Why Railroads
The Midwest is a strong and diverse economy. The area stretching
from the Allegheny Mountains to the Missouri River still contains
the bulk of the country's economic strength, the majority
of our population and our nations food supply. Midwestern
cities provide specialized services that make this strength
possible. Truly, the Midwest is America's Heartland.
Traffic congestion is making travel within this region more
difficult and expensive. This is impacting our ability to
compete in international markets.
Adding sufficient highway capacity to maintain a healthy
economy is prohibitively expensive, For example, all of the
expressways leading into Chicago have been above capacity
for over thirty years, and yet, as each has been rebuilt no
new lanes were added.
With proper investment and service design, railroads can
provide substantial growth in transportation capacity at a
relatively low cost. They can provide travelers with a comfortable
and convenient way to bypass highway congestion and can fill
the gaps left by declining air service to smaller communities.
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