Trucks vs Trains

[expatriate]

I wonder why we keep investing [[wasting?) money on highway infrastructure to accommodate more trucks when clearly railroads are a much more efficient method of moving large quantities of freight. The Gordie Howe Bridge and the widening of I-94 are costing zillions of dollars when a single additional railroad tunnel added to the one downtown and in Port Huron would seem to be much more cost effective. I'm guessing there are some transit experts here that have some answers to this.

[K-slice]

I don't think the current rail tunnels are at capacity, so there's no need for additional ones. In my point of view, the Gordie Howe bridge is more about building in redundancy at a key transportation bottleneck, as well as having a gov. controlled bridge not subject to the whims of one [[unstable and litigious) man.

The 94 expansion is as much about car traffic as trucks. Stand on Woodward over 94 at it's bussiest and it's mostly passenger cars, not trucks. Of course, we could take some of these cars off the road with comprehensive rapid transit, but that's been talked about to death here and not the topic at hand.

Americas freight rail network is one of, if not the best in the world. Businesses already use it extensively to transport goods, particularly multimodal containers to the extent they can. Trucks will always have a large part to play though getting products from the rail yards to warehouses or retail.

[Gistok]

^Isn't the problem with the rail tunnels to Canada the issue of them not being tall enough for double stacked container train cars?

[mikeg19]

^Isn't the problem with the rail tunnels to Canada the issue of them not being tall enough for double stacked container train cars?

Yes. There have been a couple plans, though shot down about 6-7 years ago, to build an entirely new tube next to the existing one that could handle the domestic double stacked cars. I believe right now it's tall enough to handle the international double stacks after they carved out the tunnel roof in the 90's.

Anyone remember if there were any talks to incorporate rail into the GH Bridge? Almost looks like a missed opportunity considering the rail infrastructure running pretty close to both of those entry ports.

[Richard]

Locally you are an auto eccentric state,no point in promoting more efficient modes of transportation,even more so after GM killed mass transit.

Europe can build a tunnel under the ocean to move traffic and freight but we cannot figure out how.

Moving freight by train cost $50 in fuel too oil travel thousands of miles,it is the most efficient mode of transportation,that’s how you know the hypocrisy in saving the planet,because the things they could be doing right now that does not take billions to implement,they ingore.

CP now owns the tunnel and with the new bridge controls freight movement between the countries once they get the pesky competition out of the way.

So they will be telling you what you will pay,I guess it is worth having another country dictate cross border freight just because Detroit does not like the current bridge owner,that revenge flows across the entire United States.

Baltimore spent 128 million to enlarge there underwater bridge to accommodate double stack,it will be up to Canada to decide the most efficient way to move freight and you just have to deal with it.

A 100’ section of road leading up to the new bridge already collapsed,so I would not trust running a freight train over it,let alone drive over it.

Moving freight is about control,if really has nothing to do with efficiency,the teamsters move freight via truck and not rail.

[Burnsie]

Europe can build a tunnel under the ocean to move traffic and freight but we cannot figure out how.

CP now owns the tunnel and with the new bridge controls freight movement between the countries once they get the pesky competition out of the way.

Comparing the Chunnel to the Detroit-Windsor RR tunnel is comparing apples to oranges. The Chunnel is the only physical link between the UK and France. The Detroit-Windsor RR tunnel is hardly the only link between the US and Canada.

Your statement "CP now owns the tunnel and with the new bridge controls freight movement between the countries" doesn't make any sense. CP is a privately owned railway which has zero to do with the Gordie Howe bridge. The bridge will compete with CP's RR tunnel!

[Richard]

Comparing the Chunnel to the Detroit-Windsor RR tunnel is comparing apples to oranges. The Chunnel is the only physical link between the UK and France. The Detroit-Windsor RR tunnel is hardly the only link between the US and Canada.

Your statement "CP now owns the tunnel and with the new bridge controls freight movement between the countries" doesn't make any sense. CP is a privately owned railway which has zero to do with the Gordie Howe bridge. The bridge will compete with CP's RR tunnel!

Not comparing apples to oranges,simply stating that it is entirely possible to put a tunnel under a water way that moves traffic no matter what the size.

CP is a Canadian company,it owns 100% of the tunnel
GHB is owned by the Canadians
The federal bridge Corporation limited ,is owned by whom?
See the pattern

[Ray1936]

" The Chunnel is the only physical link between the UK and France. "

Why only France? Seems like there are other nations that can be connected by the Chunnel. But whatever.