benBetween Springield, Ma and Worcester, Ma there is very poor track. In other locations with the money that they receive they could add a third track to ease congestion.
I'm in Utica a lot for our Polar trains. The "Late" Shore is usually pretty close to on time into Utica westbound. Eastbound is where you see the significant delays, and there's a lot of track between there and Chicago on which to generate those delays.
Springfield to Worchester is basically a speed bump.
Curiously, sometimes the eastbound is pretty close to on-time into Utica. A lot depends on how the chess game that is dispatching is going that day.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 ben Between Springield, Ma and Worcester, Ma there is very poor track. In other locations with the money that they receive they could add a third track to ease congestion. I'm in Utica a lot for our Polar trains. The "Late" Shore is usually pretty close to on time into Utica westbound. Eastbound is where you see the significant delays, and there's a lot of track between there and Chicago on which to generate those delays. Springfield to Worchester is basically a speed bump. Curiously, sometimes the eastbound is pretty close to on-time into Utica. A lot depends on how the chess game that is dispatching is going that day.
ben Between Springield, Ma and Worcester, Ma there is very poor track. In other locations with the money that they receive they could add a third track to ease congestion.
If you check the tracking website for Amtrak Trains all of the trains for the Lake Shore Limited are late. There are three so far so have gone through Western Massachusetts yet.
Shadow the Cats ownerFor last quarter for all miles my boss paid on average for 8.125 million miles run an average of 35 cents a mile in Fuel taxes alone. That is what the math came out to for us. Then throw in our insurance costs wages for the company equipment payments then we bought 50 more units effective 1st of this year when we merged in those smaller carriers with us.
A question or two if I may.
Is it feasable, and, if so, does your company ship hazmat tankers via rail? I ask because I don't ever recall seeing tankers being carried "piggyback"; AKA TOFC.
Would shipping them on rails save your company money vs the fuel taxes, tolls and wear and tear on the tractors and driver pay or would the railroads demand an exorbitant premium for transporting your hazardous cargo while they themselves handle the same on a daily basis but in railroad tank cars?
Would it save enough over the cost of fuel taxes and tolls to be worthwhile for your, or any other hazmat hauler, to do that? Yes, I am aware you would likely need company tractors and drivers at both ends of the run.
I am aware trucking is a "cutthroat" business. Everyone wants a piece of the action, but not all are qualified, both from the abilities of the company and the drivers to haul the cargoes you do.
Asking from the viewpoint of someone who has never driven OTR or been a rial.
Norm
Norm48327 Shadow the Cats owner For last quarter for all miles my boss paid on average for 8.125 million miles run an average of 35 cents a mile in Fuel taxes alone. That is what the math came out to for us. Then throw in our insurance costs wages for the company equipment payments then we bought 50 more units effective 1st of this year when we merged in those smaller carriers with us. A question or two if I may. Is it feasable, and, if so, does your company ship hazmat tankers via rail? I ask because I don't ever recall seeing tankers being carried "piggyback"; AKA TOFC. Would shipping them on rails save your company money vs the fuel taxes, tolls and wear and tear on the tractors and driver pay or would the railroads demand an exorbitant premium for transporting your hazardous cargo while they themselves handle the same on a daily basis but in railroad tank cars? Would it save enough over the cost of fuel taxes and tolls to be worthwhile for your, or any other hazmat hauler, to do that? Yes, I am aware you would likely need company tractors and drivers at both ends of the run. I am aware trucking is a "cutthroat" business. Everyone wants a piece of the action, but not all are qualified, both from the abilities of the company and the drivers to haul the cargoes you do. Asking from the viewpoint of someone who has never driven OTR or been a rial.
Shadow the Cats owner For last quarter for all miles my boss paid on average for 8.125 million miles run an average of 35 cents a mile in Fuel taxes alone. That is what the math came out to for us. Then throw in our insurance costs wages for the company equipment payments then we bought 50 more units effective 1st of this year when we merged in those smaller carriers with us.
As to the question of Taxation, and Road taxes posed by Ben: I found a seemingly, current break down of Taxes for both private and commercial vehicles [this later catagory is most probably powered by diesel fuel] site linked:
@ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States
[Some of the entries, for NY,CT, and Ca(and other states) show not only the taxes for fuels, but a sales tax categories as well]
It is an interesting read! And to Ben's last comment about: ".. driving electric vehicles and not paying the 'fuel taxes'. Exactly the reasons and rationales that States are currently using to examine additional methods of taxation: * Entry fees for traffic into congested areas of Cities. *USE TAXES, based on miles a vehicle is operated in various jurisdictions... Neither, currently, a popular solution to the problem.
samfp1943*USE TAXES, based on miles a vehicle is operated in various jurisdictions... Neither, currently, a popular solution to the problem.
Of course, this totally smacks of "Big Brother" and will certainly generate considerable pushback.
Some of the stuff we handle had better be handled with kid gloves. We haul a few loads a year that are so nasty that the drivers and loaders are in full pressure breathing gear to load them. Then after loading it carries a full Nitrogen blanket at 40PSI to prevent surging. Even then we still are scared of the product. The simple fact is 1 our delivery schedules would be longer. 2 the capital outlay required would just about triple why triple. Each trailer on a TOFC is one we can not use. So we would require more trailers. When a new tank trailer is close to 60 grand for one in our specs no thanks. We will keep running drivers and trailers. I also think our customers would prefer not getting screwed up loads from us.
Sam,
There are states that add sales tax on top of fuel taxes and Michigan is one of them. Our sales tax is 6% of the sale price so we're getting taxed on tax. As of January first the state fuel tax went up.
Those who believe government provides jobs are having a ball at our expense.
tree68 samfp1943 We are not that far from being able to do just that, via GPS. Look at PTC, and apply it to your family car. Of course, this totally smacks of "Big Brother" and will certainly generate considerable pushback.
samfp1943
We are not that far from being able to do just that, via GPS. Look at PTC, and apply it to your family car.
Well, yes. They could use GPS to track every vehicle but that would just favor more federal jobs. The small shop I use for maintenance on my car sends me a reminder it's time for an oil change based on previous mileage driven and based on 3,000 mile changes which is a thing of the past.
I neither need nor want the feds tracking my every mile. I can't get further into it without getting political. Please, feds, let us live our lives in peace like our founders intended. I'm doing fine without your governance.
Yes, Norm, the people who service your car want to be sure that your car gets the service it needs.
I have not driven in more than two years; I sold my car to my granddaughter going on two years ago. From time to time, I get notices from both the dealer who sold me my last car and the place where I took it for service (closer and cost less). I have told the dealer that I DO NOT OWN THE CAR--and I continue to get suggestions that I take it in for servicing. As it was, in two years I put only about 7,000 miles on the car.
I also receive mailings from my former insurance company, asking me to come back--surely, the company says, I will get a better deal from that company than from whatever company I am currently using.
Johnny
We have rural roads in my area of PA that exist to get the farmers to and from the main roads. They are built "light" because there is not supposed to be any real truck traffic on them. But there's always loaded milk trailer trucks as well as loaded trucks taking the corn to the ethinol plant plus other loads going into and out of the farms. Throw in the winter damage, they do indeed start having problems rather quickly. But the worst effected by the truck traffic have problems with truckers taking them as cut-offs for a few miles, even though they are posted "for local delivery only". It doesn't take that many daily heavy trucks to damage these rural roads. There are no local police and the state troopers don't patrol them so the chances of trucks being stopped are remote. These roads are the ones that always need major pothole re-paving every year and the small bridges on them are always needing repaired.
Your point about trucks "paying 55% of the fuel taxes" doesn't address the issue that it is today's heavy trucks that are causing almost all the damages to the roads and bridges. I agree with you that the roads need to be built and re-built to higher standards. But that would require elimination or major changes in the Davis-Bacon law so more money would be available from the very substantial labor savings. We also need more quality supervision of the road contractors and higher performance bonds to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. (And no more doing business with known mob contractors and mob controlled unions which has been a problem in PA and other states.) All of that requires changes in Federal and many states laws so the chances of it happening are "slim to none".
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