Economic Benefits

America's current transportation system makes this nation economically vulnerable. Rising fossil fuel costs, supply disruptions, increased congestion, and lack of transit options reduce economic growth potential and expose us to the risk of upwardly spiraling costs and transportation interruptions. Rising costs in particular mean that more of our household and national spending will go to pay for transportation.

High speed rail would be the backbone of an alternative system providing several important benefits:

High speed rail saves money and reduces supply disruption and petroleum cost inflation risk by reducing our dependence on a finite energy resource, much of it imported from foreign sources.

• Rising Fuel Cost Risk. Although petroleum costs rise and fall, the long term trend is clearly toward higher prices.
  • Most of our oil use (71%, according to the National Rail Plan) is for transportation. The fact that 57% of this oil is imported exposes our economy to risk. [1]
  • The Transportation Economics and Management Systems, Inc. (TEMS) report for the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI), which studied and affirmed the viability of high speed rail in the Midwest, used in its calculations a (2005) gas cost of $1.25/gallon, which is much lower than today's gas prices. If travelers paying $1.25/gallon would be interested in alternative transportation options, travelers paying three times as much for gasoline are likely to be even more inclined to seek alternatives. [2]
• Rail Energy Efficiency. High speed passenger trains use the least energy of any passenger transportation mode, measured in BTUs, per passenger mile. [3]
  • Auto: 3,437
  • Air Carrier: 3,051
  • Commuter Train: 2,656
  • Intercity Train: 2,398

High speed passenger trains save money by reducing costs related to congestion, keeping people moving efficiently.

• Increased Congestion Forecast. As the nation's population increases, congestion on roads and at airports will grow worse. Nearly every growing community experiences this on some scale, but it is worse in larger metropolitan areas.
  • Great Lakes Population Growth. The population of the United States is expected to increase by 70 million people in the next 25 years, primarily in converging urban megaregions. The Great Lakes area is predicted to be one of those major megaregions. [4]
  • Great Lakes Congestion Growth. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a series of images showing peak period travel congestion. While the 2002 image is not terribly alarming, the projected congestion for 2035 is ominous for the state of Indiana. High speed rail connections between major cities have the potential to alleviate some of that congestion.
• Increased Traveler Options and Traveler Efficiency. Rail passengers can do productive work or rest while traveling. Auto travelers, by comparison, have fewer productive (or restful) options.

Rail travel improves employee productivity and good rail access facilitates new national and international business.

• The orthopedics industry has a significant presence in Warsaw, Indiana. Faced with the challenging reality of operating a global business a significant distance from an international airport, OrthoWorx commissioned a study to evaluate the economic impact benefits of a high speed rail connection from Warsaw, Indiana to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Their findings indicated that high speed rail would greatly enhance the orthopedics industry and the local economy in general.[5]
• Time is a precious commodity. Crowded airports with recurring delays and limited ground transportation options are factors that discourage business investment and commercial activity. Though Chicago is a hub of national and international business, its airports and supporting highway systems are some of the most congested in the nation. [6] With a high speed rail connection to Chicago; Gary, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, or Indianapolis could position themselves as much less-delayed conduits for business travelers headed for Chicago meetings, potentially becoming an alternative location for such gatherings and generating new business and investment.

Rail development will create jobs and stimulate new investment-and not just in the rail industry.

• The MWRRI TEMS study reports that development of a high-speed rail network would directly generate 4,540 permanent new jobs for Indiana and $86 million in extra household income.[7]
• Improving connections between urban areas would increase access to employment options and swell the pool of qualified job candidates for employers, while also increasing access to the goods and services provided in each of the connected regions.
• Development of high speed rail would stimulate transit oriented development in and around multi-modal transportation stations. The proximity of a transportation hub and the addition of restaurants and other amenities would increase the value of surrounding business locations and housing stock. [8]
• There is usually significant intermodal activity in and around a major transportation hub, and if done well, a high speed rail presence in a transportation hub would likely increase the positive leverage and the economic impact of the investment in all linked transit modes.

[1] Data from the National Rail Plan Progress Report.
[2] MWRRI TEMS Report.
[3] Data from Page 8 of the National Rail Plan Progress Report.
[4] Data from the National Rail Plan Progress Report.
[5] View a PDF of the February 2011 OrthoWorx News Release summarizing the study's findings.
[6] See Map 2, page 12 in the National Rail Plan Progress Report: Chicago is among the top in both congested roads and airports.
[7] MWRRI TEMS Report.
[8] Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo, in a speech at the 2011 INHSRA Golden Spike Seminar, informed listeners that "the promise of improved [high speed passenger rail] service has brought more than $200 million in private investment" to the downtown area of Normal, Illinois.