Opinion: Don’t regulate freight rail system

(This column by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) appeared at RollCall.com.) America has the greatest freight rail network in the world. Our system is the most efficient of its kind and essentially relies on no subsidies from the federal government. More than a century ago, America's railroads ushered in the great advancements in industry that sparked America's emergence as an economic power on the world stage. America's railroads revolutionized transportation, gave promise to freedom of movement and made business more efficient.

Today, we find ourselves in
the midst of a freight rail renaissance. America’s freight railroads carried
more than 2.26 billion tons of freight in 36 million cars over 140,000 miles of
track in 2008. Dollar for dollar, the freight rail industry carried this cargo
more efficiently and at a lower operating cost than other modes of
transportation, with rail fuel efficiency up 94 percent since 1990.

Railroad’s resurgence could
not have come at a better time. Highway congestion and environmental concerns
have become increasingly important, and railroads are an effective means of
mitigating both issues. A single freight train takes 280 trucks off the road
and can move a ton of goods 457 miles on one gallon of diesel. If just 10
percent of the trucks on the road were shifted to freight rail, America would
save 1 billion gallons of fuel each year.

This massive gain in fuel
economy has an equally important environmental benefit. Freight rail is one of
the greenest modes of transportation available. According to recent statistics,
if just 10 percent of freight were switched from long-haul trucks to rail,
greenhouse gas emissions would fall by more than 12 million tons. You’d need to
plant more than 280 million trees to equal what freight rail can do.

Credit also has to be given
to CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. for their efforts in developing the
National Gateway and Crescent Corridor. CSX’s National Gateway will convert
more than 14 billion highway miles to rail. It is expected that this system
will reduce fuel consumption by 2 billion gallons and shipping costs by $3.5
billion. Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor will similarly reduce carbon
emissions by 2 million tons per year and save 170 million gallons of gas
annually.

Yet given its successes and
self-reliance, the railroad industry finds itself back in Congress’ cross
hairs. The question is this: Will America’s railroads continue to be given the
freedom necessary to grow their industry without direct interference by the
federal government, or will Congress reregulate the industry?

Reregulation would be a
potentially catastrophic public policy that could erase 30 years of positive
growth and threaten to reduce the railroads to ruinous decreases in services
and disinvestment not seen since the 1970s. I firmly believe that if Congress
reregulates rail, it will be only a matter of time before our once self-reliant
railroads are forced to rely on taxpayer dollars to invest in infrastructure
and safety improvements as federal mandates mount.

If railroads are not free
to put their dollars into the projects that make the most economic sense and
are instead forced to spend their profits complying with legislative mandates,
the long-term viability of the industry is threatened.

Instead of penalizing the
rail industry for its success, Washington should be promoting new investment to
keep America’s railroads in the driver’s seat of the global economy. That’s why
I support tax credits for the expansion and rehabilitation of the nation’s rail
infrastructure.

Tax credits are a proven
policy tool to encourage businesses to invest in worthwhile projects. Because
the railroads still pay for their projects under tax credit plans, tax credits
ensure that the railroads will only pursue projects that make sense. Direct
grants, on the other hand, could be seen as "free money" that would not be
subject to the same rigorous business decisions. There are two tax credit bills
that I support, including a 25 percent tax credit for rail projects that expand
the rail network and ease congestion, and a short line tax credit that expired
at the end of last year.

America’s railroads are at
a crossroads. The direction that Congress moves will have a lasting effect on
American competitiveness. Washington must resist the urge to overregulate an
industry that has proven to be largely self-sufficient and capable of
weathering economic stress. I will do my part as a member of the Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee to make sure it does not happen.