I can appreciate the irony of the human condition as well as anyone, but as has been stated twice in this thread, there are plenty of other modes of transportation available to "keep gas in our cars." We don't need rail transport to meet our domestic demand. Of course, crude by rail was never intended to bolster domestic supply, although that is how it's being sold, and apparently, some of us are still buying.

If you believe this is all about getting more crude to domestic refineries and faster, why do you suppose the railroads and oil corps are lobbying DC to repeal the ban on petroleum exports?

I don't know... Maybe this will prove beneficial to our local economies. One thing's for sure: all the public hearings are a North of Falconesque dog and pony show. This is definitely happening; public opposition is only making it more costly. Of course, when it's all over with and the tankers are breezing in and out of our ports, the costs will be handed down to us in the form of higher prices at the pump. Oh, yeah... On that note: what do you suppose will happen to gas prices when foreign demand starts cutting into our supply? Don't you suppose the cost of food and everything else for which transport is petroleum-powered will follow suit? I get how this helps Warren Buffet and Big Oil, but how was it supposed to help you and I again?