01046883

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2008-10

http://scholar.google.com...land&publication_year=2007

As congestion levels have grown on both urban and intercity highway routes, state and regional transportation planners are starting to look more broadly at alternatives that can hold down or reduce traffic growth. Planners have long considered modal diversion from road to rail for passenger travel, but less attention has been given to opportunities for modal shifting of freight as a means of addressing roadway traffic. Yet it is becoming increasingly clear that railroads can offer a potentially viable alternative to trucking in some situations. This alternative becomes of particular interest when expanded use of rail freight can reduce either existing traffic congestion levels or the need for expanding highway capacity in the future. This paper summarizes findings from NCHRP Project 8-42, which examined the feasibility and value of rail freight solutions as a means of reducing highway congestion, and these solutions’ implications for public planning. It defines the range of rail freight strategies that can be applied to mitigate the growth of traffic congestion and discusses the types of situations in which they can be most relevant. It describes the economic and institutional factors affecting the feasibility of diverting some truck freight to rail, and it lays out a structural framework for evaluating the relative benefits of these options.

01083096

English

pp 75-83

2007

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309104340

Print

Figures (2) ; References (10) ; Tables (2)

Benefits; Economic factors; Feasibility analysis; Freight traffic; Freight trains; Freight transportation; Institutional issues; Intermodal transportation; Modal diversion; Modal shift; Railroads; Strategic planning; Traffic congestion; Transportation planning; Trucking

Economics; Freight Transportation; Highways; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 8 2007 7:02PM

• Analyzing Effects of Spring Highway Load Restrictions on North Dakota’s Agricultural Freight Flows
• Dedicated Truck Facilities as Solution to Capacity and Safety Issues on Rural Interstate Highway Corridors
• Design of Product Recovery Networks Under Uncertainty
• Electronic Freight Theft Management System for Florida
• Estimating Truck Trip Origin–Destination with Commodity-Based and Empty Trip Models
• Evaluation of Delivery Consolidation in U.S. Urban Areas with Logistics Cost Analysis
• Integrated Origin–Destination Synthesis Model for Freight with Commodity-Based and Empty Trip Models
• Methodology for Estimating Freight Volume Shift in an International Intermodal Corridor
• Multiproduct Distribution Network Design of Third-Party Logistics Providers with Reverse Logistics Operations
• New Generation of Wide-Base Tires: Impact on Trucking Operations, Environment, and Pavements
• Shipper Preferences Suggest Strong Mistrust of Rail: Results from Stated Preference Carrier Choice Survey for Quebec City–Windsor Corridor in Canada
• Single Allocation Hub Network Design Model with Consolidated Traffic Flows