From a policy perspective, the biggest development is the widespread recognition in Congress that rail transportation, both freight and passenger, is the greenest mode of surface transportation. Railroads last year moved a ton of freight at an average of 436 miles per gallon of diesel fuel, more than three times as far as on the highway. Freight rail is also on average three times cleaner than truck transportation. Similarly, intercity passenger rail emits 60 percent less carbon dioxide per passenger mile than automobile travel.
We are encouraged by the fact that President-elect Obama’s campaign emphasized the importance of rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure so that it can support the economic growth necessary to create more American jobs. Expansion of our rail network — both freight and passenger — is the greenest way to increase our nation’s transportation capacity. The president-elect showed his understanding of the importance of rail through his support as a senator of the CREATE public-private partnership in Chicago and his support of expanded rail passenger service.
One way to encourage rail capacity expansion would be through enactment of the bipartisan Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act, which would unleash even more private investment to increase capacity of our nation’s rail network.
Railroads, of course, have not waited for government encouragement to invest in expanded capacity. The last two years have seen record amounts invested in renewing and expanding the capacity of our rail network. This will be reflected in 2009 by more reliable and dependable service so that our customers can effectively move their goods to market.