Article: Saving small roads saves service and shippers.(short line/regional perspective)

I own and operate two gypsum quarries in Oklahoma that ship more than 600,000 tons annually to 26 cement plants nationwide, and I employ 80 people. Transportation is one of my largest expenses. Twenty-three of the cement plants I serve are 200-plus miles from my quarries, and for those shipments, rail transportation is the most economical way to go. In the 1990s, I lost most of my Class I service because the railroad could no longer afford to operate in rural areas like mine. My business was saved because short line railroad entrepreneurs bought the track and began operating a successful new local railroad, with a lower cost structure and more flexible service than the ...

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