freight Tag

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 3 Climate Impact

08 May 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

This is the third and final policy blog in the series investigating train length. The purpose is to survey the impacts and implications of longer trains to the U.S. economy, public safety, and the world. Because railroads are so central to the nation’s supply chain and transportation network, it is…

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 2 Costs

01 May 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

In this blog series, we are tackling the question of what longer trains mean for the United States and the world. We are using three lenses to evaluate this policy issue: safety, costs, and climate impact. Be sure to read our first blog overviewing modern day freight rail and explaining…

A Longer View on Longer Trains: Part 1 Safety

22 Feb 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Analysis, Blog Posts

Longer trains can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where you sit. Certainly when stuck at a blocked crossing, one can only see the negatives. But what does a more wholistic assessment of longer trains reveal? Does the frustration outweigh the benefits, or are longer trains a key…

Uncoupling Derailment from Disaster in East Palestine

14 Feb 2023, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

On Friday, February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train moving through Ohio derailed in the city of East Palestine. While the definitive cause is still being investigated, reports indicate that 38 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, derailed from a 150-car train with many damaged by fire. Subsequently, officials…

Sick Leave Will Not Derail the Supply Chain

02 Dec 2022, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

After years of negotiation through the collective bargaining process and a number of close calls with threatened labor strikes, President Biden on Friday signed into law a settlement of terms between railroad unions and railroad companies. The terms of the agreement are those recommended by the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB),…

Expanded Amtrak Service Finds Friends in Federal Government

07 Sep 2022, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

The relationship between passenger rail and freight rail often comes across the way cinematic thrillers depict tension between the FBI and local police. Both want to ensure public safety and maintain order, but each wants to flex its jurisdiction and make sure it gets the respect it deserves. Like fictionalized…

Gulf Coast Gambit: Amtrak’s Play For New Passenger Rail Service

07 Sep 2022, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Amtrak is seeking to establish twice daily passenger service between Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana. With Hurricane Katrina damaging rail infrastructure back in 2005, many passenger routes along the Gulf Cost have long been dormant. However, over the last several years, Amtrak has increasingly ramped up its efforts to…

A Busy Intersection: Rail Roads, Roadways, and Climate

28 Jun 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Public policy is notorious for intersecting with various other policies, market forces, and public and private actions. It is one reason unintended consequences can be so prolific, and why ‘the path to hell is paved with good intentions’ rings so true. One such intersection involves rail roads, roadways, and the…

Do Longer Trains Pose Problems or Solutions?

16 Jun 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

The rail system has been used to transport freight since the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad became the first to commercially transport passengers and freight in 1827. Since then, rail has become a crucial part of transporting goods, growing in economic volume moved and longer trains. The rail industry’s evolution has…

Achieving Effective Rail Safety Starts With Technology

01 Jun 2021, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

Railroads have served the needs of people and commerce in the United States for nearly 200 years. Since 1827, when the first steam-powered locomotive debuted, to America’s original 13-mile track and beyond, rail has been on a continuous journey of improvement. Today, approximately 139,679 miles of track facilitate the movement…

Passenger-Free High Speed Rail

17 Apr 2020, Posted by bdierker in All Posts, Blog Posts

In November 2018, Italy inaugurated the world’s first high-speed rail service dedicated to … carrying no passengers. Rather than cart people from one place to another at ultra high land speeds, this rail service blasts cargo and freight faster than traditional rail, truckers, or ships ever could. The Italian rail…