Railway Track & Structures - October 2007 - (Page 6)

I N D U S T R Y T O D AY Without this investment, 30 percent of the rail miles in the primary corridors will be operating above capacity by 2035, causing severe congestion that will affect every region of the country and potentially shift freight to an already heavily-congested highway system. The study highlights investment in new tracks, signals, bridges, tunnels, terminals and service facilities that railroads need to keep pace with demand for rail freight transportation, which is expected to almost double over the next 30 years. The study found that most of that investment—$135 billion—will be needed on the rail networks operated by the nation's major freight railroads. The study notes that under current conditions, the railroads anticipate that the marketplace will allow them to raise most of the needed investment, $96 billion. However, it states that a gap would remain of about $1.4 billion per year, an amount to be funded through railroad infrastructure tax incentives, public-private partnerships and other sources. Hamberger said the study underscores how important it is to ensure a stable regulatory environment which promotes rail investment. “Since the railroad industry’s partial deregulation in 1980, railroads have been able to invest over $400 billion back into their operations, creating a national freight rail system that is second to none,” said Hamberger. “The primary message from this report is that railroads need to materially increase their investments to expand capacity. Railroad earnings and productivity are the key to making these investments. "The study also shows how important it is for legislators to approve the bipartisan infrastructure tax credit currently pending in Congress," he said. "Its passage would significantly reduce the $1.4-billion gap that exists between what the railroad industry needs to spend each year to meet future demand and what it can raise on its own. “This legislation would provide a 25percent tax credit to any company—not just railroads—that invests in projects to increase the rail network's capacity,” Hamberger stated. The study has been submitted to the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, established by Congress to report on the nation's future transportation needs and how to finance them. The study was conducted by Cambridge Systematics and commissioned by the AAR. It is the first report to benchmark the existing national rail network freight capacity and size of needed investment to meet projected demand. NS wins Hay Award for Keystone Buildout Project The 2007 William W. Hay Award for Excellence, which was presented at the AREMA 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition in Chicago in September, went to Norfolk Southern’s Keystone Buildout Project. The $44-million project rebuilt 5.5 miles of track and replaced lightweight rail in order to move coal along the route. NS did the work and URS did the design work. The NS project competed against Union Pacific’s American River Railroad Bridge Project near Sacramento, Calif. Following a fire, crews restored train service on a 1,400-foot bridge approach in only 12 days. 6 Railway Track & Structures October 2007 www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - October 2007 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Crossties by the Billions Provide Essentials for Full Support Modern Tools Manage Risk M/W Challenges: Better Management of Thermal Forces in CWR TTCI Celebrates 25 Years as Facility, 10 as Part of AAR Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Website Directory Advertisers Index Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2007

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