The next Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill will impact railroad transportation for years to come. For the more than 600 short line railroads that are the first- and last-mile connection for 10,000+ shippers to the national rail network, the following priorities will drive safety improvements and growth. ASLRRA is prioritizing a number of issues outlined below including robust funding for rail transportation programs, federal support for grade crossing safety and safety culture, rail regulations that drive safety and modal equity in transportation.
Surface Transportation Short Line Priorities
Every dollar invested in infrastructure is a dollar invested in safety. For short lines, the biggest causes of derailments are simply worn-out track (i.e., broken rail) and rotten ties (i.e., wide gauge). The best way to address that is simply to invest in the track, making rail transportation safer for short line employees and for the communities they serve.
The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program addresses those issues, AND short lines are directly eligible for the program.
ASLRRA urges Congress to maintain or increase the $1B per year guaranteed through advance appropriations. Advance appropriations are particularly important to ensure funding predictability for short lines, suppliers, contractors and rail shippers.
The program however can be further improved in the following ways (click the + for more information):
...so that CRISI can be maximized for freight rail investment which has few other options for direct eligibility funding. Passenger and commuter rail have access to other federal grant programs with funding levels that dwarf CRISI.
CRISI projects should move from announcement to obligation to completion faster than they currently do, avoiding the significant cost escalation associated with delay.
Regular FRA reporting on the status of processing grants, from award notification through obligation to closeout will help stakeholders understand how long it takes to process each award. Additionally, reporting will identify where processing innovation needs to occur.
Expanding definitions of selected categorical exclusions (CEs) for simple, well-defined short line projects would not risk significant environmental impacts. Bundling like CEs for review and approval is an effective procedure that Congress can encourage.
CRISI has been powerful, effective, and popular on a bipartisan basis. For additional information on the benefits to short lines, visit our CRISI page.
Short lines continue to face significant economic challenges that threaten their ability to maintain secure operations. With aging infrastructure requiring substantial investments, they are burdened by a backlog of over $12 billion in necessary improvements. Despite earning roughly 6% of the total U.S. freight railroad industry's revenue, short lines are responsible for maintaining roughly 33% of the nation’s rail infrastructure.
After derailments caused by worn out track which can be addressed by improving infrastructure, the most significant concerns with rail safety are interactions with the public at grade crossings and trespasser issues.
ASLRRA recommends that the following programs continue to be funded at robust and guaranteed levels, as there is much work yet to be done.
The FHWA Railway-Highway Crossings Program, or “Section 130” program, provides funding to improve grade crossing protection equipment, and the Rail Crossing Elimination program (RCE) has also been successful in providing options for communities to close unnecessary crossings.
Operation Lifesaver (OLI) is an industry and government-supported effort which focuses on educating the public both about the importance of staying off railroad tracks and the need for passenger and commercial vehicle drivers to exercise caution at grade crossings.
Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI), helps build a strong, sustainable safety culture throughout the short line industry. Funded by the US DOT through the FRA, since 2015 the SLSI has developed a program of safety culture assessments, training, education and research. Improving safety culture on short line railroads leads to increased safety in the communities they serve.
Rail Transportation Grant Programs
As any new regulations are considered for what is already a highly regulated industry, we urge that they be focused on solving actual safety problems and be practical for short line railroads to implement. Short lines can only thrive if our mostly small business entrepreneurs are given the flexibility and discretion to run their railroads in a manner that is safe, customer-focused, and still cost-effective.
Further, ASLRRA cautions Congress of unintended consequences to broader transportation safety. When regulations increase the cost of freight railroading or degrade freight rail service, they risk shifting freight traffic from the largely privately funded and safer rail network to the largely publicly funded and less safe highway network.
Railroads compete fiercely with trucks to move America’s freight, which is as it should be. In ASLRRA’s view, there would be tremendous public policy benefits to the country if more freight would move by rail including safety, congestion reduction, taxpayer savings, environmental benefits, and transportation pricing efficiency for shippers.
The current imbalance in the cost of infrastructure born by each mode must be corrected to support fair competition.
Each year, there is a call in Congress for an increase in size or weight of trucks — often on a temporary or trial basis. ASLRRA urges Congress to oppose such increases, which will have negative consequences for the public in the form of increased roadway maintenance costs, congestion and accidents.
To balance modal competition, Congress should consider public policies that support freight rail investment and the implementation of a user fee that accounts for the proportional damage caused by trucks on the nation’s roadways.
The next Surface Transportation Reauthorization must provide guaranteed support for federal grant programs focused on investment and safety, reasonable regulations, and securing modal equity. These steps will be crucial to the short line industry, ensuring the continued success and growth of the nation’s freight rail network.
