To a vast majority of Americans railroads are not a major concern and given very little thought with the exception of those who routinely use Commuter,Intercity Rail to their place of employment or to see Grandma or some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. That part of Railroading is not the topic of this post but will be addressed in the future.
What I'd like to address is that part of Railroading that affects ALL Americans on the mainland and is at a critical crossroad,Railroad Freight, weather it be Intermodal,Auto Transport,Waste,Coal for Power Plants,Oil and Chemicals,Lumber and Steel,and commodities and consumer products just to name a few. And let us not forget the part Rail played in WW II as well as Desert Storm and our most recent wars. Ask most any resident of Harris County(Houston Area) of the long drags of flatcars loaded with Tanks or HumVees rolling over crossings. There is nothing that can move the amount of commodities that can be handled by rail.
The ability of rail to move at a fast efficient rate benefits us all. Back in the day of the ICC the Trucking Industry and Railroads were at each others throats. That thankfully changed through forward thinking and regulations. So today when you see a Semi hauling a 40 ft van there is a 7in 10 chance that Van was moved the bulk of its trip by Rail greatly reducing the amount of congestion on our Interstate highways and cutting the use of fuel. .A freight train is three times as fuel efficient as a truck.
But unlike the Trucking Industry whose infrastructure is paid for by in large the American Taxpayer,Interstate Freight Railroads,known as Class I,pay their own way even though their existence benefits us all to the point that we would be brought to a halt in production without them.
According to a Rand Corporation Report "The volume of freight transported in the United States is expected to double in the next 30 years. An increased use of rail freight could allow the supply chain to accommodate these increased volumes while minimizing highway congestion and improving energy efficiency in the transportation sector. Shippers and policymakers are concerned that the existing infrastructure — much diminished after decades of track abandonment — lacks sufficient capacity to accommodate the increased demand for rail freight."
The report also states " The railroad system is privately owned and operated, but there is a public role for easing rail capacity constraints because private decisions about transportation investment and freight shipping have public consequences for safety and the environment. A better understanding of the public and private cost trade-offs between shipping freight by truck and by rail is needed. Improvements to data quality and freight-modeling tools will improve the ability for policymakers to better target public investment in the rail freight transportation system."
And that's the problem, how can we grow an economy by ignoring our Rail Infrastructure as Congress has done.
The American Association of Railroads has released a report that explores the long-term capacity expansion needs of the continental U.S. freight railroads. According to the report, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s projected 88 percent increase in demand for rail freight transportation in 2035 will require an investment in infrastructure of $148 billion (in 2007 dollars) over the next 28 years. Class I railroads' share is projected to be $135 billion, with $13 billion projected for short line and regional freight railroads.
With the introduction of H.R.2091:Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Act of 2011 Sponcered by Rep. Leonard Boswell(D-IA 3rd) which has been referred to Committee we might see some light shown on this subject before it becomes a disaster,which it well could.
Only pressure from the Public can do that as the Committee,House Committee on Ways and Means*, seems unable or unwilling to advance it.
*D.Camp MI Chairman 202 225 3625 Fax 202 225 2610
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR603.html
http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/159243.aspx
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr2091
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