Expand Rail Innovation While Limiting Truck Freighting

Expand Rail Innovation While Limiting Truck Freighting
Related Topics:
Efficiency, Policy, Transportation

Rehabilitate railroads with dual tracks on main lines and move all long-haul freight to containers. Trucks would be limited to 100 miles per day round trip. Trains are four times as efficient in moving freight, and can reduce greenhouse gases considerably. Truckers could be kept employed as short-haul drivers with routes between the railheads and destinations.

The railheads could be spaced every 100 miles or so, with full container facilities to move the freight from rail cars to trucks. In the long run, all railroads can be electrified to reduce use of fossil fuels; this would require major investment in locomotives and catenaries. Trucks could also be electrified or retrofit with hybrid motors.

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Tags:
electric, Fossil Fuels, freight, hybrid, rail, shipping, transportation, trucks

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