Rail safety

"Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation is issuing a final rule that will enhance the safety of transporting flammable liquids –including crude oil and ethanol– by rail...

The final rule applies to trains transporting large volumes of flammable liquids and regulates their operation.  It includes a new requirement for a modern, robust braking system that will be a game-changer in mitigating damage in the event of an accident. It requires significant safety improvements in tank car design standards, for both new cars and existing cars used for flammable liquid service. It addresses the need for greater accuracy in the sampling and classification of the products being put into those tank cars. And it requires selective routing requirements and contact with public safety and emergency first responders so they know what is being transported through their jurisdictions and can better prepare..." 
New rail safety

Railroads: old industry still vital in today’s economy

From the January 2015 issue of the Monthly Labor Review comes an article entitled "Railroads: old industry still vital in today's economy..."

"In the early 20th century, annual revenues of railroads constituted the largest industry in America. This is no longer the case, but because of both economic growth and population growth railroad revenue exceeded $70 billion last year, and railroad employment rose to approximately 180,000, according the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

In Tracking the economy: an old industry chugs along (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, EconSouth, May–August 2014), writer Charles Davidson describes how railroad companies are adapting to modern technologies and shipping techniques. Using new technology, the intermodal terminal shipping system—which transports cargo via multiple modes of transportation such as trains, trucks, and ships—tracks containers through the use of GPS. There are dozens of intermodal terminals in the Southeast and hundreds across the country, with CSX Transportation—one of two major railroads in the eastern United States—having more than 60.

There are double-container stacked freight trains more than a mile long crossing the country carrying coal, gas, and every commodity imaginable. After severe financial difficulties in the 1960s and 1970s, regulatory reforms helped railroads become more competitive. In the 1980s railroads were freed from the requirement of providing service where it didn’t pay. By discarding miles of unprofitable track, railroads now operate 140,000 miles of track, less than half as much as in the mid-1960s. Railroads also consolidated from 106 Class I, or major, companies in 1960 to 7 now. Today, five of those seven companies generate almost 90 percent of total railroad revenue..."

Railroad industry

U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil

"North America is experiencing a boom in crude oil supply, primarily due to growing production

in the Canadian oil sands and the recent expansion of shale oil production from the Bakken fields

in North Dakota and Montana as well as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas. Taken

together, these new supplies are fundamentally changing the U.S. oil supply-demand balance. The

United States now meets 66% of its crude oil demand from production in North America,

displacing imports from overseas and positioning the United States to have excess oil and refined

products supplies in some regions..."

U.S. rail/crude transportation

The Development of High Speed Rail in the United States: Issues and Recent Events

"Estimates of the cost of constructing HSR vary according to train speed, the topography of the
corridor, the cost of right-of-way, and other factors. Few if any HSR lines anywhere in the world
have earned enough revenue to cover both their construction and operating costs, even where
population density is far greater than anywhere in the United States. Typically, governments have
paid the construction costs, and in many cases have subsidized the operating costs as well. These
subsidies are often justified by the social benefits ascribed to HSR in relieving congestion,
reducing pollution, increasing energy efficiency, and contributing to employment and economic
development. It is unclear whether these potential social benefits are commensurate with the
likely costs of constructing and operating HSR..."

Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors
"This study provides a comparative evaluation of rail and truck fuel economy on corridors and services in which both modes compete..."

DHS Announces Security Standards for Freight and Passenger Rail Systems
"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today regulations aimed at strengthening the security of the nation’s freight and passenger rail systems and reducing the risk associated with the transportation of security-sensitive materials...

The Rail Security final rule will require freight and passenger rail carriers to designate rail security coordinators and report significant security concerns to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The rule also will codify TSA’s broad inspection authority. For freight rail, the rule will ensure the positive handoff of security-sensitive materials as well as establish security protocols for custody transfers of security-sensitive material rail cars between receivers of these materials that are located in high threat urban areas, shippers of these materials, and rail carriers."