Why doesn't via rail combine freight and passenger trips on the same train? To reduce the cost for passengers
Why doesn't via rail combine freight and passenger trips on the same train? To reduce the cost for passengers
Freight trolleys in the back, passenger trolleys in the front.
Freight trains are typically extremely long, and slow. Not only would passengers not want to go that slow, but expanding energy to start and slow freight at every stop is probably not financially wise.
It stands to reason that if this were profitable, companies would do it without even giving the profits to the passengers.
There are also different types of freight trains that do very different trip plans. Manifest trains stop frequently and for long periods of time. Intermodal trains often pass through hump yards and are torn down and rebuilt after interchanging cars for various destinations. None of this conducive to passenger cars being in the mix. Not to mention hazmat cars and the liability of hauling hazmat and people together.