this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2023
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chapotraphouse
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I though the US had freight rail. Put that shit on trains.
Freight rail is kind of a clusterfuck in the USA even if people think it is amazing.
Also, for some reason, everything container on the west coast seems to go through LA/Long Beach, which is also backed up.
And that's assuming it doesn't just derail.
Panama could open a railroad parallel to the canal and a port on either end...
You would need two ports able to accommodate enough traffic that it would effectively be the largest two ports in the Americas. You are also going to really mess up logistics as you are splitting one transit trip to three different companies. Costs also rise when you have to process cargo, which you are now add two additional times process cargo.
It isn't going to be economicly viable. Hell, China's plan to cross Central America also includes a canal due to cost.
the railroad part exists, and predates the canal even!
Freight rail is rarely better than just putting the stuff on a ship. While it may be faster, ships are able to move much larger amounts. Its the same story as freight planes. There's a reason shipping is responsible for something like 80% of transport worldwide
okay, uh, why haven't they just made tanker-ship wide trains already?
Because that would require tanker-ship wide rail infrastructure (and tanker-ship tall as wellz which will really challenge the weight-factor)
But Biden said rail was the backbone of America and thus not allowed to strike!