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notsurethisisfunny t1_izh5hel wrote

Why? It a million years it could not sustain itself. It is expensive to acquire property, build and maintain a railroad. There aren’t enough people who would use it to make it work.

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MuForceShoelace t1_izj962c wrote

should we also close all the roads that don't turn a profit? Or is it only trains that need to do this? Does the road YOU live on 'turn a profit"?

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notsurethisisfunny t1_izlim9x wrote

Actually the road I live on does turn a profit. Property taxes and gas tax maintain the road. Over the years, it has more than paid for itself. Don’t get me wrong, I like trains. The issue is,for large capital outlays, we as a country really need to start looking at investment opportunities based upon the return they provide to everyone. I realize people will hate this but, it is a simple spreadsheet exercise. We all want a lot of things. But the best ideas should be funded that provide an actual return so we can afford to do additional good ideas.

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MuForceShoelace t1_izlnm3x wrote

You absolutely have not paid enough in gas tax to make your specific road profitable, I call bullshit.

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AssumptionLivid6879 t1_izivfrr wrote

Why does transportation need to turn a profit?

We have no problems dumping trillions into road repair so that GM can profit from making cars that break down after 100k miles. The amount we subsidize for a car centric culture is now turning against us, we are 70% overweight and 50% obese because we moan about walking distances longer than a driveway. They had no problems stealing farmland to build 95 and the state roads, so why not do it for railroads?

Trains long term are cheaper. But Nope! GM and Elon Musk can’t profit from it so it’s a bad idea

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