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Yesterday, more than 500 rail industry representatives descended on Washington, D.C., to lobby for rail-related legislation and policy pursuits during the annual “Railroad Day on Capitol Hill” event.

Participants included officials from the Association of American Railroads, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, OneRail Coalition, Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association, Railway Supply Institute, Railway Systems Suppliers Inc., Railway Tie Association, Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Transportation Communications Union, United Transportation Union and Growth Options for the 21st Century (Go21).

Among various legislation and public policies, Day on the Hill attendees urged federal lawmakers to support the Investment Tax Credit (H.R. 1806), a bill seeking a 25 percent tax credit for railroads or any business that invests in locomotives, track, intermodal facilities and other infrastructure projects that expand rail capacity; and the Short Line Rehabilitation Tax Credit (S. 461/H.R. 1132), which would extend the Section 45G tax credit available to short lines that expired on Dec. 31.

“Federal policies like the short-line tax credit will enable companies to make over $330 million in track upgrades each year, and support thousands of new jobs in the rail industry,” said ASLRRA President Richard Timmons in a prepared statement.
 
Attendees stressed that freight railroads generate about $265 billion in total annual economic activity, and that every freight-rail job supports an additional 4.5 jobs elsewhere in the economy.

“Improving the nation's rail infrastructure will create vital jobs, de-congest chokepoints, put more freight and passengers on fuel-efficient trains, and reduce our nation's greenhouse gas emissions,” said Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and a founding member of OneRail, a coalition that advocates for freight and passenger-rail policies.