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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kiernan: [QB] As Mr. Norman knows, the rights-of-way in the West may be investor-owned, but they certainly weren't investor bought. The land grants to the railroads in the West were a direct subsidy, and they continute to be a direct subsidy. Doesn't BNSF make a lot of money from coal and oil? In many states, railroads can condem private property. Even if they can't, the state can condem it and give it to the railroad. But that's only fair--states regularly condem property for the trucking industry. All transportation systems need subsidies. Without the Interstate highway system--paid for from the public trough--the trucking industry wouldn't exist. Without the public trough paying for local airports, and the transportation system around airports (BART), the airlines would have serious problems. Someone on this site pointed out how much Federal money went into keeping the Mississippi River navigable. The railroads are just like any other business in the world, they're not at all shy about asking for a handout from the government. Railway-highway grade crossing signals are paid for mostly by the public trough. Who pays for grade separations? Who is going to pay for the New Mexico Rail Runner expansion to Santa Fe? If BNSF thought they could make money at it would they be shy about asking for permission to use the track at night to move freight? We all line up at the public trough. We all want benefits from the government. Sure, we've "paid" for them over the years, but we all want them. The railroads have "paid" for their trips to the trough, too. And they're going to continue to make them. When I worked for the Federal Highway Administration in Baton Rouge, I went to a meeting in New Orleans about the freight traffic blocking up the streets. The railroads weren't looking for investors to pay for a railroad bypass of New Orleans, they were looking for the government to pay for it. The most important thing about the NARP map, though, is that if you don't shoot for the moon, you're not even going to make it into orbit. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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