As we contemplate the massive amount of stimulus that we will need to bring our economy back from the brink of disaster (or pull back up from the bottom of the cliff as the case maybe) there is an area where we could get enormous bang for the buck spent that is being virtually ignored. What is this area, you ask? Simple, gentle reader, steel wheels on steel rails. That’s right the Dog is talking about upgrading our nations railroads. Before you roll your eyes or let them glaze over, stick with the Old Dog a little bit.
While the economy is a real problem, we do have more than one crisis facing us. The very real prospect of seeing (or having already seen) peak oil and the related problem that burning fossil fuels creates for our global warming crisis. When you are facing this many issues at once you get your best results from projects that do something to address more than one issue at a time. Upgrading the rail system of our nation is such a solution.
We are going to spend a lot of money on the highway system no matter what. The reason for this is that the vast majority of "shovel ready" projects are deferred maintenance that could not be funded while the Repugs were on control. But there is just no way that we will be able to spend the 400-500 billion more that needs to get into the economy on these types of projects. That is where increases in capacity and functionality for the rail system come into play.
Up to 85% of wear and tear (depending on location) on the nation’s highways comes from the massive amount of long haul trucks that crisscross the country on a daily basis. These trucks are also responsible for a disproportional amount of fatalities and accidents. With best will in the world and all the skill available to the drivers, the fact is that an 80,000 lbs truck is going to severely damage any other vehicle that it comes into contact with. Then there is the enormous amount of diesel fuel these trucks consume. The Dog tried to get an estimate on the miles-per-gallon that these trucks achieve, but given the wide range of factors that determine this, it is very hard to say. It is, however, safe to assume that it is (at best) in the mid to low single digits. As all that fuel is burnt it contributes greatly to the overall emissions that our country places in our planets atmosphere.
Now, we look at rail transport there is a lot of things that can be done and a lot of money that can be spent. It is no joke that rail lines are hugely expensive to build, but the money that is spent on them stays in this country. We can buy steel from our steel companies, we can use our construction companies to put prepare the land and put the rails in. The increased capacity will be filled with more workers and that will require more train engines and cars.
One of the reasons that freight has moved from trains to trucks is that there are many bottle necks on the rail lines that prevent the trains from running faster. This is where money from the Federal government can help. By straightening the tracks, improving the size and placement of rail under passes and generally upgrading the aging rail system we can increase the speed at which the trains travel. This will also have the effect of increasing the capacity that the rails can handle (faster trains mean more trains can use the same lines).
In order to get more value from the fuel efficiency of trains we would have expand them into more communities. One of the principal arguments against trains is that they do not serve enough communities. This is where a lot of money could be spent to expand the service from the few rail heads that now exist into more the country. There will always be a need for trucking, but if we can make it the last 100 miles instead of 3000 miles that is where we get a better efficiency.
Trains can move a ton of freight 436 miles, on a single gallon of fuel. If we put a 7 miles per gallon number on trucks (likely to be high, but the Dog will stick with it) that trains are 62 times more efficient than trucks! Surely that is worth the investment. It would like you going from a car that gets 20 miles to the gallon to a car that gets 1,240 mile to the gallon. If we are serious about combating the effects of global warming then we can not ignore these kinds of efficiencies.
If we could remove even half of the trucks from the highway system, the costs of maintaining these roadways would greatly decrease (as much as 40%). It would also make them safer and less congested. This would mean that we would not have to expand the system, since there would be more capacity for the existing vehicles.
Of course none of this comes for free, what ever does? In order to move 85% of our long haul trucks off the road by 2030 we would need between 250 and 500 billion dollars in investment in rail. That is a huge number, but given the huge benefits available, we really should be talking about it. We would not only receive the benefits of moving more freight by rail, but as there are more lines running more efficiently, we would be able to increase the amount of passenger rail as well. Until recently the Railroads have resisted taking Federal money, as they feared (reasonably) that they would be forced to run passenger rail (which loses money) and lose the higher paying freight runs. This is due to the capacity of the existing lines. If we, as a nation, make the investment in more and better lines, then passenger rail becomes more cost effective and more reasonable for Rail companies to offer.
So, as we talk to our Representatives and Senators about what we feel they should do with the trillion dollars they are likely to spend, it is very, very important that we talk about the forgotten stimulus, the railways of the nation. As the Dog's friend, Ulterior Motive Man says, you should never act without two good reasons for doing so, when you have three, you are nearly required to do so.
The Floor is your.