|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--|--|--|--|--|--|
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  |  |  |  |  |
| INTERCITY       FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RAIL:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |  |  |
|                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  |
| ***Section         5***
***INTERCITY             RAIL'S SOCIETAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS***

This section describes             rail transportation's environmental and societal benefits - public             benefits that enhance the nation's economic well-being and quality             of life.� Attempts to value the public benefits of rail intermodal             projects often become a major stumbling block for local and state             officials.� The public benefits of intercity freight and passenger             rail systems and individual projects include unique contributions             of congestion mitigation, environmental quality, energy savings, and             land use.� These benefits are discussed below and should be considered             in project evaluation. 

**Public-Private             Benefits of Rail - Overview**

Railroads are private companies             operating and maintaining their own rights-of-way and linked together             to form a nationwide rail network -- a vital component of our integrated             national transportation system.� The freight and passenger rail systems             link people and businesses in an energy efficient and environmentally             sound manner.

In 1997, freight railroads             in the United States carried 26.7 percent of all intercity ton�miles             --� more than waterways, oil pipelines and air -- and close to the             27.8 percent of tonmiles carried by trucks.� In Fiscal Year 1998,             Amtrak provided service to 21.1 million intercity passengers and 54             million commuters carried under contract with local transit authorities.

When Congress passed ISTEA,             it recognized the inherent values gained from an intermodal transportation             system that can leverage the unique characteristics and advantages             of each mode.� Congress stated:�It is the policy of the United States             to develop a National Intermodal Transportation System that is economically             efficient and environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the             Nation to compete in the global economy, and will move people and             goods in an energy efficient manner.

Expansion of capacity in             the transportation sector to meet economic growth needs will likely             occur from better use of existing transportation assets, with greater             emphasis on intermodal connections that maximize the particular advantages             of each transportation mode.� 

Highways are effective             feeders to the long-distance, high capacity rail system. A 1995 FHWA             study of intermodal freight (Fact Sheet in Intermodal Freight Transportation,             Volume 2), noted some benefits of rail/truck intermodal transportation:�             An efficient, coordinated long-distance truck-rail-truck intermodal             movement can be up to 3.4 times more fuel efficient than a non-�intermodal             truck movement while emitting only 20 percent as many hydrocarbons.             The study also cited other benefits, such as lower transportation             costs, reduced congestion, and higher returns from public and private             infrastructure investments through greater use of intermodalism.

**Congestion**

Congestion             on the nation's highways and airways costs billions of dollars each             year in wasted fuel and lost time.� The Department of Transportation             has� estimated that highway congestion in the nation's 50 largest             cities costs motorists over $40 billion annually, and airport delays             impose another $5 billion cost per year on airlines and passengers.�             Because provision of additional highway or air capacity is constrained             by space, costs, and environmental opposition, multimodal strategies             are needed to address the congestion problem.

Amtrak service             in the Northeast Corridor alleviates congestion between Washington,             D.C. and New York City, carrying about 45 percent of all common carrier             passenger traffic each year.� The recent completion of electrification             from New Haven to Boston in the Northeast Corridor and addition of             Amtrak=s             Acela express service in this market is expected to� reduce congestion             at airports in Boston, Providence, and New York.� The improved electrified             rail line also offers the opportunity to relieve overall highway congestion             and specific bottlenecks, particularly in urban areas.

A 1989 General             Accounting Office (GAO) Report, Traffic Congestion:� Trends, Measures,             and Effects, identified six forces that shape traffic congestion:�             1) suburban development trends (movement of families, services, and             jobs away from the central city and into suburban areas); 2) economic             trends (changes in the employment base away from manufacturing and             towards services, changes in communications technology, increases             in the amount of discretionary travel, etc.); 3) labor force trends             (the overall growth in the labor force and women entering the workplace);             4) automobile use trends (growing automobile availability and use);             5) truck traffic trends (greater use of trucks, increases in truck             size and weight, and increasing numbers of heavy truck accidents);             and 6) highway infrastructure trends (increasing traffic without a             corresponding increase in infrastructure capacity). 

The 1995 FHWA             report cited above notes that intermodal freight transportation offers             the promise of . . . reducing the traffic on over stressed infrastructure,             e.g. congested highways, to less congested modes.� An intermodal truck             to double-stack train to truck movement would displace approximately             200 trucks from the line-haul portion of the movement.� Such a conversion             would lessen congestion of the nation's highways.

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.

 

 
   
faq         - comments - what's         new - Search

                                                |