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Would you support tax subsidies to rebuild B&O's former Baltimore-St.Louis mainline?


The rail line was refurbished in 1980 with wielded rail and general improvements and was probably its best shape it had been in years. However, by 1985 the line was down to 4 daily through freights plus the occasional mixed train. The line was downgraded and those expedited freights were rerouted but all failed due to the added time over the longer route. The line was abandoned in 1988 and over 120 miles of the line was removed. It was rumored that one of the big Western railroads were interested in this line but the line was quickly removed to keep them out for that market.

The decision to downgrade this line came at a time when the railroads faced some of their poorest markets. However, within a few short years the intermodal boom took off. Now Ohio has no active east-west rail line south of Columbus. There's no doubt that if this line were rebuilt it would be an important corridor for intermodal traffic and the potential boost to the corridor between the named cities. Would you support tax subsidies to rebuild B&O's former Baltimore-St.Louis mainline?

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No

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No.

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As much as I see the need to rebuild railroad infrastructure, tax subsidies are not the way to do it.

Why not give tax breaks to private investors?

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The problem is railroads were heavily taxed while trucking and airlines were subsidized. Now we have public tax subsidies for professional stadiums, all types of corporate welfare, the Hollywood industry etc. It's no wonder why the rich keep getting richer.

Tax breaks to investors that could be a good idea. Maybe a bond, or public stock option.

I suspect there would be a lot of pushback to resurrect a rail corridor that has been gone for nearly 40 years.
The legal hurdles alone would be immense.



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Do I still get the bonus if I own the other 3 railroads?

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