Ah, the only way to travel. Next time you go to Dallas, try the Texas Eagle. The only problem is getting up so early to catch the train. But the prices can't be beat.
The papers say 2024 was a pretty good year for the railroads, or at least two of the big ones: Union Pacific and CSX.
The future is less certain, what with a new president promising tariffs on pert near everybody, including this country's two biggest trading partners: Canada and Mexico.
But--in economics, there is often a "but"--if this administration is successful at easing back on regulations, that may outweigh the downside of its economic plans.
The key for any mode of transportation is efficiency. And according to Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau, both train companies improved in that area during the fourth quarter of 2024. They made billions.
The railroads, however, are concerned that tariffs could cut into their positive numbers: "I'm hoping that it's a negotiating position by the president because I don't think anybody--the consumers in the U.S.--would love to have increases in prices because of a dispute, unless there's some strategic reason that the president needs to do that for the country," said Jim Vena, CEO of Union Pacific.
Our thoughts are similar to Mr. Vena's. Why start a trade war that will ultimately cost Americans so much, when there's no apparent reason to wage this battle?
Political and philosophical questions aside, industry leaders are hoping for less regulation. The good news is they'll probably get it under Donald Trump 2.0, and it's true that there are many, many unnecessary regulations in the rail business that appear to be solutions looking for problems.
Trains are safer and environmentally friendlier, compared to other modes of moving cargo or people. But that doesn't change the fact that, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, in 2022 there were 952 train derailments in the United States, nearly three per day.
And some of these trains carry hazardous materials.
So we hope the administration is more careful about weeding unneeded regulations in coming months than it was in picking pardons in its first day. Some regulations just jam up the works. Others keep hazardous chemicals from wafting over our backyards.