The railroad industry
Railroads are an indispensable transportation infrastructure. Although railroads move less freight volume than highways, their costs of transportation are much lower. Among major means of transportation, only inland waterways lead railroads in costs (Fig. 1; see here).
Fig. 1. The tonnage of freight on highways, railroads, and inland waterways. Source.
Railroad carriers are known to be wide-moat businesses if run efficiently. That is why intelligent investors are attracted to them. On the other hand, they are usually bid up to a level of valuation untenable for value investors. Only during