Ports, intermodal distribution centers, and busy freight corridors are vital to our global and domestic trade system. They are also highly polluting and harm our environment and our health. In many cities, ports and intermodal railyards are the single largest polluters, and as we wrote in a previous blog post, it is estimated that nearly 21,000 people die every year as a result of heavily polluting diesel engines, the most commonly used engines in freight transportation.
All ten of the largest U.S. ports have taken some steps towards cleaning up their activities and several rail yards and corridors have , too. We've highlighted some of these plans in our recent report, The Good Haul [PDF], and there are some others out there. Unfortunately, these programs are not the norm, and some are certainly better than others.
Port Cleanup Plans
A container ship at the Port of LA using alternative marine power (power via the city’s grid) instead of burning diesel fuel while at dock. Photo: Port of LA.
One promising cleanup plan is at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This comprehensive cleanup plan has already taken 2,000 dirty trucks off of the road, which has reduced truck related emissions by 80%.
Another good actor is the Port of Seattle. Its Seaport Air Quality Program looks to clean up all aspects of the port's operations. The port has also worked with U.S. EPA, the Washington Department of Ecology and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to retrofit and replace all cargo handling equipment with cleaner engines.
Railyard and Corridor Cleanup
In addition to port cleanup plans, railyards and rail corridors also have low-hanging fruit. Chicago's railyard cleanup program, the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program focuses on three freight corridors and one passenger rail corridor, building new overpasses and underpasses, enhancing grade safety and upgrading tracks. These infrastructural changes will streamline the Chicago rail system, which handles 29% of the revenue earned by U.S. Class I freight railroads. Air quality improvements are expected to save the community $1.12 billion in reduced health care and loss of life costs between 2003 and 2042, and the cleaner air will translate to seven more smog-free days every summer.
Railyard and corridor cleanup plans have promising environmental results. Author’s photo.
Another rail plan worth noting is Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor Initiative. This initiative upgrades a 1,400 mile long corridor between Louisiana and New Jersey along Interstate 81. The plan includes straightening curves, improving signals, and building new terminals. Upon completion, the project aims to shift more than 1 million truckloads of freight to rail, saving more than 170 million gallons of fuel per year.
Plans like these ought to be the norm for major freight corridors and hubs. In out next blog, we'll share how we think the federal transportation bill can encourage smart freight transportation policies.