Alberta plans to buy 7,000 railcars to ease 'crisis' in oil price differentials

Smart move. We get the royalties from the oil, and income from the railcars. Now if we can get them built in Alberta . . .

Great idea!

I know! We could weld the railcars together, and then when we fill then end one up here in Alberta it would fill the others up and eventually empty out in Vancouver at the other end!

Brilliant!

Empty them right into the harbor.

They won't be going to Vancouver, so don't get too excited.

I wonder what the exact return on investment is, in exchange for a $1.6 Bn subsidy from the Alberta taxpayer, how many dollars are returned to the Alberta taxpayer?

What seems unusual to me is that this is an industry that seems to typically think government should stay the hell out of their business, especially an NDP government....until it�s time for a taxpayer handout Does this subsidy mean the NDP government is going to have more say?

Good question. I also wonder what the exact return on investment was when the federal Libs forgave $3.7 billion in loans to GM and Chrysler. How many dollars were returned to the Canadian and Ontario taxpayer? Nah, instead we have GM closing down one of its last plants in Canada. Money well spent I say.

And not to put too fine a point on it but, I wonder what the exact ROI is on a $5 billion pipeline that will never get built.

ROI would be quite high. Unfortunately, it will most likely be dumped into general coffers, and not ear marked for specific infrastructure, health, or educational funding.

A TR-117 carries between 28,000 & 30,000 gallons (US), based on liner and heating requirements. Assuming the smaller capacity, that is 651 odd barrels per car. A TR-117 costs between $120,000 & $150,000. If we assume the highest cost, lowest capacity, and lowest price per barrel, each TR-117 has to carry 230 loads for a return on initial costs.

Give or take, approx 3 years of use before positive returns.

Good question. I also wonder what the exact return on investment was when the federal Libs forgave $3.7 billion in loans to GM and Chrysler. How many dollars were returned to the Canadian and Ontario taxpayer? Nah, instead we have GM closing down one of its last plants in Canada. Money well spent I say.


Worthwhile question also.

This may sound radical to you, but Alberta has done this for decades, the only difference is they bought rail cars to haul wheat and grains.



Contrary to popular belief, the Heritage Trust Fund isn't a giant piggy bank the Alberta government can raid (fortunately), it isn't even just a bunch of stocks and bonds. It routinely invests in real estate (buildings and sometimes even shopping centres), timberland, infrastructure across Canada and around the world and yes, sometimes even rolling stock like the above image shows.

https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/3675e47 ... report.pdf