Railroad corporations have been cutting out less profitable services to maximize the bottom line, shifting much freight to trucking. So over the past 10 years freight rail volume has decreased even as profits have soared. This has increased air pollution and road runoff, accident injuries and death, and road damage, which is disproportionately caused by trucks. The Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency responsible for regulating freight rail, convened a hearing Sept. 16-17 to explore how freight service can be rebuilt. Backbone Campaign Executive Director Bill Moyer shared our Solutionary Rail campaign’s recommendations with the Board, and documented how returning freight from trucks to rail could save the public $46 billion in costs. Watch this 9-minute video of Bill’s testimony.
A PDF of Bill’s comments is HERE .
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We invite you to be part of this people-powered campaign to put American railroads in service of the public interest through rail electrification, shifting freight and people from roads to rail, and using rail corridors to transmit renewable energy. Participate in webinars, strategy sessions and skill sharing with community and technical experts by signing up at SolutionaryRail.org. Support this work with a tax-deductible donation here. To buy our book, Solutionary Rail - A people-powered campaign to electrify America's railroads and open corridors to a clean energy future, go here.
Solutionary Rail testimony to the Surface Transportation Board on Rail in the Public Interest