by STrRedWolf
eolesen wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 10:47 amI'm fully prepared to lose that bet. But I wouldn't go nationwide. Corridor service only. And I'd have to see how much per mile Amtrak spends on track & signal maintenance on the NEC.STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:26 am If Amtrak were to buy or build more rail lines to run corridor service, then it would be maintaining those lines themselves... and I bet that's cheaper than paying the host railroads.You're kidding, right?... There's no way Amtrak is paying anything remotely close to the full cost of ownership for the lines it traverses outside the NEC.
In an earlier thread, I posted the following:
The last number I heard was Amtrak paying around $150M per year to host railroads (prior to COVID), which comes out to around $6.50 per mile regardless of train length or weight. As Prof. Norman said, that's going to vary depending on the expenses incurred by the host road and the prorated miles/operations for Amtrak. Running on Metro North where it's electrified won't be as cheap as running the BNSF transcon.If you think that Amtrak could possibly maintain a nationwide network for less than $150M a year, I'd love to see that cost analysis....
Trackage rights or access fees charged to foreign roads are a fixed rate based on tons per mile, and they might vary based on bilateral agreements.