Railroad revival
Even more projects are underway to give shippers incentives to use rail instead of trucks to reduce traffic on Los Angeles's famously congested freeways. But as shippers can attest, the nation's train tracks are becoming equally clogged. There's sure to be a lot more working on the railroad ahead.
DOUBLE TRACKS
BNSF Railway / Union Pacific
Union Pacific hauls more freight than BNSF but lags on some performance measures. And higher revenue per car hasn't translated into superior profits.
BNSF RAILWAY Union Pacific
Rail cars in service 199,413 322,009
Total miles of track 32,000 33,000
Train speed 24.3 mph 21.0 mph
Terminal wait time 9.9 hours 29.8 hours
Average revenue per car $1,167 $1,282
Source: BNSF Railway, Union Pacific
Average weekly numbers, Jan. 1-March 11, 2005; fourth-quarter 2004 financials
advertisement
