Adam Maas wrote:
On Mon, May 25, 2009 at 1:14 PM, P. J. Alling <[email protected]> wrote:
A road is anything the government designates it as. You've obviously never
stood with a map in your hands vainly trying to find the plainly marked
"improved road", only to be informed that you're standing in the middle of
it.
For the rest you have some points, but most apply to Brittan and few other
places.
Often you make my point for me. Your government owns the trains, which are
an expense, so maintenance is minimal.
In the US road taxes, in the form of gasoline taxes not only pay for road
repair but also subsidize various rail systems, which cannot pay for
themselves out operating revenue.
Bob W wrote:
Actually, most rail in the US pays for itself. Most rail _PASSENGER_
service does not, despite being both subsidized and also using right
of way that is payed for by a 3rd party (the freight railroads) at
nominal cost. Only some of the commuter services and Amtrak's
high-speed corridor in the East run on dedicated right of way and the
Amtrak right of way pays for itself (Amtrak's losses come from the
other less-popular routes).
I forgot the Passenger Caveat. Yes freight pays passenger service does
not, and that's been mostly true for about 100 years, I suspect that
the Amtrack High Speed services only show a profit through a certain
amount of balance sheet magic.
--
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drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn
fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a
free man any more than a dog.
--G. K. Chesterton
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