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| INTERCITY       FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           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| **Air               Quality**

Rail service               plays a beneficial role in reducing air pollution emissions, helping               urban areas meet air quality standards.� Amtrak produces far less               carbon monoxide (CO) than aircraft or automobiles.� According to               the October 1994 Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Northeast               Corridor Improvement Project - Electrification- New Haven, CT to               Boston, MA, electrification of rail passenger service in the Northeast               Corridor from New Haven to Boston, is expected to further reduce               CO emissions by five percent.� Volatile organic compounds (VOC)emissions and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions (two ozone precursors)               will be reduced by five percent and fifteen percent, respectively,               as a result of diversion from other modes and the switch from diesel               power to electric power.� Commuters taking electrified rail passenger               trains to work instead of single occupancy vehicles can reduce the               NOx contribution to urban smog.

Very few               comprehensive studies of freight emissions have been conducted.�               Emissions produced by moving freight can vary widely depending upon               a variety of operational and logistical factors, such as miles of               travel, engine efficiency, and fuel use.� For decision-making purposes,               comparisons of rail and truck emissions should be made on a case-by-case               basis, using the particular facts and circumstances of the freight               movement being modeled. Calculations based on 1993 Environmental               Protection Agency (EPA) emission data indicate that trucks emit               more NOx, VOC, diesel particulates, and CO than rail to move the               same amount of freight.� Railroads are working closely with major               locomotive manufacturers to develop advanced diesel technology (electronic               fuel injection and enhanced turbo-charged air cooling) and alternative               fuel engines to produce even fewer emissions. 

Additionally,               the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Draft Inventory of U.S.               Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 - 1999" (January 2001)               indicates transportation activities accounted for an almost constant               26 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 1999.�               These emissions were primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) from fuel combustion,               which increased by 13 percent from 1990 to 1999.� Rail and marine               transportation combined contributed�the least amount of� the transportation               sectors CO2 emissions.

In order               to better understand the air quality implications of intercity freight               operations and potential emission control strategies, FRA, FHWA,               and EPA jointly sponsored a study, Air Quality Issues in Intercity               Freight, conducted by Cambridge Systematics, Inc.� (See FRA's web               site, at httt://www.fra.dot.gov/site/index.htm               under Policy Studies).The study, completed in 1997, identified tools               and methods that can assist metropolitan and state planners in developing               credible plans and analyses of freight emission reduction strategies               in air quality non-attainment areas. 

The Transportation               Research Board (TRB) has completed the first phase of its study,               Development of a Multimodal Framework for Freight Transportation               Investment: Consideration of Rail and Highway Trade-Offs.� This               research, performed by the Texas Transportation Institute, evaluates               examples of transportation investment alternatives, focusing on               rail-highway trade-offs in state rail program activities.� While               the focus is on direct costs, indirect costs, such as economic impacts,               energy use, productivity, air quality, and safety impacts, are also�               considered.� The continuation project 20-29 (02), Development of               a Computer Model for Multimodal, Multicriteria Transportation Investment               Analysis, will assist state and local planners� in making alternative               modal investment decisions.� The software will be available in late               2001.� Contact Adrienne Archer at TRB, 202/334-3237� for information               on these unpublished studies. 

Transportation               Research Boards Special Report #246, Paying Our Way: Estimating               Marginal Social Costs of Freight Transportation, published in 1996,               uses four case studies to explore the potential usefulness and feasibility               of a comprehensive study of freight transportation to measure the               subsidies provided to the freight modes and the external costs of               freight transportation, such as air pollution, congestion, safety,               and energy consumption.� The study is available for $16.00 from               the TRB bookstore at http://www.nationalacademies.org/trb/bookstore/.

**Noise**

EPA has               issued noise standards for the operation of locomotives and rail               cars under moving conditions, as well as for four major rail yard               noise sources:� locomotive load cell test stands, switcher locomotives,               car coupling operations, and retarders.� Of interest to communities,               the sounding of locomotive horns or whistles in advance of highway-rail               grade crossings has been used as a universal safety precaution by               railroads since the late 1800s.� Since that time, in some locations               across the United States, Whistle Bans have been established by               local ordinance or through agreements with particular railroads.

However,               studies have shown that highway-rail incidents are 62 percent more               likely to occur at grade crossings where train horns are not sounded.�               In response to a law enacted by Congress in 1996, FRA has written               a proposed rule requiring that train horns be sounded when a train               approaches and enters a public highway-rail grade crossing unless               certain exceptions are met to establish a quiet zone.� Where grade               crossings are eliminated or grade-separated, there will no longer               be a train whistle issue.� The proposed rule describes the safety               measures that a community may employ to establish a quiet zone and               yet deter drivers from taking risks at crossings. �For additional               information, see FRA's web site at: http://www.fra.dot.gov/s/env/horns/index.htm.

Site         Index

Section         1.

Section         2.

Section         3.Section 4.Surface Transportation         ProgramTIFIANCPD and CBI ProgramsTransportation Enhancements         Program

Section         5.Air QualityEnergy**TEA-21         Role in Transportation and the Environment**

Section         6.�

Appendix         1.        Appendix 2.        Appendix 3.

 

 
   
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