The article is a couple months old now, but I find this a very interesting topic and wanted to share it here.
Thousands of replacement cars meant to better withstand an accident are sitting idle in rail yards around the country because the ethanol industry is not required to use them for another six years and as they cost about three time as much as the older cars, according to industry sources.
New, safer U.S. rail cars gather dust even as ethanol trains grow longer
It would cost about billions to replace all of the older cars with 117 model cars, Kelly Davis (Renewable Fuels Association) said in a phone interview.
"Owners paid $100,000 for these (current) cars, and you're going to melt them down like a tin can to make a new one," Davis said. "That's a lot of stranded capital."
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