Oneonta, NY — New York Assemblyman Clifford Crouch recently highlighted freight rail’s spending and infrastructure in an op-ed for the Oneonta Daily Star, contrasting rail with the nation’s ailing roads and bridges. This private spending, he notes, has led to safety and efficiency advances that ultimately provide public benefits for consumers, drivers and taxpayers.
“In truth, freight rail is often an unsung transportation hero in our nation. Most of us don’t think of freight railroads unless something goes wrong, or we are inconvenienced by them. Fortunately for us, freight railroads are more efficient and safer than ever.
Due to massive private spending — an average of $25 billion per year over the last few years — the freight rail network is stronger than ever. The average rail shipper can move freight twice as far as it could in 1980 for roughly the same price and rail’s inherent efficiency over long distances coupled with key technological investments means that trains can now move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel, four times as fuel efficient as moving freight on the highway. More than that, recent years have been the safest on record for railroads.
That means lower prices, less highway congestion, less air pollution and less need for taxpayer-funded highways and other infrastructure.”