America’s Freight Railroads Celebrate 30 Years of Success under 1980 Staggers Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 14, 2010 – America’s freight railroads today marked 30 years of success following the passage of the 1980 Staggers Act, a watershed piece of legislation that revitalized the nation’s railroads and removed a century’s worth of excessive regulation.

“Freight railroads are a true American success story. Before the Staggers Act was passed, the future looked bleak. Today, freight rail is a driving force in the nation’s economy, supporting more than a million jobs and keeping American businesses competitive,” said Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads.

By extracting the federal government from the day-to-day running of railroads, and allowing the marketplace to determine success or failure, the Staggers Act helped put a teetering rail industry on sound financial footing. Before then, government regulations inhibited competition, leaving railroads unable to compete in the marketplace. As a result, many railroads went bankrupt, investments stagnated, infrastructure crumbled and rail service suffered.

Today, the Staggers Act is credited for lowering average inflation-adjusted rail rates 55 percent, for improving rail safety and productivity, increasing rail market share, and returning financial stability to an industry which since 1980 has reinvested $460 billion back into the nation’s rail network. For Americans, the Staggers Rail Act can be credited with saving consumers billions of dollars, making our nation’s economy more competitive, and supporting 1.2 million jobs throughout the economy, Hamberger said.