Political Solutions
Build high-speed rail
Our personal transportation–cars and light-duty trucks–are the second largest producer of global warming pollution.
The second, of course, is old coal plants. The transportation sector emits about 30% of all global warming pollution, with our cars and trucks making up close to 90% of that total.
Meanwhile, the fastest-growing contributor to global warming pollution in the transportation sector is commercial aviation, currently less than 2% of the total–but growing quickly. Even more ominous is the fact that carbon dioxide pollution released tens of thousands of feet up in the atmosphere is more powerful than CO2 pollution produced near the Earth’s surface.
Build more, and faster, passenger trains.
Per passenger-mile, trains produce less global warming pollution than either cars or airplanes. They’re also more fuel-efficient.
In 2006 in Illinois, ELPC and allied groups worked with the Governor and General Assembly to double the state’s appropriation for Amtrak service. This in turn funded a near-doubling of Amtrak’s schedule in Illinois as of October 30. Have people ridden the new trains? In droves! Take a look at how riders have responded in just the first three months of service.
Invest in rail
Investment in train service is clearly a “If you build it, they will come” proposition. The next phase is to improve the trains’ reliability and travel time. To do so in Illinois, ELPC and others are pushing for a $1.3 billion capital funding plan that will upgrade track, add capacity, and permit the installation of signals along a nearly-finished 118-mile section of track between Chicago and Springfield. Once the signals are in, trains will be able to run at 110 mph instead of the current 79 mph maximum, thus shaving almost 30 minutes from trip time!
Using the Illinois success as a jumping-off point, ELPC is working with other groups in passenger rail investment throughout the Midwest, and has formed a Midwest Business Coalition for Passenger Rail that now includes 53 chambers of commerce in nine states.
Eventually, we envision a network of fast trains linking major metropolitan areas in those nine states, as well as communities in between.
« Return to Political Solutions.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I agree that we should do whatever possible to get people out of cars. However, I am very concerned as well that we are converting freight rail lines to transit lines. Trains would seem to be one obvious answer to the overall clean air/energy crunch problem so we need to watch for the unintended consequences of our actions.