I agree 100% that no tax dollars should go to support any part of a wealthy corporation's bottom line or investments.

You'll note that BNSF and UP are probably two of the richest railroads in the U.S. Like I said earlier, we're not talking about a Rock Island or a Milwaukee Road here.

With that said, I see this as more of an issue of improving our nation's transportation infrastructure to be less dependent on trucks to move our goods.

Other than to appease UP and BNSF, why limit the investment solely toward the transportation of freight? When I suggested that the improvements also benefit improved rail passenger service, the idea was "poo poo'ed" by several people. Are these people inherently "anti passenger train"? Are they of the mindset that train tracks can/should only be used by freight trains? What gives?

Trucking companies, airlines, and shipping companies have received nearly a free ride from day one while our railroads have paid for almost all of their infrastructure (except the initial land give-aways 150 years ago).

The railroads aren't exactly hurting financially right now. You're forgetting that, in 1971, we taxpayers lifted the burden off the shoulders of the railroads in operating money-losing passenger service in the form of Amtrak. They used to have to operate commuter service too. Remember SP wanting to get out of the Peninsula Commute Service so badly they were offering to by vans for the commuters? That burden has been lifted. They've also shed many money-losing branch lines over the years and negotiated more favorable labor contracts. The railroads have done quite well, thank you very much, over the past few decades thanks to the Staggers Rail Act, the abolishment of the ICC (replaced by a pretty impotent STB) and the spate of mega-mergers.

Again, I ask how it is that ATSF was able to foot the bill for the Crookton-Williams Jct. line relocation in 1960 and SP was able to cover the cost of the Palmdale-Colton Cutoff in 1967, yet we now have UP and BNSF turning their pockets inside out and pleading poverty in the case of making some improvements to the line over Tehachapi. Again, let me stress that these are not impoverished railroads. If they want public money, we shouldn't just give it to them with no questions (or conditions) asked. We should demand that at least SOME rail passenger service be restored over the line. The two biggest obstacles that I can see in making that a reality would be competent dispatching by UP on a consistent basis and a lack of enthusiasm by Amtrak to provide the service. Right now, Amtrak pretty much wants to stay away from establishing any new routes. I'm sure their reason for that is political more than anything else. If Amtrak can't restore service to Las Vegas, for whatever reason, it certainly can't restore service over the Tehachapis.

If UP and BNSF are receiving public funding to improve the most important (one of only two) north-south rail line in the western 1/3 of the country so they can run more trains more efficiently, than it is an investment in EVERYONE's future.

And wouldn't it also be an investment in EVERYONE's future if passenger service was restored over Tehachapi Pass? Why is there this "tunnel vision" that if taxpayer dollars are going to be invested in this project, only freight trains should be allowed to operate over the line? Have we been brainwashed so thoroughly by UP and BNSF that we won't even place that proposal on the table?

I don't see ANY public benefit to the trillion dollars invested in our self destructive banks and automotive companies. Wonder what all that TARP money could have done to improve our rail infrastructure?

No doubt, we could have had some SUPER railroads built with that money. But would only freight trains be operating over them?