At RMI we agree that any serious
freight strategy needs to have a big picture, integrative perspective that includes smart land - use and development as well as efficient rail, truck, and shipping transport.Compared to trucking, rail transit does sport higher efficiency
numbers - today's average
train has an efficiency
of 400 ton - miles per gallon whereas trucks currently hover around 130 ton - miles per gallon.
Indeed,
trains — both
freight and commuter — account for a surprising
number of severe injuries in Canada and the United States, and can occur in both dense population centres and small towns.