geysergazer posted:Dominic Mazoch posted:Another one I cannot understand. To transport 2 53 foot trailers, you need 2 drivers. You can run a WHOLE DOUBLESTACK TRAIN with 2 in the cab. So the cost of the 2 in the train locomotive cab per container should be much less. Or am I missing something.
And there you hit on the fundamental economy of Rail transport: trains! Many cars drawn by one locomotive [set?] operated by two people instead of a hundred or two.
Lew
IT's not just the number of men driving the truck or running the train. For trucks, drivers and fuel are the big cost. Not so for railroads. When you have to provide the right-of-way and manage its use, you've got huge costs that are nothing like anything seen by a trucker - or airline or ship operator. Un less you've got a huge traffic flow over which to average those costs, you can't beat truck cost so easily. And it is physically imposible to provide the same level of service time or reliability with a railroad.
