Railroad.

[Spinder]

Why are freight trains hardly ever used for transporting goods anymore, it seems? Why have they been almost completely phased out and replaced by trans continental big rig trucks?

Would it not be cheaper and faster and more efficient for companies to just transport their goods by train? Since they don't have all those big cumbersome stupid vehicles blocking up the streets and highways? Those trucks are massive gas guzzlers, and they must cost a fortune to maintain and repair when they suffer damage.

Not only that but wouldn't it be a hell of a lot better for the air and the environment too?

How come in a lot of places they've gotten rid of all trains and even train tracks completely?

The area where I live is supposed to have the worst air quality in the country. Darn these stupid big rig lovers, ruining my lungs... selfish bastards. :(

[JackOfClubs]

There are a lot more roads than railroads, and trains use a helluva lotta fuel too. They aren't much better for the environment either.

[Sugaree]

Well...if you're shipping across the country, a semi would do fine. Airplanes are a quicker way. Railroads are still used, but rarely. Namely for things like coal, but nothing much more. Also consider that a train can't go in water, so cargo ships and airplanes are used from country to country in some cases. I highly doubt that semi's guzzle any more fuel than a locomotive. A train would have the weight of a dozen or so semi's on it. More you got, the more fuel needed.

[Whisper]

Trains actually use a FUCK of allot less fuel per weight ratio basis than semi's do.
They can haul allot more cargo and they don't use highways period so theres less traffic congestion meaning less hwy wear and tear. Not to mention the amount of federal dollars poured into an entirely separate police division dedicated only to commercial vehicles (aka semi's) enforcement requirements, etc...

semi's are actually extremely inefficient at consistent long haul jobs between major destinations
they've just become the norm
Why? I have no idea, I'm guessing auto lobbyists have at-least some of the blaim for it

“In fact, if just 10 percent of the freight currently moving by truck went instead by rail, the nation could save one billion gallons of fuel per year."

ZHHX8F_z_yA

http://www.freightrailworks.org/assets/images/infographics/more-efficient-every-year.jpg

http://www.freightrailworks.org/

[Gumleaf]

there are a lot of freight trains here. if i have my window open at night they never cease to wake me up every night. they are also very long. mostly around here they are container trans, but in other places they are used for coal and wheat carrying.

[Katrina]

Here I find freight trains being mostly used to transport goods.
Furthermore 90% Indians travel by trains, maybe it is because we have the largest rail network and perhaps the best:D

[mrmcdonaldduck]

there are a lot of freight trains here. if i have my window open at night they never cease to wake me up every night. they are also very long. mostly around here they are container trans, but in other places they are used for coal and wheat carrying.

basically this.

[Evermore]

Not to mention everybodys nightmare of having a semi drive head on into your tiny little car :D

[Whisper]

Vancouver Island has a railway system LOL. They use it for Logging, Minning, Freight and Transportation
$21.50CND from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Victoria its EXTREMELY scenic and cheaper/faster then the greyhound.

[Zephyr]

Honestly, I live 5 blocks away from the train station, and generally I hear and see more trains than I do semi's while I'm driving. Most of the time, I only see semi trucks used when a railroad isn't available for logging or if they're on the freeway. I've always seen more transported by train than semi trucks.

[goat]

America wants the speed of truck transportation. Quick point to point. Yes it waists energy and pollutes more.

[Ihaveleftforever]

I like to ride on trains :S but boroing sometimes

[jason123]

My tracks that run through my town get abbout 2-3 trains an hour. 2 years ago there was even a wreck about 3 miles south of my town!

[jason123]

I get 2-3 trains an hour iin Troy, Ohio

[Wicked_Syn]

There are a lot more roads than railroads, and trains use a helluva lotta fuel too. They aren't much better for the environment either.

Not only that, but I do believe it is more easier to steel off of a train, am I not correct? Like I see movies sometimes when people jump on and off trains...I like big rigs better anyway.