September - October 2001

Getting Around in a Better
Environment: Head for the Tracks

by Robert W. McKnight

Editor's Note: The tragic events of 11 September 2001 occurred as this issue of IEEE-USA Policy Perspectives was in the final stages of production. In light of those events, the idea of promoting rail transportation as a viable alternative to air and other travel becomes even more compelling. No one can predict what the long-term effects of these terrorist attacks will be on our travel options or on the domestic airline industry, and we cannot yet say whether railroad transportation will provide a safer alternative in terms of terrorist activity. However, we offer this article as food for thought and hope to consider this issue from new perspectives in future issues.

Imagine a transportation alternative that got commuters and travelers to their destinations efficiently, was more environmentally friendly than automobile and airplane transport, and that didn't require paving green landscape. Imagine a travel option that eased congestion on our overburdened highways. Sound too good to be true? For moving people and products from one place to another, perhaps it's time for us to step up efforts to make rail transport a more widely accepted transportation alternative.

Trains have long taken a back seat to cars, buses and other roadway vehicles, as well as to airplanes, in terms of moving people. But as we struggle to contend with overcrowded road infrastructure, look for alternatives to an airline industry that is going through some struggles of its own, and consider ways to address the huge environmental impact of these more popular transportation methods, perhaps our answers lie along the tracks.

Passenger Rail Gaining Popularity

Many major cities have passenger rail systems that provide efficient, economical service. Light rail and subway transit reduce air pollution, since the prime movers are electric motors. Even diesel-electric locomotives produce less air pollution compared to auto travel, since several train cars, each carrying as many as 100 people, are linked together. By contrast, even the best efforts to reduce auto emissions come with incentives such as High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) express lanes, but these require enforcement to ensure two or three riders per vehicle — not a significant reduction in terms of traffic volume.

Cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego have found the use of rail transport systems reduces vehicle congestion on streets and highways. In the last two or three years, these cities' systems have accommodated significant increases in ridership, as commuters have realized that they can save both time and expense when they use rail. Indirect advantages to commuting by rail include the lower auto insurance costs associated with fewer miles traveled per year and a longer lifespan for personal autos.

For intercity travel at distances of 300 to 500 miles, many areas have access to Amtrak, which offers travel times that are competitive with air travel. What's more, Amtrak's "corridor service" connects to downtown rail stations, eliminating long, time-consuming trips to airports that are often located far from the downtown areas.

Amtrak ridership has risen slowly in recent years. Its Northeast Corridor service links Washington, D.C., to New York and Boston, paralleling air shuttle service by two major airlines. As for the future, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor Metroliner service will soon be replaced by Acela Express, which will reduce travel time even more. Acela promises eventual speeds of 150 miles per hour on parts of the route, making a trip between Washington and New York in about two hours.

Also, under a federal initiative, Amtrak is exploring the possibility of establishing several other corridors to connect major cities. These include Washington-Richmond-Charlotte, Chicago-Milwaukee, Chicago-St. Louis, and an extension from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

In the west, Amtrak's Pacific Northwest corridor service between Eugene-Salem-Portland-Seattle-Vancouver, British Columbia is now operated as Cascades, which uses modern Talgo cars on the 310-mile scenic route. In addition, the daily Coast Starlight serves Los Angeles-Oakland/San Francisco-Portland-Seattle, and separate Amtrak service connects San Diego to Los Angeles.

Rail Freight Reduces Highway Congestion Further 

Intermodal freight travel has helped railroads take trucks off the highways. "TrailerTrains" carry trailers and container freight rapidly. An 80-car train with two trailers per flatcar represents 160 trucks removed from the highway. Yet another alternative, "SeaTrain" provides container freight service that uses both ships and trains to move the cargo, switching to trucks only for the last few miles. Railroads haul about 750,000 trailers or containers each year. For equal tonnage, railroads cut pollutant emissions by 10 percent compared to equivalent trucks carrying the same freight.

Can We Have the Best of Both Worlds?

A unique combination of freight and passenger service is Amtrak's AutoTrain, a daily service that carries passengers and their automobiles in separate rail cars between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. Typically, an AutoTrain consists of 40 cars, half for passengers and half for automobiles, RVs, motorcycles, and trailers. The train leaves at 4:00 p.m. and arrives at 8:30 a.m. the next morning, having covered 855 miles.

Intelligent Transportation Systems: It's Too Early to Tell

Proponents of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) often call this technology the answer to congestion problems on highways. ITS provides motorists with information about driving conditions, allowing them to avoid trouble areas and thereby ease congestion. While many demonstration projects show promise for the technology itself and a lot of federal funding for research and development has moved the technology along, the infrastructure requirements for ITS are daunting. For motorists to receive timely, correct information about driving conditions, each vehicle would have to be equipped with a digital radio receiver and probably a computer to decode and display the transmitted messages to the driver without distraction. With some 50 million registered vehicles in the United States, it would cost no less than a small fortune to equip vehicles and provide the sensors, base stations, and other "fixed" installations.

In the meantime, rail is a viable alternative to moving people and freight from place to place. It offers advantages to road and air travel in terms of reducing both pollution and traveler stress. Freight haulers are well aware of the advantages of rail; people in general need to become more aware of its availability and its advantages, especially for travel within a few hundred miles.

Bob McKnight is former editor of IEEE Vehicular Technology News. He is currently working on a comprehensive history of North American railway signaling.