Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
It is great that the majority of our freight is on rails. I just don't understand the rational of ripping up double track to save money. Had they left it and slowly expanded it, outside of BC, much of the line would be double track.
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Cost. By law, track and right of ways must be maintained to a certain standard. So not only did the railway then have underutilized assets on their books, they also are a recurring liability (due to maintenance cost). Unsurprising that they were removed. Businesses are not generally in the habit of paying to maintain infrastructure they aren't using.
To be honest, Canada actually has the easier job here. It is far easier for us to build dedicated passenger rail in the areas where most of our population lives than it ever will be for the Europeans to move proportionally as much freight by rail as we do.
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