From: nilknocgeo@earthlink.net   
      
   "John Levine"  wrote in message   
   news:lht20l$h0k$1@miucha.iecc.com...   
   > >Without revenue from freight operations, the NE corridor is not   
   > >econmically   
   >>viable.   
   >   
   > Amtrak's NECIP summary says that on a typical day the NEC sees 2300   
   > passenger trains and 50 freight trains, mostly at night to avoid   
   > conflicts with passenger traffic.  That's under 2.5% of the trains.   
   > There is no freight through NY or Baltimore due to the tunnels.   
   >   
   > A table on cost sharing says that of the $431 million of shared   
   > infrastructure costs, $20M is attributable to freight, $258M to   
   > Amtrak, and $153M to commuter rail.  Cross-subsidization is   
   > specifically prohibited, so freight pays its 4.6% share of costs.   
   > Freight trains are much longer and heavier than passenger trains, so   
   > it makes sense that the fraction of costs would be higher than the   
   > relative number of trains.   
   >   
   > The NECIP plan says freight will continue to be important, but because   
   > shippers need the capacity and there's no room on the parallel   
   > highways, not because Amtrak needs the money.   
   >   
   > --   
   > Regards,   
   > John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for   
   > Dummies",   
   > Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly   
      
   Amtrak DOES need the money.  Freight service used to always subsdize   
   passenger service in the "good old days."   
      
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