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Date: 31 October, 2001
Following September 11, the media carried frequent references to an increase in public interest in train travel. According to Amtrak, in the September 12-17 period many trains sold out nationwide. Ridership figures on long-distance trains grew a robust 35%. On the Northeast Corridor, ridership grew 9% despite the near-shutdown of businesses and schools throughout the Northeast. Reservation phone lines, ticket windows, and Amtrak¼s website were flooded with people seeking information about what for many of them was an unfamiliar mode of transportation.
Countless people were turned away. After decades of little support, Amtrak¼s skeletal train network did not reach many places people wanted to go, and Amtrak¼s capacity to absorb an overflow of travelers was limited by its inability to pay for repairs to many of its passenger cars. At the same moment, Congress and the administration rushed to funnel billions for bailing out the airline industry.
According to the Worldwatch Institute („State of the World,¾ 2001), cars, trucks and planes are moving more people and goods, while rails, bicycles and other less environmentally damaging means of transport are declining. In the United States, kilometers traveled by train decreased 28% between the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Capital spending for railroad transport has declined to a pathetic level of .4% of total U.S. transportation spending. This can be compared to 21.7% for Germany, 20.7% for France and 17.8% for Britain.
With the most energy-intensive transportation methods - cars, trucks and planes - comes an increase in fuel use. In the U.S, efficiency gains have lowered energy use in manufacturing while trends in personal mobility have actually raised energy use in the transportation sector. Passenger trips - by all methods - outweigh freight transport and account for 60-70 percent of energy use and emissions from transportation. Trains are far more efficient than airlines - 2441 Btu¼s per passenger-mile vs. 3999 for airlines - according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Trains deserve continuing prominence as a transportation choice for Americans. The country needs a balanced transportation system in which rail plays a much bigger role. Trains pollute less than other means of transport, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and contribute to land development which is more compact and less wasteful than auto-oriented development.
For more information on pending rail legislation, consult the National Association of Railroad Passengers, www.narprail.org. Urge your legislators to include passenger rail in their response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. It time to get on board!
Act today on this EcoAlert and thank you for your environmental responsibility.
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