Should shortline railroads upgrade their systems to handle heavy axle load cars?

Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review

Volumn 42, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 149-166

  Babcock, Michael W ^a   Sanderson, James ^a,b  

^a KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Kansas Corporation Commission ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

Covered hopper rail cars; Rate of return on investment analysis; Shortline railroads

Indexed keywords

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS; EARNINGS; HOPPERS; INVESTMENTS; RISK ASSESSMENT;

AXLE LOADS; CLASS I; COVERED HOPPER RAIL CAR; GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT; LOW-COSTS; RAILCARS; RATE OF RETURN; RATE OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSE; RETURN-ON-INVESTMENT ANALYSIS; SHORTLINE RAILROAD;

RAILROADS;

FREIGHT TRANSPORT; MODERNIZATION; RAILWAY TRANSPORT;

MIDWEST; NORTH AMERICA; UNITED STATES;

EID: 31144470237     PISSN: 13665545     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2004.11.003     Document Type: Article

References (14)

1. American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association and Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, 2000. 1998 Annual Data Profile of the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Industry, Fargo, ND.
2. Association of American Railroads, 2003. Railroad Facts, 2003 Edition. Washington, DC.
3. Association of American Railroads, various years. Profiles of US Railroads. Washington, DC.
4. M.W. Babcock J. Sanderson The Impact of Jumbo Covered Hopper Cars on Kansas Shortline Railroads 2004 Kansas Department of Transportation Topeka, KS
5. M.W. Babcock E.R. Russell M. Prater J. Morrill State Shortline Railroads and the Rural Economy 1994 Kansas Department of Transportation Topeka, KS
6. M.W. Babcock J.L. Bunch J. Sanderson J. Witt Economic Impacts of Railroad Abandonment on Rural Kansas Communities 2003 Kansas Department of Transportation Topeka, KS
7. Bitzan, J.D., Tolliver, D.D., 2001. Heavier loading rail cars. Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, MPC Report No. 01-127.4, Fargo, ND.
8. J.D. Bitzan D.D. Tolliver The impacts of an industry switch to large rail grain hopper cars on local infrastructure: A case study of North Dakota Journal of the Transportation Research Forum 57 2 2003 135-154
9. Bitzan, J.D., Tolliver, D.D., Benson, D, 2002. Small railroads - investment needs, financial options, and public benefits. Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Publication No. 145, Fargo, ND.
10. K. Casavant D.D. Tolliver Impacts of Heavy Axle Loads on Light Density Lines in the State of Washington 2001 Washington State Department of Transportation Olympia, WA
11. S. Kalay T. Guins Heavy axle loads: The dollars and sense case Railway Age 199 3 1998 59-63
12. Martens, B.J., 1999. An economic analysis of heavy axle loads: The effects on shortline railroads and the tradeoffs associated with heavy cars. Master's thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.
13. Office of Rail Transportation, Iowa Department of Transportation, 2002. 2001 Heavy Axle Load Upgrade Report. Des Moines, IA.
14. R.R. Resor A.M. Zarembski P.K. Patel An Estimation of the Investment in Track and Structures Needed to Handle 129,844 kg (286,000 lb) Rail Cars on Short Line Railroads 2000 Zeta-Tech Associates Inc. Cherry Hill, NJ