National Rail Plan published

Passenger and freight rail

Jon Boyd, Oct 07, 10.

Last month, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the first comprehensive national transportation plan since the interstate highway system, in the words of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (pdf, p1):

A half-century ago, President Eisenhower signed legislation implementing another bold and ambitious idea: the interstate highway system. He envisioned it as a vast system of inter-connected roadways crisscrossing the nation, and for decades our interstates have moved agricultural and industrial goods to market and connected millions of people to affordable homes and quality jobs.

Today, the Administration is working to achieve a vision of similar scope and scale. With America’s rail system, as with the interstates during the 1950s, we haven’t yet drawn all the lines on the map, nor solved all the financing mechanisms. But we are on track to creating a modern, high-speed and interconnected rail system that will support sustained economic growth, move people and goods with greater speed and efficiency, relieve growing congestion, and provide another choice for the public’s mobility needs. This report expands and elaborates on what we have learned so far and illuminates the path ahead.

FRA’s National Rail Plan Progress Report, released last month, explains the five strategic goals - safety, state of good repair, economic competitiveness, livable communities, and environmental sustainability - and the two parts of the intercontinental system: passenger rail and freight rail. There will be an additional 70 million Americans and and extra 2.8 billion tons of freight twenty-five years from now, according to the FRA report (pdf). With concerns about the future of fuel costs and the environmental consequences of greenhouse gas emissions, FRA is developing a plan to meet these growing demands from a different approach.

Four tiers of passenger service are identified by the FRA report (pdf, p10):

• Core Express Corridors: These routes would connect large urban areas up to 500 miles apart with 2-3 hour travel time and train speeds would be between 125 and 250 mph. Service will be frequent and will operate on electrified, dedicated track that is publicly owned. Based on their operation in and between large, dense metropolitan regions, the Core Express corridors will form the“backbone” of the national passenger rail system.
• Regional Corridors: This network would connect mid-sized urban areas, and smaller communities in between, with convenient, frequent 90-125 mph service on a mix of dedicated and shared track, depending on the particular corridor. In some areas, these corridors could connect to Core Express corridors, with many potential passenger services operating over both the Core Express and Regional routes.
• Emerging/Feeder Routes: Emerging routes would connect regional urban areas at speeds up to 90 mph on shared track. In some areas, the Emerging/Feeder routes could connect to the Core Express or Regional corridors, allowing residents of these smaller or more distant areas to have efficient access to the national system.
• Community Connections: For this vision of 21st century passenger rail to be successful, it must be integrated with existing and future policies and investments in public transportation,airports, and other modes to provide convenient options for accessing the passenger rail network. This access is critical to ensuring that passenger rail is a viable alternative to other methods of intercity travel.

The matrix below relates population density and the distance of intercity travel to determine the range of efficient transportation choices.

On the freight side, the share of freight currently shipping by truck and the projections of increased freight tonnage could mean a future with many more trucks on the road, according to the report (pdf, p.16):

Based on freight projections and using the current market share, in 2035 trucks would carry an additional 2.1 billion tons. This equates to 131.3 million more truck trips each year representing an increase of 20 billion more truck vehicle miles traveled and 315 billion more ton-miles. Freight rail would carry an additional 450 million tons.

Rail competes for freight with trucks on trips in the 500-700 mile range, and is generally more cost-effective on long hauls, according to the FRA report. The intermodal market has seen long-term growth; that is, moving freight along different modes before it reaches its final destination, but the FRA report is concerned with freight moving by train-truck. The two western carriers, Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, carry the most intermodal freight and this business was growing prior to 2008. CSX and Norfolk Southern, the two major eastern carriers, transport much less intermodal freight than their western counterparts, and they have not seen growth in this market for several years, according to the FRA report, which recommends adding capacity to the freight rail network to facilitate growth.