On the contrary, rail lines require constant maintenance. If there is a dip in the road or a pothole, you can still use it or drive around it. Railroads have a constant battle to maintain the track geometry. If you don't, you have a derailment at any speed. Yes, there are badly maintained secondary rail lines and spurs, but these are "slow order" areas where the speed is limited to 10 MPH. The track is constantly getting out of level as the weight of the trains crushes the ballast under the tracks. Replacement of ties is a constant process, especially if they are wood. As the wheels of the cars wear the rail, the rail must be reground by a "rail grinder". The railroads are in a constant process of taking worn rail off the main lne and replacing it with new rail. The worn rail is then handed down and relaid on the secondary lines and the secondary line rail is scrapped or goes to industrial spurs.
METRA, the Chicago area commuter line, spent $258 million in 2009 on track and bridge maintenance to include replacement of 50,000 ties and resurfacing of 160 miles of track.
AMTRAK has a M-O-W budget of $441.7 million for track maintenance in 21010. Most of the track AMTRAK owns is in the northeast corridor. this includes the installation of 162,000 ties.
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