I feel it is unethical to not identify the author's job when he is basically the top industry lobbyist.

I remember a lot of talk from the 1980s about the boxcar's profitability and the relatively marginal return from intermodal; I have been wondering if this picture has changed. Has boxcar traffic become too much work? Too many employees and equipment for too little freight?

Freight traffic in general has risen with population and economic growth, but the rail industry's market share has declined considerably as their focus has been on various kinds of unit trains. The efficiencies of intermodal are obvious, but as a system, it relies upon a lot of drayage, and therefore, a lot of trucks on urban highways. A more "sustainable" solution would require door to door rail transportation. In the meantime, the railroads have gutted their ability to serve boxcar customers in urban areas. Yards have closed, spurs torn out, etc. Granted, there has been a huge decline in domestic urban manufacturing, but urban consumption has not declined. I would wager that it has risen.

Can new regulation affect this decline in market share, bring back the boxcar, maybe even LCL? By what mechanism can the government force the railroads to provide this service and ensure it is affordable/competitive?