Over the road semis VS Intermodel

[Goober]

Recently in one of the posts (I can't find it now) there was some discussion about the cost of transportation of semis vs trains.  I don't remember exactly how it was discussed, but it was something about cost per mile between the two.  It may have been about MPG as well.  I would appreciate some feedback on the cost of a train carrying trailers vs over the road.

Thank you,

Jared 

[Ulrich]

I don't know the rail cost but my trucking cost is $1.80/mi. Please keep in mind that cost varies from one operation to another. For example a short hop trucker with runs of 250 miles average length is going to have a HIGHER cost per mile than a long hauler as fixed costs (that don't vary with miles run) are spread out over fewer miles. Likewise, the rail cost per mile would depend greatly on the context...

[jsoderq]

Of more importance than the cost is the fact that the truck goes from any point A to any point B, while the railroad can only run between fixed points. Also trucks have to be used for the final delivery in nearly all cases because Walmarts etc don't have rail sidings. Also trucks carry split loads (for delivery to more than one destination) but RRs are full carload (as far as I know)