Deck 6: Railroads

Question 1

The basic unit of measurement for railroad freight handling is known as the:

A) unit load.
B) carload
C) freight load.
D) capacity load.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

One of the benefits of a railroad mergers is:

A) there are fewer grade crossings
B) lees frequent interchanges between companies means faster service
C) cities and towns get back land once used for railroads
D) The STB does not have as many companies to regulate.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Who are the owners the greatest percentage of rolling stock in use?

A) class I railroads
B) federal government for military moves
C) private car leasing firm and shippers
D) investment and financial firms

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is one of the strengths of the railroad industry?

A) that it is not as affected by the weather as are other modes
B) that the railroads have large carrying capacity
C) that it can move products in both directions
D) that geographical barriers are not as formidable as they are for other modes

Question 5

Intramodel competition is:

A) the joint use of trucks and railroads to serve common customers
B) trucking companies underbidding other modes to secure business
C) various modes seeking to gain market share from other modes
D) a government sponsored activity

Question 6

Intermodal expanded by _____ from 1980 to 2007.

A) 100 percent
B) 365 percent
C) 484 percent
D) 300 percent

Question 7

The demand for freight:

A) originates when the carrier asks for the business
B) starts when the shipper calls the railroad to provide equipment to move a shipment
C) is a derived demand based demand for products
D) is based upon government quotas

Question 8

During 2006,railroads carried what percentage of all intercity ton miles moved?

A) 47.1 percent
B) 39.4 percent
C) 43.0 percent
D) 50.2 percent

Question 9

What is the major cost element of the railroad?

A) operation and maintenance of locomotives
B) operation and maintenance of rights
C) operation and maintenance of railcars
D) operation and maintenance of yards and terminals

Question 10

Railroad carloadings have declined since 1900.What is the primary reason for the decline?

A) competition by foreign transportation
B) fuel efficient smaller cars
C) reduction in line trackage
D) larger cars and increasing car productivity

Question 11

Which is a major reason for the decline in the number of rail companies?

A) mergers and unification occurring in the railroad industry
B) government restrictions on rail ownership
C) loss of business to other modes
D) desire of management to invest in other areas of business

Question 12

Railroad per unit costs decline as traffic increases.What is the reason for this cost behavior?

A) A high proportion of variable costs in the cost structure
B) A low proportion of fixed costs in the cost structure
C) A large proportion of fixed costs in the cost structure
D) Limited capital investment by the railroads

Question 13

The railroads dominate the market for:

A) hauling 30,000 pounds or more over 300 miles.
B) hauling 60,000 pounds or less than 100 miles.
C) oversize and over-dimension shipments.
D) coal and chemicals.

Question 14

Which type of railroad car has the greatest numbers in service?

A) tank car
B) covered hopper
C) flat car
D) gondola

Question 15

What do the majority of rail movements involve?

A) manufactured goods
B) bulk liquids and coal
C) low value, heavy commodities
D) consumer goods

Question 16

Which bill,under consideration in the Senate,would make the first changes to rail's competitive structure since 1980?

A) S. 186
B) S. 146
C) S. 168
D) Staggers Rail Act

Question 17

Which best characterizes the short-run cost structure of the railroads?

A) low variable costs, high direct separable costs
B) low fixed costs, low variable costs
C) low joint costs, high separable costs
D) large proportion of indirect fixed costs

Question 18

What was the purpose of the legislation which created Amtrak?

A) It relived railroads from the responsibility of providing passenger service
B) It allowed the government to provide service without concern for profit
C) It allowed the states to take over commuter service
D) It allowed the railroads to get rid of track that was only used by passenger trains

Question 19

Railroads are:

A) more energy efficient than most other modes
B) more likely to haul energy producing materials than other modes
C) not as energy efficient as most other modes
D) buying more energy efficient locomotives

Question 20

What is the difference between TOFC and COFC service?

A) TOFC is slower and cheaper
B) not all railroads can handle COFC
C) that COFC is more costly
D) one method move the trailer on its wheels and the other moves only the "box" or the container.

Question 21

Who is the largest single customer of some rail roads?

A) FedEx
B) DHL
C) Walmart
D) UPS

Question 22

What percentage of rail revenue is earned by local carriers?

A) 2.1 Percent
B) 1.8 Percent
C) 3.7 Percent
D) 28 Percent

Question 23

What commodity accounted for 7,800,000 railcar loads in 2007?

A) Nonmetallic minerals
B) Food
C) Farm products
D) Coal

Question 24

Rails to Trails Conservancy has created how many miles of hiking trails?

Question 25

The major cost element borne by the railroad industry is the:

A) Rolling Stock
B) Fuel costs
C) Rights of way
D) Insurance

Question 26

As of 2007 what was the return on investment in the rail industry?

Question 27

What types of mergers occurred in the rail industry? What has been the result of this activity after the passage of the Staggers Rail Act?

Question 28

What led to the erosion of rail dominance in U.S.transportation?

A) Passenger air service in the 1920s
B) Government funded construction of roads
C) Steel price increase
D) Coal price increase

Question 29

Name the top 4 commodities transported by railroads.

Question 30

What are the three major classifications of labor on railroads?

Question 31

The railroads can claim a number of service advantages,such as a large carrying capacity,assumption of liability for shipments,and an increased use of technology.However,there are also a number of disadvantages. Please describe the rail disadvantages.

Question 32

When did scheduled common carrier frieght and passenger service begin in the U.S.?

A) 1918
B) 1868
C) 1789
D) 1930

Question 33

Define Intramodal.

Question 34

Standard track guage is defined as?

Question 35

What is the standard track guage in the U.S?

A) 5 Feet
B) 6 Foot 2 Inches
C) 4 Foot 8.5 Inches
D) 4 Foot 10 Inches

Question 36

How many Class 1 rail companies are there?

A) 5
B) 7
C) 66
D) 18

Question 37

What are mergers called that eliminate duplicate rail lines?

Question 38

Rail is considered ologpolistic market structure because:

Question 39

Abandonments have reduced the total track mileage by 50 percent since 1929.Why did these abandonments occur? What have been at least two outgrowths of this abandonment trend? Does any government agency oversee railroad abandonments?

Question 40

How many rail mergers have occurred in the last 30 years?

A) 15
B) 50
C) 28
D) 18

Question 41

The railroad's short run cost structure consists of a large proportion of indirect fixed costs resulting from the mode's investment in long-lived assets.Explain the fixed elements of the mode's cost structure.

Question 42

Piggyback service was designed for increase service levels to intermodal customers.What are the characteristics of this traffic?

Question 43

After the passage of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 the railroads have improved service to their customers.Describe these areas of improvement.

Question 44

Describe some of the strengths of the rail industry.

Question 45

Briefly explain the factors that led to the erosion of Rail dominance in 1920 and 1930.

Question 46

What is a "unit train" and what are the advantages and disadvantages of unit trains?

Question 47

Discuss the legislative reform which has occurred since 1973.How did each new law impact the railroad industry.You need not include the legislation which started Amtrak.

Question 48

Discuss the current use of technology in the railroad industry.

Question 49

Discuss some of the elements of rail road industry's cost structure

Question 50

Discuss the history and current situation of alcohol and drug abuse in the railroad industry.

Question 51

Describe the various types of rail company rolling stock.