Short Line Rail: Its Role in Intermodalism and Distribution

Chapter 3: Metropolitan Areas with Short Lines
The purpose of this chapter is to briefly describe short line operations in some U.S.
metropolitan areas, their numbers, locations in the metropolitan areas and connections
with Class I freight railroads. Included in this description are the types of customers,
types of freight hauled, interchanges with Class Is, serving yards, etc. This is the
backdrop against which any suggestions and recommendations regarding possible
roles for short lines in relieving freight congestion in metropolitan areas must take place.
Short Line Operations in Metropolitan Areas
The focus here is on short lines and regional railroads that are currently operating in
metropolitan areas that have been identified by FHWA as having significant truck freight
bottleneck issues (FHWA, 2004). Depending upon the methodology used, the year of
analysis and whether more than trucks are considered, there are over 20 such
metropolitan areas in the U.S. (See Table 3.1). In this analysis, only metropolitan areas
having three or more interchange bottlenecks, totaling more than 1 million hours of
annual delay, are considered. There are other metro areas that exceed the 1 million
hour delay mark, and there are areas that are close to that mark. For purposes of this
study, we focus only on areas with multiple bottlenecks as these are less likely to yield
to traditional interchange or roadway improvements. It is worth noting that in 2004,
these metropolitan bottlenecks resulted in almost 100 million hours of delay for truckhauled
freight – that is the equivalent of over 4 million days of delay or more than 11
thousand years, i.e., more than 111 centuries of delay in one year.
As discussed later in this report, congestion is likely to increase not only in these
particular metropolitan areas, but others as well. This will occur as a result of significant
population growth over the next 20 to 30 years, as well as the likely increase in
vehicular traffic (both automobiles and trucks). (Chapter 6 discusses estimated
population growth in the U.S. and metropolitan areas, while Chapter 7 discusses in
more detail the highway congestion issue in the U.S.)
TABLE 3.1: Metro Areas with Three or More Highway Interchange
Bottlenecks for Trucks, 2004
CITY FREEWAY LOCATION ANNUAL HRS
Atlanta I-285
I-285
I-20
I-75
I-285 @ I-85
Interchange
(“Spaghetti
Junction”)
I-285 @ I-75
Interchange
I-20 @ I-285
Interchange
I-75 south of I-85
Interchange
DELAY
1,641,200
1,497,300
1,359,400
1,288,800
21