WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 100 representatives of the nation’s rail industry -- representing both large and small railroads as well as the railway supply industry -- gathered on Capitol Hill yesterday (March 13) to emphasize the important role railroads play in the economy and to urge Congress to pass legislation helping the industry meet its infrastructure requirements.

As part of the Fourth Annual Railroad Day On The Hill, representatives of member companies belonging to the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), Association of American Railroads (AAR) and Railway Progress Institute (RPI) scheduled appointments to meet with well over 100 individual members of Congress.

"Railroads provide more than 40 percent of the nation’s intercity freight transportation, and that’s a higher percentage than any other mode," said AAR President and Chief Executive Officer Edward R. Hamberger. "Railroads can provide important solutions to problems related to congestion and the environment, but only if we can maintain and improve our infrastructure to keep up with growing demand for freight transportation."

"There has been a tremendous imbalance in the way the nation meets its infrastructure needs," said ASLRRA President Frank Turner. "Highways and aviation receive billions of dollars annually beyond what is raised from user taxes. Railroads, by contrast, pay the entire cost of building and maintaining their infrastructure."

He said smaller railroads face a special problem in keeping up with infrastructure demands. "New freight cars can weigh 286,000 pounds or even more. Tracks on many of our smaller railroads -- often serving largely rural areas -- simply weren’t designed to carry that much weight." Upgrading those tracks is "important to the economic development of rural America," he added.

"The nation’s economy relies on safe, efficient rail service, yet railroads are short changed by current infrastructure policies," said RPI President Robert A. Matthews.

AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research and technology organization focusing on the safety and productivity of rail carriers. Its members include all of the major freight railroads in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak and some regional freight and commuter railroads.

The ASLRRA represents the interests of its more than 400 short line and regional railroad members in legislative and regulatory matters. Short line and regional railroads are an important and growing component of the railroad industry. Today, they operate and maintain 29 percent of the American railroad industry's route mileage, and account for 9 percent of the rail industry's freight revenue and 11 percent of railroad employment.

RPI is the international association of suppliers to the nation’s freight, passenger rail systems, and rail transit authorities.