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Re: Obama Proposes $10 Per Barrel Oil Tax To Fund Clean Transportation
Author: Ernest H. Robl
Date: 02-05-2016 - 21:36
There are things that the national government can do that would be "system" improvements that would harden that system against possible natural or man-made disasters. And these are sometimes projects that individual railroads -- even the biggest ones -- might not consider on their own.
One of these would be an analysis of points where railroads interconnect and how these could be improved. Examples include locations where railroad lines cross and there are connecting tracks but these have serious shortfalls. For example, at many points these connecting tracks are simply not designed for for fast-moving heavy traffic -- which would be needed for a major long-term detour for a mainline that is out of service. And, the connecting tracks my not exist in all quadrants of a crossing, meaning that for traffic to move through some of these track combinations, trains would have to make backup moves. (Hope this makes sense.)
Another project would be to look at possible new base tunnels that would replace or supplement existing critical tunnels that require a circuitous climb to reach. These tunnels would be very expensive but would have a high payback in improved traffic movement and hardening of the national network against major disruptions. Yes, there are questions of finance. One option would be to provide outright grants for initialo planning and then loan guarantees to provide incentives for railroads to go ahead. An obvious concern would be where these projects could provide an advantage of one railroad over another. That could be addressed by having any of these major projects require a guarantee of trackage rights -- if the second (or third) railroad helps finance the project.
Having any one the country's ten longest railroad tunnels (all single-track!) go out of service for a prolonged time would be a major disaster for the over-all railroad system. All major new tunnels in Europe (yes, they are continuing to build them) are twin-bore (not double track within the same tube) as this provides considerable safety features.
So, it does pay to think in terms of a national network, even for freight rail (though some of these improvements might help Amtrak, too).
Just my two cents worth. (I did a magazine article on some of these topics a few years ago for a trade magazine focusing on homeland security issues. It may still be online.)
-- Ernest
One of these would be an analysis of points where railroads interconnect and how these could be improved. Examples include locations where railroad lines cross and there are connecting tracks but these have serious shortfalls. For example, at many points these connecting tracks are simply not designed for for fast-moving heavy traffic -- which would be needed for a major long-term detour for a mainline that is out of service. And, the connecting tracks my not exist in all quadrants of a crossing, meaning that for traffic to move through some of these track combinations, trains would have to make backup moves. (Hope this makes sense.)
Another project would be to look at possible new base tunnels that would replace or supplement existing critical tunnels that require a circuitous climb to reach. These tunnels would be very expensive but would have a high payback in improved traffic movement and hardening of the national network against major disruptions. Yes, there are questions of finance. One option would be to provide outright grants for initialo planning and then loan guarantees to provide incentives for railroads to go ahead. An obvious concern would be where these projects could provide an advantage of one railroad over another. That could be addressed by having any of these major projects require a guarantee of trackage rights -- if the second (or third) railroad helps finance the project.
Having any one the country's ten longest railroad tunnels (all single-track!) go out of service for a prolonged time would be a major disaster for the over-all railroad system. All major new tunnels in Europe (yes, they are continuing to build them) are twin-bore (not double track within the same tube) as this provides considerable safety features.
So, it does pay to think in terms of a national network, even for freight rail (though some of these improvements might help Amtrak, too).
Just my two cents worth. (I did a magazine article on some of these topics a few years ago for a trade magazine focusing on homeland security issues. It may still be online.)
-- Ernest
