Changes need to be made in N.C. rail policies
We are pro-rail. We think railroads remains a viable transportation option forNorth Carolina, and that state policymakers should pursue a systematic strategy of removing impediments to the expansion and success of the railroad industry.
That’s one reason why we rail so much against taxpayer subsidies for passenger rail.
Long ago, railroads became primarily a freight business, not a passenger business. Other than a few lines in the Northeast, Amtrak service is a subsidized luxury, not a viable business. While passengers finance virtually the entire cost of the alternatives — roads and airlines — through user taxes and fees, passenger rail is the only transportation alternative that is heavily subsidized by nonusers.
Trucking long ago became the mainstay of the freight business in North Carolina and the nation, and rail isn’t really an option for many kinds of customers. But if you are hauling bulk goods – and particularly coal for North Carolina power plants – rail is the logical, least-cost choice.
The best way to allow North Carolina businesses to make efficient use of rail transportation in the state would be to:
• Require passenger-rail service to pay for itself through tickets, advertising, or other revenue. If it does, fine. If it doesn’t, clear the tracks for the paying customers.
• Reform environmental and other regulations that unnecessarily increase the cost of the rail lines themselves or of the industrial customers who make up the majority of the demand for rail transportation.
• Sell the state-owned North Carolina Railroad to the highest bidder. Use the proceeds to pay down state debt and invest in valuable state infrastructure such as roads and bridges that cannot practically be shifted into private management or ownership.
Carolina Journal
December 2011 Vol. 20 No.12
