“Automobiles go hither and yon”...
...on roadways built and maintained on the taxpayer dime.
Once upon a time railroad’s were a private concern. Think about the capital investment put into that infrastructure... investment made with the incentive of PROFIT for its shareholders.
Dear God how this nation has fallen.
Railroads like the BNSF & UP could NEVER be built today. The environmental lobby would find some surrogate specie to keep construction at a standstill. We can not even get a Natural gas pipeline across southern NH along a right of way directly under the electric companies power lines. NIMBY!
The other major restriction is the cost of the right of way just to build on. The land was GIVEN to the Great Northern railroad to cross the US. That land eventually became Plum Creek Timber corporation. The railroad is now part of Berkshire Hathaway. Nothing like that could be accomplished today just because the land would be too expensive to purchase even under eminent domain.