If you are saving 3 truck loads per rr car, this may be a reasonable expense. Lets say a shipper ships 10 cars a year at 1000.00 per car vs 40 truck loads at 500.00 per truck load or 10,000 rail vs 20,000.00 truck, it would seem be break even. If he ships 11 car loads he saves 1000.00 per car above the 10 car load.

Of course this is a hypothetical, but I would think that the 1 to 4 ratio works in favor of a shipper as he ships more by rail. It clearly does not pay for the small shipper, but wasn't that why we had team tracks and public rams, to be used by the occasional shipper.