Rail system investment analysis
Subtitle: analysis of investment projects from the railroad industry perspective
By: prepared by Ernst & Ernst, R. L. Banks & Associates, Inc
Contributors: United States. Dept. of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs; United States. Office of Intermodal Transportation; R.L. Banks & Associates.
Series: Report - Dept. of Transportation ; no. DOT-P-10-78-35
Publisher: Dept. of Transportation, [Office of the Secretary], Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs; for sale by the National Technical Information Service
Published: 1978
Place of publication: Washington; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 68
Subjects: Railroads -- United States -- Finance; Investment analysis
Other titles: Analysis of investment projects from the railroad industry perspective
Description: This study deals with the impact of railroad investments on the profits of all the affected companies in the railroad industry, not just the railroad making the investment. It draws upon interviews with executives at 13 railroads, data on 96 investment projects undertaken or proposed by these railroads, and numerous published sources. The study demonstrates that the investments made by individual railroad companies are sometimes not the best investments from the industry point-of-view, and occasionally do more harm than good. This disparity stems from three factors: the railroads' indifference to the impacts which their investments have on other railroads; the limitations on the size of investments caused by the fragmentation of the industry's capital resources; and the administrative barriers to the undertaking of joint projects within the industry. The study describes each of these factors and discusses their implications for railroads and governments.
Notes: Prepared for Office of Intermodal Transportation, U.S. Dept. of Transportation

May 1978