Step 2. Reconnect shippers, planners, and policymakers to the value of rail transportation

For much of our past, railroads have been demonized, romanticized, or politicized. Railroads, however, particularly freight railroads, remain one of the core elements of any modern, well-functioning society, as vital as clean water and power distribution. We must establish a more clear-eyed and, therefore, productive, relationship to rail transportation.

In promoting the value of rail transportation, though, we cannot afford to pit highway, waterway, or railway transport modes against each other, either in public policy or the marketplace. Integration and coordination for maximum efficiency must now guide our planning and investment if we are going to reverse global warming, industrial sprawl, and transportation congestion.

OnTrackPennsylvania facilitates an unbiased, objective analysis of the comparative costs, impacts and contributions of the various transport modes. With this new platform, we can have a responsible discussion about trains and trucks, without automatically being considered partial to one mode or the other.

OnTrackPennsylvania is designed to address the long-standing set of myths, misunderstandings, and knowledge gaps among shippers, legislators, planners, and the public. Over the past sixty years, rail transportation has retreated from its previous dominant position in our commercial and societal consciousness. These groups have become disconnected from the continuing relevance of rail transportation in our state.

As multi-faceted as this disconnect is, OTPa’s potential for stimulating a renewed appreciation is buoyed by the inherent value and logic of rail transportation. Railroads make as much sense now as they did in the 19th century, when eastern seaboard cities invested in railroads in order to connect population centers and trading ports with the natural resources beckoning in the west.

Rail transportation is undeniably still the most energy-, space-, and capital-efficient method of moving heavy weight across land. It is neither the only, nor the best way in all cases. As we proceed toward an environmentally sound, commercially viable transportation system, our state can increase its return on investment by centering our economic recovery and development plans on an increased utilization of freight railroads.

Fortunately, freight railroads are almost exclusively for-profit, private-sector businesses serving other for-profit shippers and receivers. Rather than applying the same approaches that are necessary for funding publicly owned transportation assets such as highways, ports, and airports, we can augment limited public-sector dollars by stimulating increased profitability for these private-sector businesses. That is the unique value proposition of OnTrackPennsylvania’s Freight System Plan, a comprehensive state-wide “business” approach that integrates policy, planning, and commercial activity.