11-30-2011, 05:48 AM
If the class one does the switching you get a fee for trackage rights, however, you lose your switching fee.
Short lines exist on revenue from the switching fees and car hire. Trackage right fees would not even pay to maintain the track, so I wouldn't do it that way. Consider a unit train of 100 cars with a fee of $200 a car vs trackage rights of say $1 a mile per car.
Our switching fee was absorbed by the class one, and we got paid twice a month. They were very prompt.
If you were talking about two big class ones servicing the same facility it is usually a point where things pretty much balance out.
Most short lines today are track that the class ones couldn't make money working trains over them so they sell them to small railroads.
On many shortlines you will see the same people running trains and doing maintenance work too.
Charlie
Short lines exist on revenue from the switching fees and car hire. Trackage right fees would not even pay to maintain the track, so I wouldn't do it that way. Consider a unit train of 100 cars with a fee of $200 a car vs trackage rights of say $1 a mile per car.
Our switching fee was absorbed by the class one, and we got paid twice a month. They were very prompt.
If you were talking about two big class ones servicing the same facility it is usually a point where things pretty much balance out.
Most short lines today are track that the class ones couldn't make money working trains over them so they sell them to small railroads.
On many shortlines you will see the same people running trains and doing maintenance work too.
Charlie