Also bear in mind that its not heavy rail freight traffic on which the US wastes the majority of its long haul diesel consumption, but rather truckload freight. Only a small share of the oil savings is on existing rail traffic: the bulk is on shifting truckload freight to electric rail.

So the focus of the infrastructure is providing the 100mph single stacked (22.5 tonne axle load) Rapid Electric Freight Rail that would have a massive market competitive advantage for long haul truckload freight.

Extend the Colorado-Utah border north and south ... there are six east-west corridors that cross that line. The southern Wyoming line selected connects to the Pacific Northwest via Portland, Northern California via Salt Lake City, and Southern California via Salt Lake City.

The northern of the two Denver alignments is the less mountainous alignment of the two: it hits the terrain just east of Salt Lake City, but either alignment does that, and AFAIU going via Wyoming instead of Western Colorado is generally easier terrain.

There are two alignments out of Wyoming to get to Kansas City and from there to St. Louis. The one via Denver is better is a collection / drop-off for what is presently truckload freight than Omaha and Des Moines, because Denver / Colorado Springs is a bigger population.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.