Abandonments have reduced the total track mileage by 50 percent since 1929 . Why did these ...

Overexpansion couple with a decline in rail shipments and the cost effectiveness of truck transportation left extensive amounts of excess trackage in many areas. Face with significant amounts of under utilized assets, the railroads had to abandon large portions of rail trackage to remain competitive. Parallel and overlapping routes, therefore, have been eliminated whenever possible.

In the late 1950s, the government opened the Interstate Highway System. This increased the cost effectiveness of trucking service, which caused shippers to use motor carriers. To effectively compete with trucking companies for time-sensitive traffic, railroads had to focus on efficient routes.

Once the railroad companies abandoned the tracks, they sold the rails and ties to scrap dealers. They received as much as 10,000 per mile or reused the materials elsewhere.

The ICC, and later the STB, still regulate abandonments but changes in the law made it much easier for the rail road industry to close unprofitable lines. Not all the lines were scrapped as regional and short line operators took over some of this property.

New developments, such as unit trains carrying one commodity like coal or grain from shipper to one consignee helped the railroads operate profitably. As more and more trains were concentrated on fewer and fewer routes, overhead costs were spread over more businesses. Another advantage of the abandonment was the rails to trails programs where the abandoned rails were turned into extensive networks of biking and walking paths.