Railways in US

choi

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(1) Boston has America's first mass transportation, in 1631--ferry.

MBTA Commuter Rail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBTA_Commuter_Rail
(The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; The commuter rail system is the fifth-busiest commuter rail in the country, after only New York and Chicago area systems; The Commonwealth of Massachusetts's involvement with the operating facets of commuter rail began in 1967 when private Boston & Maine Railroad (B & M), The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H, or simply "New Haven"),  and Boston & Albany Railroad (B&A) all experienced financial difficulty, eventually petitioned bankruptcy and sold track assets to Commonwealth of
Massachusetts)

(b) Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is a state agency. (
Officially Massachusetts is a commonwealth, not a state. The "state agency"
here is a shorthand for commonwealth agency.)  Its history:
http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/history/
("While Boston is the birthplace of American liberty, it is also the
birthplace of American mass transportation. Beginning with a family-operated
ferry service * * * Mass transportation first emerged in the city in 1631")

Note:
(i) Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth in 1620. Puritans founded Boston in 1630.
(ii) The history talks about "mainland, because Boston used to be a
pennisula, which was expanded through phases of landfill. Check wiki for
maps.
(iii) Boston constructed North America's first subway (1897).



(2) BNSF Railway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNSF_Railway

Quote:

"The BNSF Railway (reporting mark BNSF), formerly known as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, is an American freight railroad company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas; it is one of four remaining transcontinental railroads and one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America. Only the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary competitor for Western U.S. freight, is larger in size.

"On November 3, 2009, Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway would buy BNSF for $44 billion. The acquisition was approved by the boards of both companies and was approved by BNSF shareholders on February 12, 2010.

(3) America Railways  |  High-Speed Railroading: America’s system of rail freight is the world’s best. High-speed passenger trains could ruin it. Economist, July 22, 2010.
http://www.economist.com/node/16636101?story_id=16636101

Quote:

"These [Europe's railways] are successful—although once the (off-balance-sheet) costs of building the tracks are counted, they need subsidies of billions of dollars a year. But, outside Germany and Switzerland, Europe’s freight rail services are a fragmented, lossmaking mess. Repeated attempts to remove the technical and bureaucratic hurdles at national frontiers have come to nothing.

"Amtrak’s passenger services are sparse compared with Europe’s. But America’s freight railways are one of the unsung transport successes of the past 30 years. They are universally recognised in the industry as the best in the world.

"Before deregulation America’s railways were going bust.

"Rail’s share of the freight market, measured in ton-miles, has risen steadily to 43%—about the highest in any rich country.

"American rail freight is among the cheapest in the world, costing less than half as much as in Japan or Europe. After adjusting for differences in purchasing power it is cheaper even than in China.


Note:
(a) Union Station (Los Angeles)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Los_Angeles)
(Opened in May 1939, Union Station is known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States)
(b) The article discussed the "$34 billion purchase last year by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)."  Mr Buffett "acquir[ed] $10 billion in debt" in addition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNSF_Railway
(c) Powder River (Montana)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_River_(Montana)
(a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 375 miles (604 km) long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming; The Powder River was so named because the sand along a portion of its banks resembled gunpowder; The Powder River Basin near the Montana/Wyoming border is a major source of low-sulfur coal mined in the United States

So you know river sand was blackish, not white.
(d) For "double-decker ones" (ones represent "freight wagon"), see Goods wagon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goods_wagon
(US: freight cars; caption of the last photo: North American container train services often employ the widely-used double-stacked container wagons, as here in Rochelle, Illinois.)
(e) Alameda Corridor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alameda_Corridor
(a 20 mile (32 km) freight rail "expressway" owned by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (reporting mark ATAX), connecting the national rail system near downtown Los Angeles, California to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, running parallel to Alameda Street)

Photos:
(i) http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/alameda/alameda3.html
(the corridor is in bewteen two roads)
(ii) Tutor Saliba Projects
http://www.tutorsalibaprojects.com/projects/
(photo No. 4)

---------------------Separately
(1) Letter to editor: High-speed rail cripples state finances. Financial Times, Dec 1, 2010.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9e1c1106-fcd7-11df-ae2d-00144feab49a.html

My comment: Considering operation cost alone, high-speed rail in Taiwan is slightly profitable. However, factoring in the contrcution cost and the interest payment for the debt, high-speed rail loses money as a whole for Taiwan.

(2) Letter to editor: High-speed rail has public benefits. Financial Times, Dec 1, 2010.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c6fbf44c-0321-11e0-80eb-00144feabdc0.html



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