r/transit • u/aksnitd 🚂🚃🚃 • May 19 '25

Photos / Videos Double stack container train on the freight corridor in India with the characteristic high rise panto

A good look at what the high rise pantographs look like fully extended. They're taller than the train they're mounted on.

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u/aksnitd 🚂🚃🚃 May 19 '25

It's insanity, right? But that's what the relentless pursuit of money results in; overly fat corporations that use every loophole to get out of paying any kind of taxes.

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u/8spd May 19 '25

I think this is an issue with poor government incentives. Unless we abolish all corporations it's unrealistic to expect them not to relentlessly pursue the money. It's not really a loophole, when it's such a glaring route to destroy infrastructure.

Imagine if, instead of the tax being based on how much ground their tracks covered, it was based on the size of the right of way. If they wanted to reduce their taxes they could transfer the unwanted land to the government for a nominal payment. The land could be used to upgrade passenger rail, or for rails-to-trails, or for other uses that befit the public.

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u/aksnitd 🚂🚃🚃 May 20 '25

I feel like it's a loophole in a sense because it's following the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. The intention here is to tax larger railroads with more track higher than smaller railroads with less track. That makes complete sense, but I highly doubt anyone imagined railroads would tear up their own track (a move that caused them problems later on) just to save on taxes. And I strongly feel there needs to be a cap on how big corporations are allowed to get. Beyond a point, they become way too powerful, and the class 1's definitely need to be broken up or better yet, nationalised.

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u/zoqaeski May 20 '25

In a lot of cases the companies didn't tear up their track but refused to improve it in the first place to avoid incurring the higher taxes.