What has taken place during the past 20 years is nothing short of revolutionary. Intermodal transportation has become the global standard for moving freight. It also makes use of the versatility of the cargo container and trailer. Huge container ships and cargo airplanes span the oceans. The truck provides local feeder service at origins and destinations.
Cargo airplanes deliver high-value, specialized freight.
Today, a doublestack train leaving a coastal port can replace 280 trucks, run at speeds up to 90 miles an hour on the western railroads, and afford as much as nine times the fuel efficiency of container transport by highway. It is a new vision of truly high-speed intercity travel that is based upon steel, not pavement. The concept is not radical. It combines the proven efficiency of rail transportation with the strengths of the intermodal system-and it reaches into the downtowns of nearly all of our major cities. Many of them will parallel Interstate highways.