What is the comparative mileage between road and rail building?

Question

Such as 1 mile of a single lane highway is equal to how many miles of rail. Just straight forward no overpasses, bridges, tressels etc.

Answer 1

How shiny you want the railroad?  A 40 mph branch line, a 150 mph high-speed line, or a 100 MGT heavy-haul?  (MGT is million gross tons per year; 100 MGT is a lot!)

Cheap railroads are *cheap* especially if you can get used rail and ties.  (Hey, some new public transit systems were built with used rail, nothing wrong with it!)

The more exotic stuff costs a couple million US$ a mile.  Still cheaper than a 2-lane road...  and FAR cheaper than a road that would do the same job as the rail.  (can you imagine a 100MGT highway!!?  You're talking about a heavy industrial interstate freeway at that point...)

Answer 2

Rail is about one third the cost.