[mullen]

> Is a big problem for passenger trains in the US, freight has priority.

This simply not true. Federal Laws says that Passenger trains have priority but the law is never enforced. Freight traffic is suppose to take by-passes to let passenger traffic through and freight traffic is never suppose to block the line. However, again, the laws and rail rules are never enforced. Think about it, why would cargo have a higher priority than human traffic? Is cargo getting there an few hours later or earlier going to impact anything? With humans, it will totally impact their schedule and how often trains are used.

If the Department of Transportation wanted people to start taking trains again, they would come down hard of rail companies that slow down passenger traffic.

[xenadu02]

Freight doesn't generally use bypasses or sidings anymore. It's part of the "Precision Scheduled Railroading" movement to optimize operating ratio above all other concerns - mostly because freight train executives and investors believe that railroads are in long-term terminal decline and thus capex spending or going after new customers is a waste of time. (This is a bit glib but not that far from the truth).

Freight in the US optimizes for minimal crew hours. That means longer consists that no longer fit in sidings. Expanding sidings costs money and is thus verboten.

Even if the freight takes 3x as long to get somewhere they can have each crew take a leg then leave the train unattended. The railroad doesn't need to pay for overnight stays or overtime and only one or two crews are "active" in a given segment ever. Or to put it another way the limit is "we are paying for one crew on this segment of the line". Freight lines up on either side as that limit of 1xCrew shuttles whatever they can back and forth within that segment. Then you make the consists longer and longer to "buffer" the bottleneck.

I assume part of the "enforcement" issue is US DOT would need to order the railroad to back trains up or do other nonsensical things that would only create more chaos and delays because as I mentioned most consists can't fit on existing sidings anymore and AFAIK the law has no provision to order the railroads to extend the sidings nor order them to do the physically impossible.

[seadan83]

I stand corrected

> Think about it, why would cargo have a higher priority than human traffic?

My understanding was essentially it came down to who owned the tracks. More money in freight, more of it, hence priority given by private enterprise. The speculation is moot though.

My understanding is that most rail lines are privately owned. Is that incorrect as well?