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.

Infrstructure Needs Face $5T Gap, Group Warns

Infrastructure in the United States faces a $5 trillion gap between current spending and what is needed to reach a state of good repair, the American Society of Civil Engineers warned this week.

The group said in a report released this week that the future of the transit sector is “bleak,” with a current backlog of $176 billion in investments, considering vehicles, tracks, and equipment that are past their useful service lives.

ASCE said the backlog could reach $535 billion for transit and intercity passenger rail by 2039 as existing assets age.

The report does not address freight rail needs, but previous reports it issued said the freight rail system has generally fared better than other forms of transportation because of the private investment in right-of-way and other capital projects.