And the passenger trains wouldn't be late either.

Coal is a very big cash generator for freight railroads. How big? Consider this:

In Wyoming's Powder River Basin, source of the low-sulfur coal that fires so many power plants, BNSF and Union Pacific are expanding their 50-50 joint venture, which when complete

will include 270 total miles of triple and quadruple tracks. It's designed to give the two competing railroads the most freight capacity. The lengthy trains, each with 135 cars, need enough track to get through. Rose compares the track expansion to driving on an eight-line highway.

"There's nothing like it in the world, in terms of freight rail capacity," Rose said. "It is the heaviest tonnage railroad in the world. ... If the entire U.S. network railroad system looked like the joint line, quite frankly, we would not have transportation problems in the United States."

We know there's congestion on the rails. Thanks to Amtrak, we even know where it's worst: where the Amtrak trains run latest. What would it take to secure a public stake in building more of these "eight-lane highways" of steel rail so that goods and passengers--not just coal--can move freely?