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by barry-cotter 2425 days ago
Isn’t that model illegal in the US?
3 comments
manigandham 2425 days ago
No, why would it be? Any company can own real estate. Here's a more in-depth article explaining it: https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2012/05/secret-tokyos...
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alteria 2425 days ago
The big transcontinental railroads own several feet around the railroad, which is prime real estate for cables and the like.
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vidanay 2425 days ago
Historical note: A significant portion of that land was granted by the US government in the 19th century to incentivize westward expansion.
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beerandt 2424 days ago
I think you mean several miles. Which is why the PLSS grid looks like a checkerboard out west. Alternating sections for the public and the RR companies.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboarding_(land)

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evanelias 2425 days ago
It's legal and it's a model being increasingly adopted in the US, for better or worse. In the NYC metro area, both Port Authority and NJ Transit are visibly leaning on this model to drive revenue.
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