Freight

UPDATE 6/5/13: Four months after publishing this article we suddenly realized we may have misinterpreted LaHood's quote. We checked with U.S. DOT and they confirmed we were right about being wrong. When he said that the department would "chart a primary network of up to 27,000 miles of existing interstates and other roads" and "consider adding as many as 3,000 more miles in the future," what he meant was that the law had given the department the mandate to create a 27,000-mile freight network with the option of adding another 3,000 miles -- of existing highways -- to the network later.  

UPDATE 9/18 with comments from DOT officials.

On Thursday, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced the creation of a new Freight Policy Council, which is charged with coming up with a freight strategic plan. This is a first step toward a sorely lacking national plan around freight.

Over the past two weeks, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association has sent letters to the Republican National Committee [PDF] and the Democratic National Committee [PDF], asking them to consider inserting a plank in their platforms about transportation. And they were clear in their letter that, despite being major cheerleaders for road-building, the future they see is multi-modal.

The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America's transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.

Here's the latest transpo bill news that has filtered through the tight little seams in the armor around the conference committee.

Public-private partnerships have recently become a popular policy prescription for the prospect of reviving inter-city passenger rail.

An increase in American exports is helping drive a record-level of new investment in freight rail, according to a news release by the Association of American Railroads.

Of the 46 recently-announced TIGER grant recipients, 18 projects had at least a "substantial freight component," according to the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors. Over $232 million -- 45 percent -- of this latest round of the popular transportation funding program will go to freight projects. That's a very impressive share, considering that traditional federal funding mechanisms tend to neglect freight.