note: "was abandoning track as its business dwindled." Imagine that. A business cutting back the physical plant because business is going down. What were they thinking? [/quote] What?! Railroad business went down post Staggers? 'Cause that's when the real retrenchment began, after Staggers *revived* the rail industry. That part of the quote of MORE note is notable only in that it states an outright falsehood, because railroad business did not "dwindle" after Staggers. The only thing that dwindled was the track network and the number of Class I carriers. Imagine that - business went up but trackage went down. Only in a monopoly situation can something like that happen. The Laws of Economics - right every time! [/quote] The other law of economics you're ignoring once again, the track needs to be where the freight needs to be moved. Trackage or land in Alaska won't do any good for coal moving the PRB to midwest coal fired power plants. Also, if the track isn't used (heavily enough or at all) for several years, it becomes a candidate for abandonment. The fact that traffic MIGHT show up years down the road is a speculation that can only be held by a profitable company. [/quote] Tom, Tom, Tom, we've been through this before. Many other industries will maintain "unused" assets for long periods of time, because they understand the cyclical nature of business. Apparently, railroads do not understand this basic business tenet. You see, if you scrap an asset, you don't have that asset later on when you need it. Now that the nation's energy and other transportation needs are such that abandoned lines would be put into play right now, it shows a lack of foresight (or a complete lack of concern) by the shortsighted railroad industry. Don't these guys follow economic trends? Or did they think that the US was destined for a Soviet-style command economy, so why save assets if the railroads are going to be taken over by the federales? Tom - agree or disagree - do you think that the current railroad network is adaquate for both today's and our future economic needs?
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