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Show i Friday, May 30, 2008 HERALD DAILY A2 U.S. rail network facing congestion 'calamity' Established in 1873 - A Lee Newspaper Customer Service Newsroom Michael Tarm 375-510- 3 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 801-344-25- CHICAGO Toll f ree FAX www.heraldextra.com 1555 N. Freedom Blvd., Provo, UT Send mail to: P.O. 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While the nation's attention is focused on air travel congestion and the high cost of fuel for highway driving, a crisis is developing under the radar for another form of transportation the freight trains used to deliver many of the goods that keep the U.S. economy humming. The nation's 140,000-mil- e network of rails devoted to : carrying everything from cars to grain by freight is already At other times, NEWS TIPS: On nights and weekends, call contact an editor above. CORRECTIONS: The Herald corrects errors of . fact appearing in its news and opinion columns. call 344 2530. HOME DELIVERY 375-510- you have a correction, groaning under the strain of congestion, with trains forced to stand aside for hours bek cause of rail lines. And it's probably going to get worse over the next two Advertising 3 i 6 a.m. 7 a.m. For missing papers, call by 9:30 a.m. Mon-Fr- Delivery by If one-trac- CLASSIFIED 373-645- RETAIL 344-294- ADVERTISING FAX 356-301- 2 decades, according to an analysis of government and industry projections by The Associated Press and interviews with experts on rail freight. The damage to the U.S. economy could climb into the billions of dollars. Higher shipping costs would raise prices for everything from lumber to grain. One analyst said the rail crunch could add thousands of dollars to the price of a car. "It's not rocket science to see we have a calamity coming down the road," said Paul Bingham, a transportation analyst at research firm Global Insight. Congestion around the country has remained chronic, even as the ailing economy has led to a 3 percent dip in freight train traffic in the first few months of this year compared with last year. And a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce report Sat-Su- The Daily Herald (ISSN 0891-2777- , is published mornUSPS 143-060- ) SUBSCRIPTIONS New subscriptions, restarts, delivery or ings, Sunday through Saturday, 3 by Lee Publications, a division of weekbilling information, call Lee Enterprises, Inc., 1555 N. days from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, Freedom Blvd., Provo, Utah 84604. SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAMS Periodicals postage paid at Provo, Utah. Postmaster: Send address Daily & Sunday Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun & Holidays changes to The Daily Herald, P.O. Box 717, Provo, Utah 84603-0717- . Thursday Only Moo Sat Sunday Only Thur, Sun Holidays i MEMBER, AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS 'Holiday delivery includes delivery the weeks ot Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day; Pioneer Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. contents Copyright All 2008. Dally Herald. Any reproduction or other use is strictly prohibited without written permission. .". 6 V. K.J i, v jOIUTE SUBJECT.' ..LNT EVENTS J CULTURE -- r ex- Railway ecutive Matthew Rose stood before fellow industry leaders, pointing to a map meant to tell the future of the U.S. rail freight network. It was drenched in red east to west, north to south. The blotches illustrated areas where, by 2035, traffic jams could be so severe trains would grind to a halt for days with nowhere to go. "For those of you who've ever seen a good rail meltdown, this is what it looks like," Rose, CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., said as the crowded hall shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. "It's literally chaos in the sup- 7 . j M. SPENCER GREEN Associated Press Incoming freight cars right are sorted one car at a time at the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago, one of the busiest rail yards in the country. Cars are switched from incoming trains to , outgoing trains left based on destinations. system backs up." Atlanta-baseUPS hasn't determined the total cost of freight route congestion, but says that just five minutes of dally delays for each of its drivers amounts to $100 million in company losses a year. Other modes of transport can't take up the slack: Trucking faces its own congestion problems, a shortage of drivers and high fuel prices. Ships and barges can't reach large parts of the country. Airplanes couldn't begin to carry the millions of tons of coal, waste, chemicals, grain and cars hauled by trains. And hauling freight by rail remains far than truckmore ing. Many politicians are joining rail executives in sounding the alarm. "The amount of money we're investing nationally is pathetic," Rep. Peter DeFazio, said during a recent d Increasingly crowded freight-rai-l system The consequences of worsening congestion along the 140,000)9" U S freight-ra- il system could lead to disruptions to the nation's supply chain and eventually cap or even cut deep into annual U.S. growth. Service below capacity Above capacity At capacity Chicago 2005 train volumes V ) , ' Chicago ; congressional hearing on congested freight routes. "We're heading toward fourth-worlinfrastructure." Others suggest the railroads are being alarmist. Kenneth Kremar, another d Global Insight analyst, said talk of a looming crisis serves 2035 without rail industry interests as rail comsystem improvement panies jockey for more money from Congress. AP SOURCES: Association of American Railroads: Cambridge Systematics, Inc. He said investment in no room. high-tec- h cars train and "Even if the estimates are larger, U.S. rail system half wrong, we can't put even one track and can't accomcomputer systems that better 25 percent more freight in the would cost $148 billion over 30 modate freight-trai- n cars used pace trains should help avert elsewhere that carry twice years. system right now without seri- logjams. ous implications," said Randy Private rail companies would the load, with one container "It's illogical to assume have to pay most of it, with stacked on top of another. Mullett, an analyst for the non- nothing will be done," he said. But the big choke point is profit Transportation Research "Railroads have an inherent in- federal and state tax dollars Board. terest in doing something. The covering much of the rest. Chicago, where it can take up to two days for trains to wind Already, delays hamper the market will respond. There's Any solution will have to no reason think they're headed include Chicago, which handles through the city. existing rail freight network. about 40 percent of all U.S. A lone train stopped in Chicago for the abyss." Nearly all the major routes rail freight on 180,000 trains a of the weblike rail freight can force other trains to stop Amtrak, which shares the or slow as far away as Los An- rails with freight trains, is year. system comes through one also feeling the pinch. Its longExpanding capacity here will or more of the nearly 80 rail geles or Baltimore. cost $1.5 billion over six years, yards here. It's why a single distance trains were on time "It's a ripple effect," said Scott Haas, a vice president for just 42 percent of the time last a coalition of officials and rail delayed train here can force United Parcel Service, which those thousands of miles away year, according to a report by executives estimates. David uses 3,000 freight cars every the U.S. Department of TransBurns, an independent railroad to stop or slow down. The problem is that the Chiday, more than any other U.S. portation's inspector general. engineering consultant based in the Chicago area, put the The problem on the shared business. "Everything in my cago hub was designed in the tracks has worsened in recent cost closer to $4 billion. when the area was Bottlenecks crop up in other a comparative backwater of years as freight traffic has soared. Passenger trains move parts of the country, too. 30,000 people. Now, 10 million much faster than most freight residents sprawl into formerly Long stretches of busy rural areas where trains once trains, and in many areas there Union Pacific Corp. lines in is a rolled along unencumbered. the California and Southern track, single only forcing ads in this section! The 500 freight trains movtrains to pull over onto side Southwest, vital routes for tracks and wait while trains ing through Chicago each day agricultural goods and Asian also have to share tracks with coming in the other direction trading, have just a single Rooms Rouse j and yield to, according to track. pass. FarRest Rentals j A solution won't come And Baltimore's long but protocol 700 daily comWanted Female R.M. low Howard Street rail tunmuter trains. In contrast, comcheap. Lrg. Prvt. Bed & Bath The Chamber says expandmuter trains in New York City nel, connecting $400month, Sp. Fork states to the Midwest, has just don't share lines with freight. ing capacity on the more than BYU Standards Requ. warns demand for freight trains is expected to double over the next 25 years. The problem is that there's HISTORY SClLN't GEOGRAPHY tv t:td a wide world of knowledge here. da'ily" 1IO co;n mid-1800- s, m, LQOKW HATS NEW. TODAY! Call I iPsts J LOOK AKC Golden Dog: Retriever Puppies. 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Interior Secretary Dirk agement said Thursday that it will consider whether to estab- Kempthorne said in a written lish a systemwide program for statement Thursday that relarge-scal- e newable energy will help the solar energy projects. It will work with the Decountry meet its energy needs. "Expanded solar energy partment of Energy on explordevelopment is part of the soluing potential environmental economic and social impacts of tion, placing more control over the projects in Arizona, Calienergy supply in the hands of fornia, Colorado, Nevada, New America," Kempthorne said. Mexico and Utah. The BLM will consider Rebecca Watson helped various alternatives in an environmental impact statement, shape the BLM's first solar energy policy in 2004 as the as- which would amend the agensistant secretary for land and cy's land-us- e plans in the six minerals management in the states. A similar analysis was done in 2005 for wind energy U.S. Department of the Interior. There were no applications on federal land in 11 states. Lands that will be excluded from companies interested in developing large solar projects from the solar energy rLeview include national monuirients; on federal land then, but Watson said the agency "wanted to areas designated as wilderness or under study for the designaget ahead of the curve." Now, there are 125 application; wild and scenic rivers; 'and nutional historic sites. tions pending for rights of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Additional environmental analysis would be done for individual projects. . Phil Hanceford of The Society said he welcomes the BLM review. "We do realize that solar energy development has great potential in the Southwest in general, and not just on federal land," Hanceford said. Some of the best spots for solar energy development in the West are near large cities, such as Las Vegas, he added. Hanceford said he agreed with BLM's approach of determining the best areas for ss solar energy and where plants shouldn't be built before development starts. Watson said a challenge facsolar power ing utility-scalin the West is transmission lines. She said some of the best locations might not be close to existing power lines. Large solar facilities also require a lot of land and, sometimes, water. Watson said it's estimated that a plant would take up about 800 acres. One megawatt serves roughly 1,000 homes. e h M |