Railroads are raising the roof

A link to a story in The Washington Post about the reinvigorated railroad industry. From the story:

This year alone, the railroads will spend nearly $10 billion to add track, build switchyards and terminals, and open tunnels to handle the coming flood of traffic. Freight rail tonnage will rise nearly 90 percent by 2035, according to the Transportation Department.

The zeitgeist has even dropped a "green" gift in the industry's lap. A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel, about a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers, and the railroad industry is increasingly touting itself as an eco-friendly alternative. Trucking firms also use the rail lines; UPS is the railroad industry's biggest customer.


TK: Anyway you slice it, rail figures to gain freight in the years ahead. Yet, the story is not so simple. The drama is that at the same time investment and track laying are booming, some lawmakers want to remove the industry's antitrust exemption. From the piece:

Meanwhile, the railroad industry's long-standing antitrust exemption has attracted the attention of lawmakers. They seek to eliminate the exemption and closely examine the rates railroads charge to haul freight, which the industry says would cripple its expansion at a critical time.