Major Investment Strategies for American Railroad Networks

With predictions of significant growth in the amount of products which will be transported within the coming years it is crucial the intermodal freight networks continue being developed and upgraded in order to really be able enough to accommodate that growth. After enduring a amount of decline the American rail network has found a go back to relevance in modern times since the road transportation that had largely displaced rail became substantially more costly. This focus on efficiency in freight transport has inspired redevelopment and growth of the American rail systems as the cost effectiveness of rail freight proceeds to surpass trucking costs. This development of the American rail networks and cargo handling facilities has been backed by means of an investment of $24.5 billion inside the rail networks by the nation’s leading freight railroad companies. This expense will be found in part to form more intermodal freight terminals to facilitate an ever greater efficiency of train to truck transfers. There are also significant investments being made by many businesses in new rolling stock together with the aim of increasing the overall capacity of the rail systems for transporting freight. Unlike many other transport networks, rail freight networks aren’t typically developed with government financing and so these developments have all been driven by increasing earnings within the last several years. In 2011, some train organizations reported an increase of 5% in the carloads, which in some cases has created record earnings for the businesses concerned. Over this time around the US railway networks have now been spending around 17% of their sales on developing their capital investment s1 with new bridges, tracks and investing in innovative technology to coordinate their operations and to prepare them to deliver greater efficiency to the near future. It is likewise estimated that the US railway network will create as many as 11,000 new jobs while in the coming year. With 22% of its work force permitted retire within another five years3 this trend appears set to continue. With jobs in a broad number of professions from engineers to I.T professionals the rebirth of the American railways will persist steadily to contribute to the strengthening of the US economy as a whole at the same time. References: http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2013/february-2013/february-13-2013/other-top-stories/north-america-major-investment-planned-for-freight-railroads http://www.cowcatchermagazine.com/u-s-freight-railroads-to-invest-24-5-to-upgrade-networks-during-2013/ http://www.supplychaindigital.com/global_logistics/aar-announce-major-railroad-investment-plan-for-us