The New York/northern New Jersey/southwestern Connecticut metropolitan area is the largest consuming region in the country. Almost 320 million tons of freight must be shipped across the Hudson River every year to meet the current demand for goods and services.
However, with no fixed rail freight infrastructure across the Hudson River within 140 miles of New York City, less than 2 percent of all freight enters the East-of-Hudson region by rail. For freight to cross the Hudson River by rail from many destinations, it must travel a circuitous route using the crossing at Selkirk (approximately 140 miles to the north), or travel by limited car float service across the Hudson in New York City. The 280-mile diversion is approximately the distance from New York City to Washington, D.C.
Because of this rail route inefficiency, in addition to the antiquated rail infrastructure east of the Hudson and the narrow operating window currently allowed for rail freight into New York City, trucks carry the majority of freight into and out of the region. Approximately 78 percent, or about 250 million tons of this freight is trucked across the Hudson River yearly. This translates into 30,000 trucks a day, primarily crossing the George Washington and Verrazano-Narrows bridges, with each large freight truck equivalent to the roadway capacity of four passenger vehicles.
The Problem Summed Up
The existing East-of-Hudson rail freight network is an underused asset. Currently, only
1.76 percent of the total tonnage that flows into the East-of-Hudson region travels by rail.
If certain constraints are overcome, the rail freight infrastructure could accommodate a tremendous volume of goods movement into the region at a lower cost and with fewer adverse impacts on local communities than an equivalent flow of trucks.
The major rail gateways into New York City carry heavy passenger rail traffic; however, there are two key freight corridors in the heart of the region that are currently underused and could provide substantial capacity to expand the rail freight system—the Bay Ridge Branch in Brooklyn and Queens, and the Montauk Branch in Queens. The Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project includes an analysis of rail alternatives to address the current regional goods mobility problem and enhance the capacity, reduce congestion and costs, and improve the reliability and strategic redundancy of the freight system. The project focuses specifically on investments that enable robust rail service in the East-of-Hudson region—namely, improvements to the two key East-of-Hudson rail lines discussed above, rail yards and other supporting facilities, and an improved connection to the national freight rail network in northern New Jersey. These improvements would provide much needed relief to the region's congested and vulnerable roadways, enhance the competitive position of regional businesses, improve neighborhood quality of life, and allow the region to capture the expected level of growth and benefits.
Freight Movement Across North America
As the nation's highways are becoming increasingly congested, the freight mobility challenge has been looked at by various governmental entities and stakeholders. Many governmental and industry studies are calling for new investments in intermodal freight infrastructure to meet the increasing demands of consumers and stakeholders. The following studies examine freight mobility constraints and present possible solutions.
Freight Transportation Strategies needed to address Planning and Financing Situations, December 2003 - U.S. General Accounting Office, Report to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) examined challenges to freight mobility. Congestion on the nation’s highways and at intermodal connectors to rail lines, terminals, and port facilities threaten the efficiency and reliability of the freight transportation system, both locally and nationally. The current high level of traffic on roadways and rail lines is particularly severe in metropolitan centers near gateway ports for international trade. Moreover, freight-specific chokepoints exist at rail crossings and roads connecting intermodal terminals, seaports, and airports. In urban areas, limited expansion potential and infrastructure deficiencies, such as poorly designed access roads and insufficient rail and roadway clearances for bridges and tunnels, further contribute to congestion and impede the efficient flow of goods. Tighter security measures being adopted in and around large gateway seaports may also directly impact the efficient flow of goods. The paper identifies strategies to overcome those limitations. The GAO recommends that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation take steps to facilitate better methods and tools in making freight investment decisions. To view the complete report, please click on the link below.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04165.pdf
Transportation
- Invest in America
Freight Rail Bottom Line Report, January, 2003
American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system. AASHTO concludes that the nation’s freight rail transportation system cannot keep pace with the expected growth of the economy over the next 20 years. The report finds that relatively small public investments in the nation’s freight railroads can be leveraged into large public benefits for the nation’s highway infrastructure highway users, and freight shippers. These benefits include cost savings to highways, cost-effective transportation spurring economic development and productivity, enhanced competitiveness in international trade, and critically needed transportation redundancy vital to military mobilization. To view the complete report, please click on the link below.
http://freight.transportation.org/doc/FreightRailReport.pdf
Investing
in Mobility: Freight Transport in the Hudson Region,
2004
Environmental Defense and The East of Hudson Rail
Freight Operations Task Force
The Environmental Defense and the East of Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force (Task Force) embarked on writing this report to focus attention to the need for greater freight transportation planning and investment. The New York metropolitan region is highly dependent on trucks for moving freight. As trucking has been growing steadily, truck traffic has been making an increasing contribution to highway congestion that is increasingly endemic in the region. This report describes the New York metropolitan region’s freight mobility challenge and proposes a framework for assessing alternative investments in freight rail, highway and transit capacity to improve freight mobility. The report recommends greater investments in cross harbor floats in the near term, the development of a cross harbor freight tunnel in the long term, and the use of congestion pricing to rationalize truck use on the region’s major river crossings. To view the complete report, please click on the link below.
http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3601_InvestingMobility_Hudson.pdf
Mid-Atlantic
Rail Operations Study Summary Report, April 2002
I-95 Corridor Coalition
The Mid-Atlantic Rail Operations (MAROP) Study is an initiative of the I-95 Corridor Coalition to examine the deteriorating performance of the Mid-Atlantic’s highway, aviation and rail systems. A consortium of five states and three railroads undertook this study: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern. The study identifies opportunities to improve the region’s existing rail assets, formulates a program of system wide rail investments in all five states; and recommends a public-private partnership to fund and implement the improvements. The study identifies necessary improvements totaling $6.2 billion across these five states over the next 20 years to relieve various choke points, requiring a cooperative effort among all levels of government and the railroads to plan, finance and deliver projects that alleviate rail system choke points. To view the complete report, please click on the link below.
http://144.202.240.28/pman/projectmanagement/Upfiles/reports/full112.pdf
Freight Rail White Paper: I-95 Intermodal Leadership Forum, May 13, 2003
I-95 Corridor Coalition
The I-95 Corridor Coalition is an alliance of transportation agencies, and toll authorities from the Maine to Florida, and New Brunswick Department of Transportation in Canada. Freight movement in the I-95 corridor has increased over the last two decades, increasing roadway congestion while rail infrastructure improvements have not kept pace.
Building on the findings and conclusions of the Mid Atlantic Rail Operations Study, which examined the rail network in five states and needed improvements totaling $6.2 billion, this White Paper recommends a regional approach to organizing and financing rail improvements. To view the complete report, please click on the link below.
http://144.202.240.28/pman/projectmanagement/Upfiles/reports/full225.pdf
ITS/Intermodal Freight Operation Test Project
New York City Listening Session, December 16, 1998
U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation conducted listening sessions in several cities as part of a new initiative to solicit and fund proposals for operational tests for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for improvements in intermodal freight operations and information sharing. The ITS consists of applications and technologies across the intermodal freight system to enhance productivity and safety. The New York City listening session sought to understand the regional market for ITS/intermodal freight program, evaluate the applicability of current ITS applications, identify opportunities for public-private cooperation and highlight some of the impediments to intermodal freight movement. To view the complete transcript of the listening session, please click on the link below.
http://www.dot.gov/intermodal/freight.html
