Rail

As it's running today, rail is so 19th century — but it is full of raw potential to modernize the shipping industry. Rail is the best bet toward modernizing goods movement and dealing squarely with a number of serious or nagging environmental problems. These include:

1. Climate Change
2. Toxic Air Pollution
3. Noise
4. Urban runoff (water and soil pollution)
5. Sprawl
6. Neighborhood blight
7. Worker Health and Safety
8. Efficient Cargo Movement

There are two approaches to modernize rail.

• Modernize existing rail with backward compatible improvements
• Switch to a new rail-like technology such as maglev.

Of these, maglev offers the greatest promise but also has the most unanswered questions. Fortunately, the folks at CCDoTT are studying maglev to find those answers and help guide it into service. The Port of Los Angeles is also embarking on a pilot program to test a maglev delivery system. Rail offers the easiest way to start moving forward. Both approaches need a number of key changes:

1. Elimination of grade crossings (building freeways for trains)
2. Use of renewable electric power (rather than dirty fossil fuels like LNG or diesel)
3. Use of individually-powered railcars (to handle lone containers)
4. Deployment of a regional cargo movement system (computers to route containers efficiently)
5. Use of quieter track than conventional rail (continuous welded rail)

For maglev, which would use newly constructed "guideways" — many of these features come automatically. For conventional rail, they must be deliberate changes which are part of a package deal.

So, we support the elimination of all grade crossings for rail, but only if it part of a program that moves all these objectives forward. Getting rid of all the grade crossing without these other features is an environmental disaster in the making. We'll end up moving containers longer distances as they travel from San Pedro Bay out to Riverside or San Bernardino to be shuffled and shipped back to Los Angeles area warehouses.

In the process, we'll burn more fuel, create more emissions, cause more health issues, emit more climate changing gasses, create far more noise and contribute to sprawl and blight in our Inland Valleys.

We oppose any method to increase capacity, including rail, if it is not connected to a technology that can truly deliver the promise of a clean environment, good working conditions and efficient cargo movement. We believe rail can do all these things, but only if we set out to make it happen.

2007.04.03