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Special Congressional panel to study freight transportation improvements
A great chance, one hopes, for rail execs to pitch the strengths of steel-on-steel through their testimony, showing what private investment with appropriate public funding can do - and why re-regulating the industry would be harmful. I hope inland waterway transportation will also get some overdue attention. That vital system’s infrastructure is in bad shape.
They’ve done such a good job micro-managing Amtrak that it will be a real joy to see them involved in freight rail, too.
Would that the rail execs merely point to the number of Interstate Highway lanes that these double-stack corrider improvement projects NS and CSX are developing, and how much big-rig pavement damage they’ll moderate…eliminate?
High Speed Rail: point out that it will eliminate bunches of landings at airports, maybe even eliminate airport expansion or new construction where the HSR times equal downtown to downtown times, considering travel to and from the air terminal, TSA rituals, boarding ballets and bag’ retrievel.
And point out that huge barge tows and rail’ and highway bridge abutments are sometimes magnetically attracting each other…bridge damage, sunken barges, contents (HAZ…?) spilled…
Pity the execs; they’ll have nothing to say at the hearings.
Very very good
Keith Harris said well. Right now, Congress could screw up a two car funeral. Leave the railroad business to the experts. They have been doing a pretty good job.
IF RAILROADS HAD THE LOBBYIST THAT AIRLINES HAVE, MAY BE A DIFFERENT STOTY…COULD BE CONGRESS WANTS THE INFO OF HOW SUCCESSFUL FREIGHT MOVEMENT BY RAILROADS ARE , SO THEY COULD INCORPORATE THE IDEAS INTO CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES====
JUST WHAT TRANSPORTATION NEEDS !!! MORE IDIOTS INVOLVED !!
With airports and freeways in major metropolitan areas of the United States overburdened and congested why is Congress not also including a plan for passenger train infrastructure investments for 21st century America?
Between congressional involvement, the enviro-nazies, and the attorneys, the railroads are at the mercy of the ill conceived congressional inquiry.
What would be better would be for the hearings be about eliminating the howls of the enviro-nazies to block the BNSF from shipping coal out via new transloading centers in WA.
Just what we need, more congressional involvement iito the railroads, ugh!!! Is this a disguised means by a bunch of shippers to force the railroads into lowering their rates and thus reverting to the sorry conditions mandated by the ICC years ago?
Having a Congressional committee studying the efficiency of anything seems to me to be an oxymoron. I hope the freight transportation network survives the trauma.