Freight Rail Investment Would Reduce Traffic And Air Pollution

(30 March 2004 — New York)  Environmental Defense and the East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force today released a new report on freight rail investment in New York City and northern New Jersey, Investing in Mobility: Freight Transport in the Hudson Region.  The report outlines the region’s growing congestion problem and how to address it through investments in freight rail and roadway pricing that varies by time of day to maintain free-flow traffic speeds.  You can view the full report at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/railfreight.

“The New York region lags behind the rest of the country in terms of its freight-rail capacity,” said James T. B. Tripp, general counsel of Environmental Defense. “As a result, we have a system that chokes our air with smog, clogs our streets with heavy trucks and hurts business by slowing freight transport delivery times unnecessarily.  One truck on the road takes up about as much space as four cars.  Targeted investment in a package of rail freight improvements can fix the region’s mobility problem - but the region must begin seizing opportunities now.” 

Andy Darrell, director of the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense, added, “Truck diesel is a known trigger of asthma and other disease, and freight rail investment is an important measure in the region’s fight to improve air quality and reduce asthma rates.”

According to the report, about 16% of freight moves by rail nationally - but here, in the urban areas east of the Hudson River, rail carries only 1.7%, less than one tenth the national average.  The report identifies a series of specific investments needed to move forward, and recommends that these investments be paired with a congestion pricing system to manage all road traffic into the future.  “This combination is the best way to deliver clean air, faster deliveries and a safe transportation system,” said Tripp.

“This report highlights the absolute necessity of coordinated political activity by our region to address the inadequacies of our rail freight system,” said Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff, managing director of the East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force.  “Rail infrastructure improvements are needed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and indeed across the entire northeast.”

A number of major projects are recommended in the report, including construction of a trans-Hudson freight rail link connecting the urban areas of New York and northern New Jersey that would connect the east-of-Hudson freight rail system to the national freight rail network, expansion and modernization of cross-harbor float operations, construction intermodal rail yards east of the Hudson, and upgrading lines where necessary to ensure that shippers can take full advantage of the benefits of freight rail.  These improvements are intended to revitalize the freight rail network east of the Hudson River and improve regional mobility by shifting freight traffic from trucks to rail, taking thousands of trucks off the roads. Sources of funding for these projects are also proposed.

Together, the report states, these investments can relieve congestion, thereby improving air quality for millions of residents in the region.  Environmental Defense is working to address New York City’s dire asthma problem through a variety of efforts.  Investing in Mobility aims not only to show that the problem can be addressed by taking trucks off the road, but also aims to get regional transportation planners to start thinking about alternatives to massive investments in highway infrastructure - which often result only in more highway traffic - as a response to congestion.

“This report illustrates that investment in freight-rail, particularly a cross-harbor rail freight tunnel, is a must for New York,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler.  “The roads of this region simply cannot handle the expected 79 percent increase in freight traffic over the next 20 years.  Today, there is virtually no way for rail freight to cross the Hudson River further south than a bridge near Albany, which is costly, and as a result, over 95% of all goods destined for New York City come in by truck via the George Washington Bridge.  If implemented, the recommendations of this report, especially the freight rail tunnel, would significantly reduce pollution, congestion, and lower the cost of manufacturing and consumer goods.  The cross-harbor rail freight tunnel is also an issue of national security, it would provide an alternate means to keep the supply of goods flowing into the City - it is a matter of saving our air, saving our roads, and saving us in the event of a terrorist attack.”

“Diversifying modes of transporting freight is smart policy,” added Congressman Christopher Shays. “It’s good for the environment and good for business, providing relief to commuters on our overburdened highways.  I appreciate the work of the East of the Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force and Environmental Defense on this issue, which is critical to New England and the northeast.”

The East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force, created in 1999 by the Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation companies and 24 members of the United States Congress, is co-chaired by Congressmen Jerrold Nadler and Christopher Shays.  It is committed to the restoration of price- and service-competitive freight rail operations in the areas of the New York metropolitan region east of the Hudson River by bringing together elected officials, carriers and public agencies at regularly scheduled meetings.