John Hennessy III,
P.E.
According to the Association of American Railroads, freight rail traffic is a good indicator of the status of the economy both in the U.S. and abroad. So, to see if we really are on the road to economic recovery, check out AAR’s new traffic report widget. This tool can be placed on any blog or web site and automatically updates every month with new statistics. Visit AAR to get instructions for using this tool.
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POLICY MATTERS OHIO
America once led the world in production of rail cars, buses and other forms of transportation capital stock. As national attention shifted to highways and air transit in the second half of the twentieth century, investment in rail and public transit dwindled. New interest sparked by climate change and the dangers of dependency on fossil fuel and foreign oil have brought attention to pent-up demand and investment needs in this sector. National investments to repair existing stock and implement plans already in the works would provide sufficient demand to start rebuilding the public transit manufacturing sector…
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
America faces a freight transportation capacity crisis. Our highways, railroads, ports, waterways, and airports require investment well beyond current levels to maintain—much less improve—their performance. All systems are aging and stretched to capacity. The collapse of the economy in late 2008 temporarily reduced demand at seaports, and reduced truck and rail freight volumes. The time it takes for the economy to recover will give highway, rail, and port systems a breather before the capacity of the freight system will again constrain U.S. economic growth. During this period, decision makers will need to find a way to fund the improvements needed to improve the national freight system.
…the HSR initiative could turn out to be of considerable economic benefit to the nation — but not quite in the way the program has been sold to the public and not exactly in the manner it is still being envisioned by the Conference of Mayors and other passenger rail boosters.
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CALPIRG
As California moves toward construction of a new high-speed rail network, the state has much to learn from experiences abroad. High-speed rail lines have operated for more than 45 years in Japan and for three decades in Europe, providing a wealth of information about what California can expect from highspeed rail … and how the state can receive the greatest possible benefits from its investment.
We think a strong case can be made that true high-speed rail will eventually be necessary in the U.S. between major city-pairs separated by less than 300-400 miles, in order to relieve unacceptable levels of airport and air traffic congestion. In Europe, air service between Paris-Brussels [162 miles], Paris-Lyon (246 miles) and Cologne- Frankfurt [94 miles] has already been totally replaced by high-speed rail service.
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Ronald DeFeo is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Terex Corporation. Terex Corporation is a manufacturing franchise serving the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, recycling, mining, shipping, transportation, refining, utility, and maintenance industries.
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SONORAN INSTITUTE
Is rail transit the option that will move the transportation system in the right direction? Cost-effectiveness and environmental impact are the key criteria to consider. Now is the time to explore a few misconceptions about rail travel and review the potential benefits.
AMERICA 2050
America 2050 launched a research program on highspeed rail in 2009 to provide input and help shape the federal government’s new highspeed intercity passenger rail (HSIPR) program. In September 2009, we released the report “Where High-Speed Rail Works Best,” which discussed factors contributing to ridership demand for high-speed rail. The paper argued that the federal government should focus preliminary ARRA grants in corridors with the greatest passenger demand for high-speed rail service.
Moving forward, our research will continue to focus on success factors in developing high-speed rail systems and strategies for developing a national intercity passenger network. To that end, we offer the following recommendations for the long-term National Rail Plan, focused primarily on the elements of success for passenger rail.
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