The Case of the Outsourced IT Survey or, The Ugly American answers the phone 1084

Well, yes and no...

Replacing damaged rail and ties, once you transport the new materials to the site, in itself, is a straightforward matter. The roadbed, however, is another matter entirely, especially in places where the ground isn't that stable.

Railbeds are designed to accomodate more weight per square foot than roads are, and a badly maintained or repaired roadbed could mean the difference between a train arriving safely, or tipping over enroute.

Pavement you can just fill the hole with earth found just a few feet away from the pavement for a short-term repair, certainly enough to make the difference of an hour's delay, or a day's delay.

Take out a part of a rail line, and the train is stuck, or has to do a lot of backtracking and rerouting. Especially, in this day, where more rail line is abandoned and removed every year. We just don't have the number of alternate routes available that we once had. Take out the rail line in a small handful of strategic places, and you severely cripple the system.

Take out part of a road or highway, turn the wheel and drive around to the other side.

Its a no-brainer.

-- Smoovious