H. Res. 1366 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
July 27, 2010. 
Whereas the United States utilizes the most efficient and 
productive freight railroad system in the world; 
Whereas freight rail has played a critical role in the economic 
development of the United States and has helped to build 
cities and strengthen infrastructure throughout this great 
Nation; 
Whereas the first common carrier railroad in North America, 
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, was chartered by the 
State of Maryland in 1827; 
Whereas freight rail has been instrumental in bringing Amer-
ican goods to market nationally and internationally since 
1830; 
Whereas the United States freight rail network has over 560 
railroad companies, includes 140,000 miles of track and 
carries more than 2,200,000,000 tons of freight annually; 
Whereas 43 percent of all intercity freight volume is moved 
by freight rail, including the clothes we wear, the food we 
eat, the coal we use for domestic energy, and the auto-
mobiles we drive; 
Whereas freight railroads have nearly doubled the amount of 
cargo they have shipped over the past 3 decades with vir-
tually no increase in fuel consumption;
•HRES 1366 EH 
Whereas freight rail is one of the most fuel-efficient modes 
of transportation, able to move one ton of freight 480 
miles on 1 gallon of diesel fuel; 
Whereas freight railroads have increased fuel economy by an 
average of 45 percent since 1990; 
Whereas, from 1980 to 2009, United States freight railroads 
consumed 55,000,000,000 fewer gallons of fuel and emit-
ted 617,000,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide than they 
would have if their fuel efficiency had not improved; 
Whereas the freight railroad sector complies with the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency’s new locomotive emissions 
standards which will cut particulate emissions by up to 
90 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80 per-
cent; 
Whereas the freight rail industry has created good-paying 
jobs and provided its workers with good benefits, and as 
of 2008, there were 183,743 employees working for the 
freight railroads; 
Whereas freight rail continues to play a vital role in the 
United States growth, job creation, and economic recov-
ery; 
Whereas 
freight 
rail 
companies 
have 
reinvested 
$460,000,000,000 in revenues toward equipment, mainte-
nance, and rail expansion since 1980, which has sup-
ported employment and economic activity throughout the 
United States; 
Whereas such investments have continued even during the 
economic downturn, with major railroads spending more 
than $10,000,000,000 in 2008 on capital improvements 
and similar amounts in 2009;
•HRES 1366 EH 
Whereas for every $1 invested in freight rail capacity, the na-
tional economy sees $3 in economic output; 
Whereas freight rail growth will continue to generate jobs 
and produce a reliable means of transporting goods; 
Whereas the seven Class I freight railroads have joined the 
Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘‘SmartWay Trans-
port’’, which works to improve fuel efficiency and reduce 
harmful greenhouse gases; 
Whereas both the public and private sector and organized 
labor have contributed significantly toward the creation 
of the freight rail infrastructure we use today; 
Whereas the freight rail industry has built one of the world’s 
most envied infrastructure networks; and 
Whereas a strong freight rail system is critical to the eco-
nomic and environmental well-being of the United States 
of America: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the contributions the freight rail in-
dustry and its employees have made to the national 
transportation system; and 
(2) supports the efforts of the freight rail industry 
and its employees to continue improving safety as our 
Nation moves forward with developing its infrastructure. 
Attest: 
Clerk.