POSITION STATEMENT

The explosive growth in Texas in recent years has made mobility increasingly difficult without encountering delays due to congestion/construction. It has becoming increasingly clear that we cannot solve our transportation needs by adding ever-more-costly highway lanes. This approach simply is not sustainable. It is a transportation system whose adverse impacts upon safety, land use, energy consumption and air quality are not acceptable. The exception is rail (freight and passenger) which experiences fewer delays, has the least impact on the environment, and is by far the safest mode of transportation.

Commerce and settlers came to Texas by rail in the 1870's. Always an integral part of the State?s transportation picture, it is becoming increasingly evident that we must rely on rail to solve our traffic congestion and smog problems.

City governments are losing the battle against air pollution, and have resorted to such strategies as urging residents not to run their lawn mowers on high-ozone days, or avoid fueling their autos until after dark. Despite increasing efforts to get citizens to alter their lifestyles, most large cities will flunk the new EPA air-quality standards. Houston sadly has overtaken Los Angeles as the metropolitan area with the worst air quality in the nation.

In addition to air quality concerns, rush-hour traffic jams, rising driver frustration, and high vehicle counts are degrading the safety performance of our highway system. Tragically, more than 40,000 highway fatalities occur each year. Average speeds in big-city downtowns are slower than they were 10 years ago. The true cost of operating a new automobile is in the 40-cents-a-mile range and rising, currently about $6,000 a year. That works out to 500 after-tax dollars per month to transport the average Texan 1,200 miles a month. These figures do not include any of the public money spent on road construction and maintenance.

Successes in the freight industry point the way to the most promising strategy for transportation improvements in the years ahead. Intermodal transportation has become the global standard for moving freight --- systems sharply focused on speed, safety, reliable scheduling, and economic efficiency. Today, a single train leaving a terminal will replace 280 trucks, and afford as much as nine times the fuel efficiency of the same container transport by highway. Overall, the operational and economic efficiency of freight's intermodal network conserves fuel, reduces environmental impacts, and is significantly safer. Texas? NAFTA highway optimally will be a NAFTA railway.

FACT! One railroad track carries as much traffic as ten highway lanes at a fraction of the cost, space, and environmental impact. It is evident that with more emphasis on rail in an intermodal transportation system real progress can be made. The advancements in intermodal freight transportation must be fully implemented in Texas and likewise expanded to passenger transportation, providing Texans the mobility they deserve.