Small Railroads – Investment Needs, Financial Options, and Public Benefits

Details

• Creators:
  Bitzan, John ; Tolliver, Denver ; Benson, Douglas
• Corporate Creators:
  North Dakota State University ; Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration ; United States. Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Benefits Bulk Cargo Capital Investments Commodities Financing Freight Trains Investments Laws Needs Assessment Railroad Cars Railroad Traffic Revenues Short Line Railroads Size

  More +
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  Railroads play an important role in the U.S. transportation system. Annually, railroads haul more than 1.5 billion tons of freight for an average distance of more than 750 miles, with a value of more than $319 billion. For some products, the role of railroads in the U.S, is even more pronounced. Railroads serve as an important transporter of many of the low-valued, bulky natural resource commodities produced in the U.S., such as coal, grain, fertilizer and basic chemicals. Short-line railroads (non-Class I railroads) account for 29% of all U.S. rail miles operated, 12% of all U.S. railroad employees, and 9% of all U.S. railroad freight revenue. Although short-line railroads comprise a small portion of U.S. freight revenues, they serve as an important feeder into the nation's large Class I railroads. It is estimated that nearly 14,000 shippers rely on short-lines for access to the nation's rail system. However, a recent change in the industry standard for the size of rail cars interchanged between railroads could threaten viability of the nation's short-line network. The old industry standard of 263,000-pound cars is being replaced with an industry standard of 286,000-pound cars. Many short-line railroads can not handle these larger cars, as they have light rail in place, shallow or poor ballast, and/or deferred tie maintenance. In many cases, the traffic levels available to short-line railroads may not justify a major upgrade to handle these larger rail cars. In other cases financing at terms agreeable to the short-line operator may not be available. This study examines: (1) capital investment needs facing the short-line industry, (2) terms available for meeting these needs, (3) public interest benefits of short-line railroads, and (4) the relationship of short-line railroad services to the statutory responsibilities of the Secretary of Transportation.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:61393201453e1401de3ced25652713b26233f157812eeb66beb5aa8857d7e8204a6c6d7bfd8d0793b40e424d0cf9919dadf506d6249c897955de2a31bc6240e6
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/59798/dot_59798_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 885.83 KB ]