(Washington, DC) - Congestion has become an all-too familiar fact of life in the United States today.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, congestion across all modes of transportation already costs the economy some $200 billion annually.  If you think congestion is bad now, just wait a few years.  DOT projects that demand for freight transportation alone will almost double over the next three decades.

How do we move all of that additional freight without increasing congestion?  One way is by moving more freight by rail. Railroads already provide more than 40 percent of the nation's freight transportation, moving everything from Florida orange juice to computers to building supplies.

Moving more freight by rail brings with it enormous environmental advantages.  In 2007, freight railroads moved a ton of freight an average of 436 miles per gallon of diesel fuel, more than three times as far as it could move on a highway.  Freight trains also help reduce greenhouse gases.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, freight trains are cleaner than trucks, emitting only a third as many greenhouse gases to move the same volume equivalent distances.   And freight rail also helps reduce highway congestion.  A single intermodal train can take 280 trucks off the highways.

There are many reasons why we should look to freight rail as part of the solution to our transportation challenges.  The problem is that railroads don't have enough capacity to handle the expected freight traffic increase.  Unless that capacity is increased, more and more freight will have to move on the nation's highways.  But highways are already congested, bridges are deteriorating and highway funding through the trust fund is declining.

A 2007 study indicated that $148 billion should be invested to expand the capacity of the freight rail network by 2035 in order to keep up with demand.  Railroads are already investing heavily to maintain, upgrade and expand their networks --- more than $9 billion in capital improvements last year.  That same study indicated that the freight railroads could raise about 70 percent of the expansion funds themselves.  But that leaves a gap of about $1.4 billion annually between what the railroads themselves can invest and what is needed.

One way to help bridge the gap is through a modest program of tax incentives.  Bi-partisan legislation that I strongly support --- the Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act of 2009 (H.R. 272) --- has been proposed in this Congress to extend a 25 percent tax incentive for projects that add capacity to the nation's rail network.  The incentive could be utilized not just by railroads but also by others who invest in those projects, such as a shipper who builds a spur to a plant or a trucking company that invests in an intermodal terminal.

If that money is invested, highway congestion, stress on bridges and transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions can all be reduced while existing passenger rail capacity for Amtrak and local commuter trains can be retained.

For freight rail to expand, it is also critical that a balanced and fair regulatory system be maintained.  Under the system that was introduced in 1980, average freight rates have declined by about half, service has improved, accidents have fallen by 70 percent and the number of shippers using rail has increased.

As we begin to develop and reauthorize the next SAFETEA bill, it is critical that the need for additional rail capacity for both freight and passenger rail be addressed. There is no one solution that will solve rail congestion.  New and creative ideas from both government and the private sector must be utilized to increase and improve freight rail capacity.

Our future prosperity depends heavily on a transportation system that allows goods to move freely to market.  Freight railroads are critical to that system. We need to make sure that freight railroads can expand capacity and help keep our nation's economy moving ahead.

To see the full article in the Hill Newspaper's March 6th special edition, please go to http://thehill.com/transportation-report-rail-comparatively-inexpensive-clean-way-to-move-cargo.html.

###