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And if you buy 4, the rent is $200.
Topic Started: Apr 17 2008, 05:13 PM (168 Views)
Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Make more than monopoly money:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/07/pf/sivy_ap...oney_topstories
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
I'm going to bump this one one time before I let it sink, because I find it interesting in a couple of ways:

1) Railroads are much more fuel-efficient in the delivery of freight than trucks. Not as versatile, but cheaper. We could revert back to what we did one hundred years ago, and go back to the future.

2) With increasing airfares, I think some people would trade time for comfort. High fuel prices may actually make passenger rail more attractive.

If one and two are correct, somebody is going to make some money...
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Agree with first half of (1), not yet convinced about (2).
Not making any move with regards to rail road stocks yet 'coz I know next to nothing about the rail road business.
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Buffett's usually right.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Red Rice
Apr 18 2008, 11:20 AM
Buffett's usually right.

I don't doubt that he is... but not every one can afford to copy investment moves ("strategy") that require $billions in reserve to ride out risks over the long term. :shrug:
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George K
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Finally
The problem with rail travel is infrastructure. Chicago to Milwaukee is about a 90 minute ride on Amtrak. It's about the same as by car. Airplane? Well, you have all that congestion at the airports to deal with. For longer distances, taking an Amtrak that's running at an average of 45 miles per hour simply won't do for longer distances. A Chicago to New York run (about 800 miles) is almost 18 hours. Pretty slow, pretty inefficient. Especially when you consider that it makes a million stops along the way.

Get the speed up to 200 mph, eliminate the "milk run stops" and maybe you're talking serious transportation.

A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
George K
Apr 18 2008, 11:36 AM
Get the speed up to 200 mph, eliminate the "milk run stops" and maybe you're talking serious transportation.

I.e., Copy the Japanese Shinkansen ("Bullet Train") or the French TGV models.
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George K
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Finally
Axtremus
Apr 18 2008, 10:38 AM
George K
Apr 18 2008, 11:36 AM
Get the speed up to 200 mph, eliminate the "milk run stops" and maybe you're talking serious transportation.

I.e., Copy the Japanese Shinkansen ("Bullet Train") or the French TGV models.

:yes:
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
But then you're talking more infrastructure: extremely level, welded tracks and overhead electrical power lines.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
Maybe not.

Consider.....let's look at speeds in the 75mph zone. You board a train at 6pm, have dinner in a dining car, possibly a few drinks in the club car, and sleep in your compartment, or if you're day car fare, you catch a seat similar to a first class plane seat (one where you might actually be able to catch a few z's).

At 8am the next morning, you're 750 miles away from home (even with a stop or two) and ready to conduct business.

Granted, that's a couple of hour's flight time, but if the ticket prices were the same, would there be interest?
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
Sounds nice, but that's not the way most business people travel for short trips. This is more like it:

At the airport by 5am.

On the 6:50 am flight.

At meeting by 10 am.

On the 3:10 pm flight back.

Check in at office at 6 pm.

Repeat ad infinitum. :wacko:

Overnight travel is acceptable only if I'm going across the Atlantic or Pacific.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Red Rice
Apr 18 2008, 12:09 PM
Sounds nice, but that's not the way most business people travel for short trips. This is more like it:

At the airport by 5am.

On the 6:50 am flight.

At meeting by 10 am.

On the 3:10 pm flight back.

Check in at office at 6 pm.

Repeat ad infinitum. :wacko:

Overnight travel is acceptable only if I'm going across the Atlantic or Pacific.

Yeap, as much as I myself prefer overnight travel to same-day round-trip, I can relate to that. Sometimes, even when your business schedule allows for overnight travel, you might still want to do same-day round-trip just so you get more time to be with your family.
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big al
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Bull-Carp
I find it interesting that so much of this discussion is focused on passenger travel. As far as the railroad industry is concerned, freight is where it's at and has been for 100+ years. That's why they were so happy to get rid of passenger train responsiblities and shift them to Amtrak. If many railroads had their druthers, Amtrak wouldn't even be a tenant because they get in the way of the money-making freight trains. Since deregulation, the railroad has made tremendous strides, particulaly in intermodal (read trailers and containers on trains) traffic.

Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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Jolly
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Geaux Tigers!
True, but I think we all agree freight is a money-maker, and with the high prce of fuel, I think even more freight will be transported by rail or by barge.

The question becomes whether fuel prices can drive passenger service into making a profit, or not?
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
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big al
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Bull-Carp
I don't think so, not as long as Amtrak is the red-headed stepchild of the USDOT. Billions upon billions go into road, airport and airways, and river navigation while Amtrak shows up hat in hand for crumbs.

As to whether passenger transport of any kind can be profitable, I think the jury is still out on that. It's subsidized in Europe and Japan as a cheaper alternative to flying or driving. The population served is also much denser on average. Our wide open spaces mitigate against cost- or time-effective rail passenger service to a much larger degree except in corridors like Boston-DC and perhaps Chicago-Detroit-Milwaukee-St. Louis.

However, put fuel at $10/gallon and the economics of rail passenger travel would suddenly become much more competitive against air or car. Extension of electrified routes might enhance that advantage, but the up-front capital cost is daunting.

Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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big al
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Bull-Carp
Seen today...


CSX shatters financial expectations
April 16, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - CSX reported first-quarter 2008 earnings up 60 percent from first quarter 2007, shattering expectations, Investors Business Daily reported. The earnings represent 80 cents a share, phenomenal numbers for a company considered an under-performer not long ago.

CSX shares rose 1 percent prior to the announcement, and have surged 2 percent since then. In all, CSX shares have risen 31 percent this year.

Investment analysts cited strong pricing power and the industry's continuing ability to pass rising fuel costs on to customers. Other U.S. and Canadian railroads have also been performing well of late.


Big Al
Location: Western PA

"jesu, der simcha fun der man's farlangen."
-bachophile
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