Wizard - Your roads are subsidized at a much larger cost than this little railroad. Granted the line has seen no traffic in 10 years so on a cost per ton mile the highway is cheaper but in time the railroad will make money. The NWP does not and will not get any subsidy for the 63 miles it is going to operate after start-up. They have to fund all maintenance, operations and repairs themselves. The funding for going North may be another issue. The money to rebuild the 63 miles was already spent so it doesn't make any sense to stop it now. Let them operate grow the business and run the railroad. If they do succeed we all will benefit with better air quality and lower cost for our job producing industries (what's left of them). I am in agreement with you on the subsidy issue. The large subsidy that has gone into our airports and roads pails in comparison to what has gone into rail since World War II. For capitalism to work the government needs to get out of the transportation business all together. Let the modes compete on a level playing field. Rail will win due its lower operating costs and maintenance costs. $50billion a year is a lot of money to be spent on our nations highways.