In WWII we had an opportunity to fall back to a large residual, if neglected, network of railways: branchlines, street & interurban electric railway plant that helped carry the war traffic + keep the homeland mobile. No such fallback now, when fuel allocation/gas rationing gets in our face. I state this as inevitable, taking the position stated by the three gentlemen above very seriously.

Additional threat to homeland not existing in the 1940’s is ability of adversaries to render dysfunctional our electronic computer systems with Electromagnetic Pulse generators, either by nuclear detonation in outer space, or more likely, Tesla coil affairs in individual automobiles would work just fine. US railway systems are presently being protected by “Faraday Cages” around critical solid state chips and circuitry. We have a long way to go to harden the transportation systems.

It is here suggested that we work with National Guard, Shortline Rail Association, and the Departments of Transportation in all the States and Counties as well: to inventory all dormant rail corridor, including feasible downtown warehouse locations for local rail/delivery trucking interface. Forgive the railway orientation here- more than adequate constituency is at hand for the bus methodology.

The rail network must be vastly expanded in capacity & reach, linked as much as possible to stand-alone renewable energy source, grid connected where appropriate. But again, the grid-connected energy dedicated for rail must be engineered to instantly disconnect in grid failure so the rails keep running. Hopefully we will have at least a decade or so to enable these infrastructure installations; I believe & fear greatly that we do not.

What is at hand is a very focused system of trunk lines, diesel powered and deliberately maintained at a very tight equilibrium between traffic demands & capacity. Somehow we need to add on the peripheral lines that can bring us back to the more rail-focused transportation methodology & neigborhood connectivityof the first 150+ years of the rail system, in America. One formula will include public-owned rights-of-way to enable contract operators to work exempt from taxation on marginal corridors. Re-establishing railway operating battalions in all the State National Guard organizations is requisite, to establish cadre of trained individuals that can be utilized near home, or dispatched to national disaster regions, etc.

Savvy responsibles will get the idea. A notable statutory precedent is found in the US Congress “Post Roads Act” of July 10, 1838, designating ALL Railroads as part of a network; Guarantors of Commercial & Societal Cohesion… We will sorely need just this sort of operating mindset and infrastructure when the crises come!

The capitalization must come from the full panorama of sources, public & private. The Defense budget can minimally finance the National Guard role (and a fleet of perishables & maintenance cars for training & emergencey standby). The corridor & equipment capital comes from transportation fuel tax, special local, state & federal appropriations, developer’s fees, the list is long and must be! Neighborhood contactors are at the bottom of the food chain, but most important because they can help with the very localised victuals/necessities of life warehousing & distribution centers at the end of the lines…

Yes, I know this is a “Transit” column, but it has become somewhat of a curious thing, the way the transit officials of the USA have so much disregarded the once common requisite transit infrastructure partnership with rail freight carriage since 1950 or so….

Come, let us reason together!

I propose that as part of SAFETEA-LU reauthorization the issue of transit operating be tackled head on. I am not proposing a return to Federal Operating funds or increasing the flexibility of existing funds (beyond the 100 bus coalition plan), although everything should be on the table – I am suggesting at least stronger incentives for state and local support of public transportation operations. And even transit unfriendly regions would take notice if it were not just incentives tied to transit funding (some regions might forgo their federal transit money) but tie all surface transportation funds to higher levels of support for public transportation operations.