FRA chief touts rail development

Written by jrood

Federal Railway Administrator and former Riverdale, Ill., Mayor Joseph Szabo returned to the south suburbs on April 13 to tout the Obama administration's plans for a "rail renaissance" and highlight the area's potential for rail-related economic development, the Northwest Indiana Times reports.

"This is
transformation time at the Federal Railway Administration. It’s the first time
ever we’ve had a rail plan that will implement safety, green technology and
high speed rail," Szabo told dozens of guests at a breakfast sponsored by
the Suburban Mayors and Managers Association and the Chicago Southland Economic
Development Corp.

"Railroads are a green
technology. One train takes 300 trucks off the highways and gets 360 miles per gallon
of fuel," Szabo said. "Railroads are a source of good jobs."

The south suburbs are in an
ideal position to develop a rail-related economy, he said. There are mature
rail systems and short haul trucking facilities here, and this area has
thousands of acres of land that could be used for Cargo-Oriented Districts that
blend rail and short-haul trucking to move goods quicker and more efficiently.

The meeting was hosted by
Mi-Jack Products, a manufacturing facility for intermodal equipment. The
company has developed an automatic transfer management system to automate such
an intermodal site that could be built using less land and could make one
million transfers a year between short-haul trucks and the rail lines.

The Center for Neighborhood
Technology is developing plans for Cargo-Oriented Districts in the south
suburbs in conjunction with rail lines as part of Chicago Southland’s Green
TIME — transit, intermodal, manufacturing environment — Zone. This is a way
to redevelop the south suburbs by capitalizing on these communities’ principal
economic and environmental assets, Szabo said.

The work force is also
industrially-based, which would be an advantage. In addition, local
manufacturers including the National Railway Equipment Corp. facility in Dixmoor
are creating state-of-the-art energy/environmentally-efficient locomotives, he
said.

For the south suburbs, the
time is also right to initiate Transit-Oriented Developments that dovetail with
the Obama administration’s plan for livable communities, Szabo said. These
developments integrate housing, transportation and retail into a concentrated
area.

"The federal
government has finally realized the segmented approach we’ve taken has too many
unintended consequences, including sprawl," Szabo said. "These developments
require vision at the local level, but you now have an innovative and creative
federal partner.

The intermodal systems
being proposed will be a boon to business, said Jim Apa, president/CEO of Fore
Transportation Inc., a 100-truck operation based in Harvey.

Apa, who attended the
breakfast, said the developments "will create thousands of jobs. Even in
my small business, we could add 150 to 200 jobs. These developments bring in
ancillary companies, like tire shops, gas stations and retail."

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