House Hearing on U.S. Freight, Passenger Rail Needs

A hearing held by the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on January 23 delved into several key aspects of surface transportation reauthorization that would benefit America’s freight and passenger railroad networks.

[Above photo by the House T&I Committee]

To that end, the hearing – overseen by the House T&I’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials – solicited input from a range of rail transportation industry stakeholders.

Photo by the House T&I Committee

The hearing featured testimony from Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads; Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association; Joe Daloisio, chairman of the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association; and Jared Cassity, alternate national safety and legislative director for the Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation-Transportation Division or “SMART-TD.”

Subcommittee Chair Daniel Webster (R-FL) noted in his opening statement at the hearing that “railroads remain an integral part” of the nation’s infrastructure, with America’s economic survival and well-being relying on dependable rail service.

“Current surface transportation authorization expires this Congress and discussions have begun assessing the nation’s infrastructure needs,” he added. “Building and supporting America’s rail network involves cutting red tape, improving safety through technology and innovation, encouraging private sector involvement and competition, and decreasing dependence on government funding and control.”

AAR’s Jeffries addressed broad surface transportation reauthorization issues in his written testimony, stressing specifically that the Highway Trust Fund or HTF must be restored to a true “user-based” system.

AAR’s Jeffries at left (speaking) with ASLRRA’s Chuck Baker at right. Photo by the House T&I Committee.

“According to the Congressional Budget Office, balances in both the highway and transit accounts of the HTF will be exhausted in 2028,” he explained. “The CBO says that if the taxes that are currently credited to the trust fund remained in place and if funding for highway and transit programs increased annually at the rate of inflation, the shortfalls accumulated in the HTF highway and transit accounts from 2024 to 2033 would total $241 billion.”

Jeffries believes increasing the fuel tax or imposing a vehicle-miles traveled fee or a weight-distance fee for trucking companies could help solve that issue. “An appropriate user fee would be self-sustaining; would not increase taxes or fees for non-highway transportation modes; and would create a competitive tax environment across modes,” he said.

In terms of other reauthorization issues, Jeffries said Congress should continue to provide “robust funding” for a variety of “safety-enhancing” grant programs – such as the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination grant program – that would help the public sector, including state and local governments, better partner with freight railroads and others to advance projects of mutual interest.  

That would also help improve the overall fluidity of supply chains, reduce highway and port congestion, improve safety, facilitate passenger rail, and improve the quality of life for communities, he said.

ASLRRA’s Baker added in his testimony that Congress also needs to increase support for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements or CRISI program – created in 2015 – to invest in projects that improve railroad safety, efficiency and reliability for both freight rail and intercity passenger rail.

“Unlike other federal rail infrastructure grant programs that only provide eligibility for public applicants, Congress made short line railroads directly eligible applicants for CRISI,” he said. “This was

hugely beneficial for the program and for short lines because it streamlined the application process, made for better alignment between available project funding and project outcomes, and allowed short lines to better compete with well-funded larger entities with more publicly prominent projects.”

Baker pointed out that CRISI projects are most often those “on the bubble”— projects that are “on the cusp of making the cut but not quite there,” he said. “Railroad rehabilitation is extraordinarily expensive and the most-needed projects are on the bubble because short line revenues are often not sufficient to complete the job,” Baker noted.

Thus, he stressed that CRISI is critical to upgrading short line infrastructure and enabling major projects. “Funding must be both robust and predictable,” Baker noted. “Current CRISI funding levels are $1 billion per year in advance appropriations through Fiscal Year 2026, with up to an additional $1 billion per year possible through discretionary appropriations. Maintaining or expanding these funding levels is a top priority for short lines.”

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