Quick Facts
The National Gateway
- Will create more than 50,000 jobs, with 10,000 jobs created in the construction phase alone.
- Will help save nearly 2 billion gallons of fuel and eliminate 20 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Has the support of a broad and diverse group of more than 300 public and private sector organizations and individuals who recognize the significant benefits of this cutting-edge infrastructure initiative, including Big Lots!, UPS and The Limited.
- Delivers $35 in public benefits for every dollar of public money invested.
Freight Facts
- Freight traffic is expected to double from 15 billion tons today to 30 billion tons by 20501.
- One double-stack intermodal train can carry the load of more than 280 trucks, freeing room for approximately 1,100 cars2.
- Each bulk and merchandise train can carry the load of up to 500 trucks.
- U.S. container traffic nearly doubled over the last decade, and this trend is expected to continue3.
Rail and the Environment
- Freight rail is the most environmentally friendly form of surface transportation. A single freight train can move a ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel4.
- Every railcar trip removes approximately three truck trips from congested highways5.
- Railroads can move one ton of freight three times as far as a truck on one gallon of fuel4.
- On a per ton-mile basis, railroads emit one-tenth the hydrocarbons and diesel particulates as trucks, and one-third the nitrogen and carbon oxides6.
- If just 10 percent of long-haul freight now moving by truck moved by rail instead, annual greenhouse gas emissions would decrease by more than 12 million tons7.
1 - “The Case for Capacity: To Unlock Gridlock, Generate Jobs, Deliver Freight, and Connect Communities,” American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, July 2010. Accessed at http://expandingcapacity.transportation.org/unlocking_freight/images/FreightReportFinal_7710.pdf.
2 - “Overview of U.S. Freight Railroads,” National Atlas of the United States, September 17, 2009. Accessed at http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/transportation/a_freightrr.html.
3 - “Trends in Container Throughput,” Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2009. Accessed at http://www.bts.gov/publications/americas_container_ports/2009/html/trends_in_container_throughput.html.
4 - “National Rail Plan: Moving Forward,” U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration, September 2010. Accessed at http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/NRP_Sept2010_WEB.pdf.
5 - “Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors,” U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration, November 19, 2009. Accessed at http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/Comparative_Evaluation_Rail_Truck_Fuel_Efficiency.pdf.
6 - “Policies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Freight Movements”
7 - “Rail Intermodal Keeps America Moving,” Association of American Railroads, May 2010. Accessed at http://www.aar.org/~/media/aar/backgroundpapers/railintermodalkeepsamericamoving.ashx.