Transcript Trucking and Rail-freight

Trucking and Rail-freight
Can we restore the balance?
Natalie Litwin -President
Daniel Hammond - Past President
Transport Action Ontario
Can we restore the balance?
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If rail transport is so efficient and
great for the environment, why did
trucks come to dominant freight
transport?
Can we have an environmentally
sustainable freight transport system
without bankrupting us?
Can this be done while stimulating
economic growth?
How we got here
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Railways once the dominant mode of
inland freight transport
Mechanized rail superior to animal
drawn road transport for all but the
shortest distances
Most businesses that used freight
services once located near rail lines
or spurs to avoid use of real horsepower cartage
How we got here
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Mechanization of road transport in the 20th
Century created development away from rail
lines and terminals
Rail remained as the dominant carrier of freight
Manufacturers, warehouses remained next to
the rail lines
How we got here
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Just-in-time delivery of freight is not new
In 1946, the New York Central Railway introduced Pacemaker
service
Overnight delivery thru-out most of New York state (with steam
powered trains!)
Myth debunked that rail cannot provide “just-in-time” service
How we got here
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By 1950, Pacemaker service was extended to
St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal,
Cleveland, Toledo
With delivery times as good as the best ever
offered by the trucking industry
All on infrastructure that was built and
maintained with private capital
How we got here
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In 1956, US
President Dwight D.
Eisenhower signed
the Federal-Aid
Highway Act into
law
Railways now have
to compete for
capital and traffic
with the largest
public works
program in history
How we got here
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In retrospect, did the
railways protect the
interests of their
shareholders during the
debate of the
Federal-Aid Highway
Act ?
Would today’s AT&T,
Rogers, Verizon and Bell
Canada stand by while a
public financed cell phone
or fibre optic network was
constructed?
We are Here
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Public financed infrastructure
Advances in automotive
technology
Government policies favouring
highway transport (including
permitting ever larger vehicles)
and requiring railways to maintain
an extensive network despite
declining traffic
Caused a massive shift of freight
traffic from rail to road
The myth that the free market
chose highway transport is now
busted
We are Here
•Less traffic with a post-war
sized network, along with less
access to capital (competition
with government and the road
transport companies for
capital)
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Quality of this extensive rail network declined rapidly
Delivery times lengthened and railways lost very profitable
time sensitive traffic to highways with the decline
accelerating in this viscous circle
We are Here
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Staggers Act of 1980 reduced the
regulation of railway industry
•This regulatory freedom permitted reduction of rail
network
•Financially stronger railways improved the network that
remained
We are Here
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Exportation of manufacturing
Growth of container shipping
Big box retail
Double-stack container trains
Caused an explosion in rail traffic
Shatters the myth that consumer goods are not
handled by railways
We are Here
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Few terminals equipped to handle double
stack container trains equals truck hauls
the same or longer as when goods where
manufactured in USA and Canada
Where We Want to Be
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Reduce fuel use (less CO2 and other
emissions, less dependence on
foreign petroleum)
Reduce costs
Reduce land use
Where We Want to Be
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Rail uses 1/7th the energy to move freight
Rail can be electrified (less, or no, foreign oil, use of wind
or solar generated)
Rail is less effected by weather
Rail is much higher in labour and land use productivity
Secondary railways for local freight and public transit can
be constructed for less than an arterial road
Technology exists for economic rail short-haul of freight and
international intermodal containers
Where We Want to Be – A Plan to
Get There
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Reduce public spending
on highways
Spending reduced to a
level that maintains
existing infrastructure
Halt new projects and
expansion
Avoid use of PPP (Public
Private Partnership) to
creatively finance
uneconomic/nonsustainable projects
Where We Want to Be – A Plan to
Get There
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Tax and policy incentives for investments in local intermodal
terminals, (reduce truck haul), electrification of rail, shortline (existing or new track)
Tax credits for shippers to increase use of rail freight
Diversion of highway funding towards HSR – High Speed
Rail