Cost and safety spur rail revival - international boom in railroad traffic

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Dec, 1994

A growing world transportation crisis is driving government funding away from building roads and airports and toward a global rail revival, according to a report by the Worldwatch Institute, providing an economic boon to the regions involved. European planners are creating a high-speed rail system connecting every major European city. China plans a $20,000,000,000 investment in rail expansion and upgrading by 1995. Germany will invest more in rail infrastructure than in roads through the year 2010. India's rail passenger traffic has risen more than fourfold since 1950. Even the land of the car, Southern California, is building a 400-mile Los Angeles regional commuter rail system.

Perhaps the most welcome benefit of the rail revival is economic, indicates Marcia D. Lowe, author of the report. Although government support of rail is necessary--since passenger fares seldom cover the full cost of train service--this subsidy pales in comparison to the hidden costs of road travel. For example, in the U.S., direct taxes on automobiles and gasoline barely cover two-thirds of the expense of road building, maintenance, administration, and safety.

Energy savings also are considerable. An intercity passenger train uses only one-third as much energy per rider as a commercial airplane and one-sixth as much as a car carrying only the driver. In the U.S., annual damage to human and environmental health from vehicular emissions is estimated at up to $93,000,000,000. Subways and light rail slash urban smog, cut nitrogen oxide emissions from each trip by 60% compared to a car carrying one person, and nearly eliminate carbon monoxide emissions.

Moreover, the International Air Traffic Association estimates Europe's losses at $10,000,000,000 a year due to air traffic tie-ups. More reliance on rail could help relieve costly air traffic congestion. For instance, speed and relatively low cost help explain why Amtrak, the U.S. national passenger rail service, carries more passengers between New York and Washington than any airline. Railways also move people and freight in far less space than roads. Two railroad tracks can carry as many people in an hour as a 16-lane-wide highway.