QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal http://www.progressiverailroading.com/freightnews/article.asp?id=7510 Gist of article: Taking freight/trucks off highways and onto rails will reduce congestion and save fuel. It's not that there isn't merit in the argument, it's that it ignores today's supply chain realities. Since today's logistical blueprint has trucks as the primary mode for local delivery, and since most congestion happens in urban areas, taking trucks off the highways and onto trains will not reduce urban congestion, because those TOFC trucks will still need to transit the urban byways between typical intermodal terminal and all those warehouses/distribution centers/etc. What I want to know is the AAR's end game with all these "taking trucks off highways" studies. Could it be the railroads are positioning themselves for a government handout?
QUOTE: Originally posted by farmer03 i'll drink to that. getting around chicago on any of the freeways is a nightmare and i'm glad i don't have to go up there anymore.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68 Re: Interstates running through downtown. When built, a lot of them didn't (admittedly, some did), but the towns grew around the interchanges. Where I live the interstate was a mile outside of town when they built it. Now the "new downtown" keys on the highway. The freeway isn't an issue traffic-wise, but the surface streets weren't laid out to handle today's traffic, and for us it sometimes gets brutal. Of course, people with real traffic problems would laugh heartily at our complaints.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal oltmannd, Of all those cities you cite, can you give reasonable credence to the prospect that all those trucks are merely passing through, and not engaged in local pick-up/delivery? The point I'm trying to make is that I believe most trucks you find parked on congested urban freeways are either doing business somewhere in that urban area, or originated in an area that doens't have TOFC service, or are destined for an area without TOFC service. It doesn't matter if those trucks came via a lonely Nevada Interstate or a Class I TOFC service, they all gotta complete that last mile to/from the loading dock. Railroads have gravitated away from dock to dock service (which is mostly carload traffic), replaced by consolidated terminals and unit trains. It has never been truer than today, railroads are becoming more and more dependent on trucks to provide the cargo.
Jock Ellis Cumming, GA US of A Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers
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