Railroads Get B on Infrastructure Report Card

U.S. railroads received a grade of B on the latest infrastructure report card released by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

ASCE cited the private investment that has been made in the nation’s rail system, which the group said is in good condition.

Between 1980 and 2020, U.S. freight railroads spent nearly $740 billion on capital expenditures and maintenance expenses related to locomotives, freight cars, tracks, bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure and equipment.

In a news release the Association of American Railroads said the grade was the highest that railroads have received from ASCE.

ASCE said the nation’s infrastructure overall merited a grade of C-.

The infrastructure report card noted that remain stark differences in the infrastructure challenges faced by freight versus passengers railroads.

It pointed to a $45.2 billion state-of-good-repair backlog on the Northeast Corridor while also noting that most Amtrak trains use well-maintained freight railroad routes.

Saying that infrastructure-related issues are the largest source of delays on the Northeast Corridor, ASCE called for significant investment in passenger-rail infrastructure.

Tags: American Society of Civil Engineers, Association of American Railroads, infrastructure