off been and guaranteed The public wont support it because the cost of using it is too high. family of four by rail from Tampa, Florida to Albany ,NY costs $453 requires three changes (no direct train) a 35 mile cab ride to the station. then rent a car in Albany to finish the trip to visit family in the Adirondack region. travel time including layovers 3 days, leave on the 10th, arrive late the 12th, oh its by bus from Tampa to Orlando. the return trip costs $429 leaves at 6 am on the 24th from Albany and arrives in Tampa at 12:29 pm on the 25th, another two days. when I get to Albany I have to rent a car to get to my destination, and will want one to sight see the Adirondacks. so there is another $300 dollars. Now then these are coach fares. If I want a "room" which with small kids is the only way to go, its another $335 per viewliner room going up, but only $68 plus 1 coming back. The cost of these would pay for a cabin and a boat on a lake for a week. total cost $1589 round trip, not counting meals. I can fly cheaper than that.
Its 1435 miles from my front door to my destination at 28 mpg and $2.55 a gal. that comes out to $130 one way. driving time 23 hours. If I decide I want to stop and sight see anywhere along the route, or even go out of route I can. And this is the real reason rail has died. Its the same reason all those who come in here touting rail as the transportation solution will never ever use it themselves, only push it to get others off the road they preseve to be in their way.
As for freight, Rail is king when it comes to bulk commodities. Coal, chemicals, oil, propane, automobiles etc. But when it comes to less than truck load, or even truck load, it cant hold a candle. It cant move it efficiently, it cant move it in a timely manner. The major warehouses are long gone and will never come back, the retailers don't want them, because inventory sitting in a warehouse is money lost. Money lost to the buildings, lost to warehouse workers, fork lift trucks, their fuel and maintenance, in house delivery trucks, their fuel, maintenance and drivers the list goes on. Its why JITD rules in logistics, its cheaper. And the next thing that comes up is no one wants a rail yard or a warehouse in their back yard. Rail yards make truck stops look like Eden's. One guy was talking about putting on "underpbuttes" to eliminate crossings, how do you do that when the water table is only 6-8 feet below ground? Its the reason houses in the south are built on slabs for the most part instead of basements.
Whitelightning
