PROGRESS AND PROMISE OF RAIL INTERMODAL

This article examines the alternatives to handling the large increases in freight traffic, both existing and expected over the next 20 years. Motor carriers operating on public highways have been and will continue to be the cornerstone of freight transportation. Yet, reasons such as increasing traffic congestion on public roads, governmental budget constraints limiting highway expansion, need for pollution control, livability issues, are demanding a more balanced approach. The specific alternative examined in this paper is rail intermodal that is seen as providing the foundation for the needed change. The hallmark of rail intermodal is described as combining the best attributes of different modes to yield a more efficient, cost effective total origin-to-destination movement. Nearly all the cargo that moves via rail intermodal could instead be moved entirely by truck if rail were too expensive or service unsatisfactory.