Rebuilding an Efficient United States Railroad System

February 24, 2010 by Tracey
Filed under Alternative Energy

The United States was once covered by a passenger and freight rail system that was the envy of any other nation. However, with the cheap petroleum (and cheap airfare) that fueled so much growth during the second half of the 20th century, this system fell into a certain amount of disuse.

However, now that efficiency is paramount with the rising price of oil, rail travel is the affordable and carbon-wise alternative. In fact, there has been record-breaking ridership on all Amtrak lines every year since the price of fuel began to rise in 2002. Though partly subsidized by the federal government, some relatively small fare increases have kept the publicly owned company solvent. Despite this, the US rail network, dominated by Amtrak, is one of the least utilized such networks in the world.

As is, rail only accounts for about half a percent of the passenger travel in the US. Passenger vehicles, trucks and buses account for nearly 90% of the miles that people travel, though this is poised to change dramatically in the next few years as people shy away from hugely increased airfares that threaten to make airline travel something that only rich people can afford.

Domestic airline travel, though it only accounts for about 10% of the total miles traveled is responsible for a disproportionate amount of fuel and carbon emissions, not to mention all the ecologically sensitive areas that suffer the noise pollution of most airports. While the demographics of this rather large country have spread out in the era of cheap oil and cheap airfares, these seem to be coming to an end, leaving people looking for other options to visit their loved ones.

Commuter rail is also a hot topic. Recent updates to the North-eastern portion of the US rail network that borrowed heavily from the model of ubiquitous European rail travel, have caused a huge increase in the number of people who commute rather long distances by train through areas that are otherwise too crowded to drive through in a reasonable amount of time.

The US Railroad system was in serious decline when the remaining passenger rail travel lines were consolidated in Amtrak during the gas crisis of the early 1970s. Since then it has been subject to political wrangling and funding squabbles. However, passenger rail travel in the US is funded at a level that pales in comparison to the much less efficient and far more dangerous private auto travel supported with federal highway funding.

It is thought that while several hundreds of dollars support each car on the road, federal funds only account for $40 of each rail passenger. Rail transportation is also a clean and green alternative. Not only are there exceptionally efficient rail-system engines that can save up to 80% of the fuel of conventional engines, but even conventional engines use as much as a third less fuel per passenger-mile as compared with personal vehicles, buses and domestic airlines. While Asian or European rail travel isn’t known for being particularly efficient, the larger number of people that are served by the very complete routes in those countries are that much more likely to take the train, making a huge dent in the national energy consumption profile.

Unlike European rail travel, only the Acella line that runs from Boston to Washington DC are high-speed trains. The rest is the passenger rail system that results form cobbling together the freight rail routes of several companies who were slowly going out of business in the 1970s. Other passenger trains are about as fast as driving, though at what is usually lower or at par costs. Longer routes in the West tend to be quite scenic and there are relaxing observation and lounge cars to relax in.

Amtrak trains cover great distances, with the trip from Los Angeles to New York taking as long as 6 days. This is partly due to the rail network being rather thin, and partly due to the sheer distances involved along the convoluted routes that are sometimes required unless supplementing your travel with buses or other forms of conveyance.

Railroad infrastructure improvement in the United States is a consequence of public pressure to support this important public resource as well as increased ridership. As states such as Oregon and Washington have made up the difference in funding to keep their rail lines active, other states will likely consider this an important investment in public infrastructure if enough people ask for it.

Repairs to railroad infrastructure and track improvements that will allow faster travel are in progress, but will take several years to complete. When funds that are being spent overseas are turned inwards to domestic issues, it is certain that with public support railroad interests must be given funding to continue and improve to better serve the populace.