Nation’s Railroads Are Back On Track (NAPS)—Twodecadesago,rail- roads were on theverge of collapse. Today, they are safe, efficient and competitive. What put the nation’s railroads back on track was the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, which brought about partial railroad deregulation. The change has been dramatic and a principal beneficiary has been the American consumer: e Since the Staggers Act was enacted, average rail rates have declined by 57 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis. This has saved American consumerstensofbillions of dollars and helped make American industry more competi- tive in world-wide markets. e Prior to Staggers, railroads faced a $20 billion capital shortfall, accident rates were soaring and productivity suffered. Since Staggers, railroads have invested $263 billion to improve and maintain infrastructure and equip- ment. This has resulted in a 66 percent reduction in train accidents and a 171 percent improvementin rail productivity. Railroads will need to invest even more in the future just to keep pace with a growing econ- omy. Over the next 20 years, rail- roads will need to spend more than $360 billion to maintain and improve their infrastructure and equipment. Rather than being a drain on the Treasury, railroads are con- tributing billions of dollars to the Tiwi Manyfeel that the nation’s railroads are back on track because of the Staggers Rail Act which allows the industry to operate morelike other businesses. economy in the form of wages, retirement benefits, payroll, income and other business taxes. Prior to Staggers, taxpayers were paying an average of onebillion dollars a year to keep somerailroadsafloat. Many feel that the railroad industry has excelled in the free market environment and evolved into the cost effective, safe, and competitive meansof transporting goods that we knowtoday. Though the Staggers Act is still working as intended, bene- fitting customers, consumers, railroad workers and the Ameri- can economy, some special inter- est groups advocate new regula- tory burdens on railroads. Many feel this would be bad not just for railroads, but also for customers, consumers, and the nation’s economy.
