OPINION
By Troy Turner
Railroads in the United States played a critical combat role during the American Civil War for both the Union and the Confederacy, as each raced to move troops into battle and ship supplies to where needed most.
More than a century-and-a-half later, the war in Ukraine has shown that railroads remain a critical component of military strategy.
The question at hand is, whether limited rail lines existing as they are now should be shared for increased passenger service, or are they better serving if they remain more available to a demanding freight schedule.
The answer is both, which is why the nation’s rail lines such as the Mobile-New Orleans route deserves more attention and more funding as a matter of national security, not just national convenience.
Although railway transportation during 1861-65 in many aspects long since became supplemented by faster travel via air and interstate highways, the recent fuss within the storied workhorse industry about route usage still could affect future defense planning and logistics dependent upon rail service.
That dependency stands to benefit and reliability be strengthened if the debate leads to new funding – whether from government and/or commercial sources – to make much-needed enhancements on key rail routes, thus making the Mobile-New Orleans case a spotlight of attention for similar rail routes nationwide.
Such debate, which seems to come and go depending on the latest market demands and politics of the day, deserves the work of federal budget makers. Likewise for existing rail service that, with or without expansion, must be updated and improved along the routes and with new technology and implementation of artificial intelligence being explored that can improve safety and efficiency.
Spotlight case
A federal board heard testimony in early April 2022 to consider a request by Amtrack to immediately resume passenger train service linking New Orleans and Alabama’s bustling port city of Mobile.
The Surface Transportation Board conducted the hearing to determine whether the government-funded rail service can once again offer passenger transportation on a section of the Gulf Coast where Amtrak hasn’t operated since Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in 2005.
Freight haulers CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway, in conjunction with the Alabama State Port Authority, argued that Amtrak’s plan to run twice-daily, round-trip travel between the two cities would interfere with their traffic and create problems at the Alabama state docks in Mobile.
They argued that Amtrak should have to make as much as $440 million in improvements before running passenger trains, the Associated Press reported. Amtrak, meanwhile, asked the board to allow passenger trains to begin operating immediately and decide later what kinds of infrastructure changes are needed.
Adding passenger trains along the roughly 137-mile route would cause “serious degradations” to rail transportation on the coast, a railroad consultant told the board, adding that railroad operations are more complicated along the Gulf Coast than in other parts of the country because of how much water must be traversed.
The two sides in December 2022 reached a compromise on shared usage, pending federal funding, and passenger service will be studied through 2024 and beyond as the overall plan for the route remains a work in progress.
The bigger picture
Warfare in the 21st century still often mirrors that of the 19th century when it comes to using rail in moving mass quantities of heavy-weight military machinery, which today means tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as large numbers of personnel.
Should the United States become involved in a major military conflict, let alone conduct massive military mobilization in defense of the homeland, it quickly would realize that suitable railroad infrastructure remains critical to its needs.
The impact of images from the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought such a scenario to life.
Who ends up paying and how is a tough question to answer when it comes to the millions of dollars needing to be invested in improving our railroad system to meet today’s – and tomorrow’s – needs.
That it gets done, however, should no longer be part of the debate.
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Troy Turner can be reached at troyturner@aladefensecom. AlaDefense.com is a website dedicated to reporting Alabama-centric military and defense industry news, as well as serving as the host platform for a strategic communications service specializing in business, cybersecurity, defense industry and military fields of interest.
Troy Turner is editor-in-chief and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He previously served as senior editor and an award-winning columnist in several newsrooms across the nation, including as corporate news editor in New York/D.C./Denver for the then second-largest newspaper company in the nation.
